To me, this seems like “an argument to the status quo”. The 538 article from 2017 (from where we are both pulling numbers) doesn’t control for the vast majority of races that you have to pay to use. So it is disingenuous to say that halflings are 5%-6% of all races played as if they are on an even footing with tabaxi that are only available if the player purchases Volo’s (a book that is otherwise very DM facing).
In the 2017 and the 2019 data they are ahead of gnomes, a race which they
are on an even footing with by your definition. It seems disingenuous to claim that halflings are the great unpopular race when gnomes exist.
But back to the 5-6% figure. According to the 538 article, the halfling is the least played race of the core races.
Correction:
according to the 538 article halflings (5.9%) are more played than both gnomes (4.6%) and half orcs (5.0%). Are you by some chance instead referring to the sidebar declaring some races to be uncommon? And do you realise that the four non-gnome "uncommon races" in D&D were, as of December 2020,
the four most popular non-human races? While gnomes remained less popular than halflings.
The next least played? Dwarves with more than 50% MORE players than halflings! Halflings are a niche race. I think even those in favour of the status quo admit that.
And gnomes are in such a small niche that you seem unable to see them. They are also overlapping in niche with halflings. Halflings would have more of a niche without gnomes there.
Saying that you generally don’t play tieflings is obscuring the issue. From 538, it appears that tieflings are LESS of a niche race than halflings, despite having traditionally less promotion.
Well, yes.
As of the start of 2019 dwarves were less of a niche race than both tieflings and dragonborn. As of the end of 2020
elves are less of a niche race than tieflings. Or dragonborn. And this despite both less promotion of those races and those races both being strongly associated with 4e.
"Is less popular than tieflings" is not remotely the criticism you think it is.
It seems to me that there is never a shortage of people arguing to maintain the status quo, despite the fact that the status quo does not reflect the extraordinary change in our hobby in the last 5 years. I think that is the shame.
Who are these people? Where are they?
I've said throughout three things.
1: There is no consistent argument based on popularity for the elimination of halflings from the PHB that doesn't involve doing unto gnomes first.
2: It would be a bad plan to remove halflings and gnomes at the same time because they have significantly related niches.
3: Halflings have a unique niche in a way gnomes don't - but gnomes are sitting in some of the niches that could easily fit halflings.
Just because people oppose the changes that you personally want doesn't mean they oppose all changes. It means that they oppose the changes you are proposing. And opposing anything based on misrepresentation of data.