If I had just not put the parenthetical, it would make it look like I was "really asking" the question. That would treat the derivation in question as potentially legitimate (it's really not), and also invite serious but non-useful responses.
So that leads me to conclude that I just shouldn't have phrased my point as a question in the first place. I could have just stated my point as a statement, not a question.
That's pretty much what I was trying to say with, "What is the point of even asking a question that you're sure you already know the answer to?"
I guess you were trying for a rhetorical question, but I think that requires either:
1. The answer to be obvious to everybody, both asker and audience. E.g. "Do we really want to destroy all life?"
2. The question to be a lead-in to a discussion or argument. E.g. "Is it better to have more blue cars available for consumers to buy? I think so, and here's why."
You didn't do #2, so it looked like #1, but in context that's horribly dismissive.
If I had just not put the parenthetical, it would make it look like I was "really asking" the question. That would treat the derivation in question as potentially legitimate (it's really not), and also invite serious but non-useful responses.
So that leads me to conclude that I just shouldn't have phrased my point as a question in the first place. I could have just stated my point as a statement, not a question.