I agree with Dragonlich, a bit difficult to read, but I got the gist of it. (I just noticed for some reason it looks better on the reply/preview page, odd.)
You have just been knocked up 10 pegs on my respect ladder. Not because of what stand you took on an issue, but because you processed new information instead of brushing it off, and changed your mind on a position that you have voiced for the past few months, and then had the guts to stand up and admit in front of the very people whom you have been debating with that you think were wrong.
Again, this isn't a matter of which position you took. If sixate suddenly expressed his love of Hillary Clinton I would feel the exact same way.
Take this as a learning experience. No matter how much you think you're right, there's always the possibility that you're wrong. When people realize they're wrong, the weaker will ignore the new information and stick to their position for fear of looking silly. This is the majority of what is wrong with the world. If you don't allow yourself to change your mind, you never grow. If you never grow, you may as well be dead.