Can't this thread be locked or something?
Merlin responds the way he does because (choose any or all of):
- he doesn't care whether you like him
- he doesn't care whether you are offended by the way he says things
- he likes to repeatedly defend the way he acts
- he likes to see others defend the way he acts
- he thinks it's more efficient to defend the way he responds some of the time, than to watch how he responds all the time
He, and most of the community, feel he has earned the right to make these choices.
End of story.
