[friedman23]

It has nothing to do with nationalism. The PRC is a dictatorship that currently has millions of people in concentration camps undergoing reeducation, suppresses freedom of expression for its citizens, and crushes minority cultures.

[dang]

Dismissing or condemning an entire country like you did, besides being unsubstantive, certainly qualifies as nationalistic flamebait in the sense that we use the term here. Please don't post like this to HN.

[friedman23]

I have nothing against the people of China but the PRC government and Chinese business is so intertwined that I don't think it's possible to do business with China and not interact or enable the PRC in any way.

[dang]

The trouble with this is that when people bring grandiose or generic rhetoric, the only place the discussion can go is into flamewar, as others get even more grandiose and generic (or personal).

You're not adding any information when you post like this. It's just a strong opinion with a strong feeling attached. When someone else with the opposite opinion comes along and blasts their opposite feeling, no interesting information will be exchanged. Therefore it's off topic for thoughtful conversation, which is what we're trying for here.

An HN thread thrives on curiosity and specifics, withers on the gruel of grandiosity, and fries under scorching rhetoric.

[angersock]

Okay dang, have a link:

http://time.com/5366225/china-uighurs-detention-report/

A million Uyghur and Muslims in camps. That's a sixth of a Holocaust.

[dang]

It's unsurprising that you Godwinned this thread, since where else can monotonic escalation go? By doing that you've cemented the point.

If you guys want to fling furious links around, you need to find another site to do it. It isn't part of thoughtful discussion—it's pure reflex.

[throwaway2048]

Complaining somebody "godwinned" a thread (which is a total misrepresentation of godwins law, and even the person that coined it said this kind of interpretation of it is stupid) is an unbelievably lazy dismissal of a situation that is quite literally directly comparable to some of the worst actions the nazis took.

If we aren't allowed to talk about and compare what the nazis did, how will we learn from it?

If this comparison is not permitted in this situation, when will it ever be?

Really quite disappointed in your stance on this one.

And please, spare us the condescending attitude that we don't actually care about this stuff. If we are going to veer off into "unstated positions and assumptions" territory there is a white hot glaringly obvious apparent conflict of interest with HN moderation shutting down discussion of human rights abuses right as YC china launches, dont you think?

[explainplease]

Without a doubt the worst bullshit I've ever seen from dang.

So tell us, Dan, how would one criticize the Chinese government for imprisoning dissidents and genocide, while staying within your guidelines? How must one couch it to pass the Great Firewall of Hacker News? Serious question.

[angersock]

Dismissing links out of hand as you are here doesn't serve to help discussion either.

So, real talk, why do you think concerns over YC working with a government with super shaky human-rights record are unimportant or unfounded?

A valid answer is totally "Because we're gonna make money and nobody complaining is in a position to actually do anything."

What do you think about it?

[fusiongyro]

The comment may be referencing this post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17737942

[dang]

The root comment didn't reference that or anything else.

The problem with bringing such links into arguments like this is that no one does so for reasons of intellectual interest. For example, in this case, people aren't actually interested in the plight of the Uighurs. Rather, it's convenient ammunition for justifying pre-existing political and national feelings. Such a move is not part of thoughtful conversation at all; it's just ideology and tribal loyalty, which explains why the discussions are so utterly repetitive—and therefore off topic for HN.

[fusiongyro]

Fair enough.

[explainplease]

[flagged]