You should picture me making a very coarse gesture as I say that. "Is that a very courteous response?", some will ask. No, but courtesy isn't always what is called for. "I disagree", some will say. "I believe that good manners are always called for".

To which my response is "rubbish - you don't believe in any such thing". Nobody does and nobody could. If he did, he wouldn't even be here to argue the point, because he'd either still be stuck debating with the last child who threw a tantrum because the child wasn't being given something he wanted or he would have bankrupted himself bribing every tantrum thrower who crossed his path, leaving him with little time for such things as philosophical discussions. Sometimes one has to be firm, and even a little nasty, until certain people get the message.

"Yes, but dealing with children is a different matter", comes the counterargument. No, it's not, because not all children are under the age of 18, and the middle aged children can be just as capable of wheedling and tantrum throwing as the pre-teen ones ...