[paganel]

> a couple of companies asked for my HN handle

That's kind of shitty. I'm writing this down as in the last 2-3 years I've started to care less and less about any perceived veil (or hypocrisy, to be more honest) on websites like this one but it's still interesting to see that companies filter out potential employees based on that manifested hypocrisy. That explains a lot of how come SV is in the slump that it is right now (ignoring the AI bubble), but that's matter for a different discussion.

We all have to be well-behaved hackers and painters, or else. That's not how it worked in the past, and it will never work like that.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

Well, behaving well (even "fake nice") isn't necessarily "hypocrisy."

All of us, and I mean ALL OF US have dark fantasy lives. Freud called it our "Id."

It's not meant to be worn outside our heads.

One of the common refrains that you'll hear from fans of "hatemongers," like Alex Jones and Rush Limbaugh, is "They're just saying what everyone is thinking!".

There's a reason that we don't say everything that we think.

That's not hypocrisy. That's being a good member of society.

I have good friends -like, actually really good friends, who hold beliefs that I disagree with -sometimes, quite strongly.

We don't talk about that stuff, when we're together.

That's not hypocrisy, either. That's being friends. We find that there are a lot more values that we hold in common, than in opposition.

Modern social media has made it fashionable to use society as a public toilet for our Ids. I don't think that it has improved things.

[paganel]

It is my belief that when it comes to politics, i.e. the life of the polis, it is in the best interest of said polis for its citizens to speak up their mind as closer to (their inner) truth as possible, otherwise it won’t be said citizens conducting the life of their polis.

The Freud/id stuff I can understand (and I agree with), but that’s related to a person’s inner “psychological” life, not to the polis as a whole.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

I think when it comes to workplaces, it isn't really the same thing as the political arena (office "politics" aside). Personal restraint is fairly important. I have worked very closely, with people I desperately wanted to strangle, and we did good work.

Also, even in the political arena, there's often a need for personal restraint. My family has been in international diplomacy for decades (I'm the redneck engineer).

My father[0] used to constantly pop my "Simple wrong answer" balloons, on a regular, by explaining that nothing that involves humans, is ever actually simple, and that there are always dozens of competing forces at work; much of it sloppy emotions, pride, poverty, insecurity, tribalism, ignorance, religion, greed, and whatnot.

I have other family that has worked for decades, trying to get different faiths to work together, to address issues like poverty, lack of education, etc.

Talk about "herding cats."

Someone (I think Will Rogers) used to say "Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie,' while reaching for a rock."

[0] https://cmarshall.com/miscellaneous/MikeMarshall.htm