As it happens, "as it happens" is a way to lead into an assertion that tends to provoke casual acceptance. It's not all that different from "wouldn't you agree

As it happens, "as it happens" is a way to lead into an assertion that tends to provoke casual acceptance. It's not all that different from "wouldn't you agree that", a mock-question that's often accompanied by a nodding motion; the combination frequently illicits a nod even from someone that disagrees. Of course many of the commenters are offended by some of the ideas expressed here; that doesn't make the ideas more correct. It's not a question of finding things to disagree with, because inherently the commenters' shortcoming isn't that they are hoping to reveal a logical flaw in the argument, but that they were tricked into debating a troll in the first place. Wouldn't you agree that people with outmoded or poorly researched ideals can do a lot more damage if they are clever enough to embed their ideas in layers of empirical-sounding academia-speak? I'd take it a step further, but I don't want to be "that guy" who invokes Godwin's law. :)