[occultist_throw]

Waitsec. So, because I didn't write a dissertation on this topic, nor did I write a longform article, it's invalid? Hardly.

It's not hard to look up that google maps census dot map. And then go find prisons in Google Maps and find it on the census map. Might be pretty surprising what you see... then again, might not.

Hint: https://demographics.virginia.edu/DotMap/ Turn overlays. Go to Indianapolis, then look to the West side towards Avon and Danville. There's a dense green block (green dots = Black people) due south of Avon. Now, go look in Google Maps as to what's there.

Wash, rinse and repeat all across the US. You want evidence? There's pretty telling evidence right there.

Hell, I would go over the comment limit on even an abstract on this topic. We're talking 300+ years of history just in the US and colonies.

No, the real reason here why I'm being downvoted is because of a popularity contest. It certainly doesn't have to do with content, at least here. But some people are considered "unpopular". So we see rapid point swings and -1's. To me, its just some of the backward-ness how this community works. Every community has something like this. Grain/block of salt, and all.

[dEnigma]

Insulting the community won't help against the downvotes. The healthy path is to just ignore the votes and freely discuss your opinions, whether they resonate with other people or not.

By that I don't mean "ignore other people", only their effect on your comment score/karma. You should listen to their arguments nonetheless.

[occultist_throw]

> Insulting the community won't help against the downvotes. The healthy path is to just ignore the votes and freely discuss your opinions, whether they resonate with other people or not.

That's the problem with "Downvotes" in the way they're done here. Legitimate discourse, albeit unpopular will attract downvotes. And so will unrelated offtopic garbage (Spam, 1 word replies, crazy rantings ala TempleOS).

The end result to both "unpopular" material and "spam" is the same - hidden. Simply put, -1s = losing right to talk and be seen. So yeah, I am pretty disappointed in the community, and I have a justifiable right to be.

[grzm]

I think there's space on HN for what one might consider unpopular views when they're presented in a more diplomatic way. Starting off with a chip on one's shoulder ("I've always taken an unpopular view about slavery") isn't a great way to start out. If you're looking for productive discussion, I can think of better ways to go about it. If you think something you want to share might be unpopular, why not take some effort to couch it in terms you think might have a better chance of being listened to?

The HN community is what it is. It has certain norms and behaviors. By participating, you're part of it. If it doesn't operate in a way you prefer and you'd like to continue to contribute, be the change you want. Behave in the ways you want. I encourage you to do so! That said, if you want to be confrontational and argumentative rather than looking for points of agreement and teasing out more nuanced differences, I think you're likely to continue to see pushback on HN. In some sense, such behavior can be as corrosive as spam.

[dEnigma]

I agree; there definitely should be a discussion about the whole system. Personally I would favour a system with a report option for comments that violate community guidelines or even laws, and a comment score that doesn't affect the visibility of your comment (at least not in an absolute hidden/visible way)