[esailija]

Yes in a vacuum and out of context, those are vastly different words with different meanings. That's how the original commentator is trying to fool you who stop at that without considering the actual implications.

For this context in reality "unlikely" and "impossible" are the same thing, barely a distinction definitely without a difference. It makes absolutely no concrete difference. But you ignored this point of my comment.

[ShinTakuya]

No, you chose to ignore the word choice of the original comment to fit your own argument. Note that in the comment chain I've repeatedly said that I actually support your viewpoint. I just don't support the means by which you argued it.

[esailija]

How would you argue for it then? Let's take a similar "defense" in some unrelated scenario that we have some distance from.

Let's say someone demonstrated that they are a xenophobe, inevitably someone will call them "racist" because it carries more rhetorical weight and is effectively the same thing (using arbitrary unrelated quality about someone to justify discrimination).

Now their "defense" will be that "no no, I am a xenophobe not a racist". How do you effectively convey that this is a bullshit defense and the connotations of racist apply equally? Without going into nuance where you will lose most people... :(