Judging by the slew of downvotes, it seems like a lot of people here do not consider my positions stated in this thread defensible, so I think it's time to withdraw from this discussion, since its continuation is unlikely to move anyone's opinions in a more accurate direction.

On these kind of emotionally charged subjects I find that the comments that get rapid initial downvotes are often the same comments that end up later being upvoted to a reasonable extent. The most passionate and ideological among those who disagree with you vote first while those that are more distanced from the conversation come along later.