[spondylosaurus]

Merely being downvoted isn't a form of harassment. The worst people on Reddit will DM you vile shit/threats and stalk you across various subreddits if they think you're a person worth targeting (particularly if you belong to one of those so-called "hot button" marginalized groups). Meanwhile HN doesn't even have a DM feature.

[biogene]

If you express a reasonable opinion that is even mildly positive, or even ambivalent about musk or trump you get mass downvoted, and people assume you completely lack integrity. I have seen this exact behaviour on HN for years, and the mods do nothing, and the bad-actors are often the long-term users with tons of karma. I'm not into conspiracies so I won't speculate as to the reasons.

Anyway, that in and of itself doesn't bother me - The parent was trying to present a "holier than thou" attitude towards Reddit. I merely pointed out that HN is not all that great when it comes to that.

[leptons]

>mildly positive, or even ambivalent about musk or trump you get mass downvoted, and people assume you completely lack integrity

With the amount of time musk and trump have had in the spotlight and the awful shit they've objectively actually done, it should make people question your integrity if you are writing positively about them. Like it or not, downvotes are an expression of disapproval.

[biogene]

Most elections are about electing the least-bad person. Bush started wars, Biden/Obama dropped bombs on civilians (even US citizens), tortured detainees, trump.. well we all know what trump did. Most voters either voted for biden or trump, both have done "awful shit". Every politician has done "awful shit".

If you can't find a single positive impact of trump's (or any politician) policies or a single positive thing musk has done, consider that you maybe be in an echo chamber yourself, or you're just deluding yourself into thinking you have some kind of moral high-ground.

[leptons]

Love how you oversell "Biden/Obama" as having dropped bombs on civilians while just handwaving away "we all know what trump did". Be more specific, maybe? Trump created an insurrection and tried to dismantle democracy itself, which seems far worse than accidentally dropping bombs on US citizens - let's be clear, Biden was VP at the time, not president, but you put Biden first? lol, you're so clearly trying to skew everything you wrote in all kinds of ways.

You're practicing whataboutism here.

>If you can't find a single positive impact of trump's (or any politician) policies or a single positive thing musk has done

A broken clock is right twice a day. So let's let broken clocks rule and profit as much as they want regardless of the consequences, I guess? That's what you're advocating for. trump and musk have very dubious ideologies, they are both awful businessmen that treat their employees like shit. They've proven this over and over. And yes, there is moral high ground and these two are not in the same category morally as many other politicians and business people. Your whataboutism doesn't make them seem any better than they actually are to anyone but yourself.

[biogene]

Thanks for proving my point. Goodbye.

[leptons]

trump was absolutely the biggest "we told you so" in the entirety of human history. Everyone paying attention knew how that would end.

But sure, he did nice things for the most wealthy and practically nobody else but himself. There, I said he did a good thing. lol

[spondylosaurus]

lol I also like when people trot out the "Obama did bad stuff too!" talking point as if the non-establishment left isn't in full agreement there.

Like, yeah dude. You think me being pissed that Obama didn't close Guantanamo is a sign that I'm going to be more sympathetic about Trump's policies? Come on now.

[leptons]

exactly this, well said. If Obama actually committed crimes while in office I'll listen to the evidence with an open mind, sure go after him. The right want to give trump a free pass for insurrection. There's a huge difference between the two mindsets, and I can't not call out anyone for still supporting him that happens to cross my social-media path. I'll use downvotes, too. I'm not going to do nothing while actual US fascism creeps upward, not sure what the parent commenter expects.

[spondylosaurus]

I assume people downvote you about Musk and Trump because they disagree with your takes and think you're not contributing anything interesting to the discussion. People are allowed to downvote. What would you propose mods do in that situation?

[ghaff]

Honestly, "everyone" knows there are acceptable boundaries of opinion in a lot of circles generally--including this one--that even nuanced takes cannot cross without bring out the knives. By and large, it makes sense to accept that and move on. You likely won't change anyone's mind and you'll just get upset.

[biogene]

Sure, someone could have a bad take, could be simply wrong, or simply have a different opinion. Why do you assume that I cannot differentiate between them?