[SparkBomb]

Political messaging I am completely fed up with and I am sure I am not the only person fed up with it. I go out of my way now to make sure that I see almost none of it.

When I see overt political messaging outside of someone that works for a particular organisation or political party, I steer clear.

I've found that most people (doesn't matter what political persuasion) have a very poor understanding of what they are actually supporting if they understand it at all. Often they simply parroting what they've elsewhere.

[neoromantique]

Oddly enough I have a pretty good guess of your political affiliations from these comments.

[whatamidoingyo]

How so? I agree with them. Political messaging is incredibly annoying, no matter which "side" is doing it.

[4ggr0]

why is it surprising that people feel like showing their own politics with stickers when the government they live under currently deports random people, blows up boats based on vague accusations, tries to reform the country with Project2025, ..., do i have to go on?

nice for you that you're able to ignore politics - you should maybe be aware that this is a privilege. lots of people would probably want to ignore politics, but instead they have to fear for their existence, dignity or way of life.

"but not everyone on HN is american", well, other countries also have their fair share of political issues. and if you don't see them as issues, then again, you're just showing your own privilege.

high-wage, male, (often times white) tech-workers wonder why people are upset. "i'm fine, what's the problem?"

[homebrewer]

Most of those people and organizations they represent switch themes every couple of years when the previous problem they worked on gets fully solved. It's incredibly obvious for those of us looking from the outside. They solved (and therefore abandoned) COVID by the middle of 2020, which is when they were forced to work on anti-black racism in the US. That one was resolved by the end of 2021, after which they focused on Ukraine. That one didn't stay long thanks to their incredible efficiency at solving complex problems, therefore they switched to Gaza. Having mostly solved that problem by now, they decided to focus on internal politics again. I wonder how long this will stick.

[SparkBomb]

> why is it surprising that people feel like showing their own politics with stickers when the government they live under currently deports random people, blows up boats based on vague accusations, tries to reform the country with Project2025, ..., do i have to go on?

I am in my early-40s. I remember when Obama was droning people abroad based on iffy intel. I remember when George Bush/Dick Cheney started a war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which killed possibly millions (I heard all sorts of different numbers).

If I put a sticker on my laptop, it doesn't stop any of that happening. It doesn't bring back the people that killed in those wars. All it is trying to do is signal to other people that you have the "right opinions". It is a form of slacktivism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacktivism

> nice for you that you're able to ignore politics - you should maybe be aware that this is a privilege. lots of people would probably want to ignore politics, but instead they have to fear for their existence, dignity or way of life.

I am mature enough to understand that in the vast majority of circumstances I cannot affect in the outcome in any meaningful way.

Whether I ignore politics or not will have no effect on the outcome. I suggest you go back and watch old TV programs and documentaries. People were having the same discussions 20, 30 and some 50 years ago on the exact topics and making the same arguments, often they were word for word the same.

> "but not everyone on HN is american", well, other countries also have their fair share of political issues. and if you don't see them as issues, then again, you're just showing your own ignorance, privilege or both.

I choose to ignore the political issues in my country (the UK) as well. I can't do anything to solve the problems in the country.

[neoromantique]

>I choose to ignore the political issues in my country (the UK) as well. I can't do anything to solve the problems in the country.

Which ironically is the main reason why these things continue to go unchecked.

[SparkBomb]

No it isn't. I cannot do anything meaningful about it.

I have written in the past to MPs (many times). I was either ignored, or I was told I didn't know what I was talking about even though I actually was working in a related area.

If I talk to my friends, they don't care. If I talk to my relatives, they don't care either or understand. If I talk about it on the internet, I am told I am wrong and I should shutup, even when I post direct evidence of something and back it up with references. This hasn't been just one thing either, it been many different things.

So I want you to tell me what am I supposed to do exactly?

[portaouflop]

Giving up just ensures that your voice and values certainly won’t be heard. But I guess it’s comfortable enough for you still so there is little reason to get active. Soon it won’t be so comfortable anymore also for you, by then it will be too late to speak up.

It’s laughable that you think nothing has changed in the last 50 years politically. Not so recently they were still putting people to death by the hundreds of thousands in my country and I’m sure as shit not gonna let it happen again, even if it’s a bit cringe for you to witness resistance to facism

[SparkBomb]

> Giving up just ensures that your voice and values certainly won’t be heard.

It won't be heard anyway. It is a fiction that I as a fucking nobody can affect anything in any meaningful manner. It is a delusion that is sold to people so they believe that they have a voice.

The only thing I might be able to do is stop other people from wasting their time.

> But I guess it’s comfortable enough for you still so there is little reason to get active. Soon it won’t be so comfortable anymore also for you, by then it will be too late to speak up.

What you are doing is essentially a guilt trip. I don't want to spend possibly the rest of my life on a political project.

> It’s laughable that you think nothing has changed in the last 50 years politically.

No it isn't. Go back 40-50 years (1970s) and look at TV, docs, news reports etc. Many of the same issues are being discussed in pretty the same way word for word. I have read stuff about the Roman Empire where it seems people were making political arguments that sounded very similar to what is heard today. The human condition is constant throughout all of recorded history.

> Not so recently they were still putting people to death by the hundreds of thousands in my country and I’m sure as shit not gonna let it happen again, even if it’s a bit cringe for you to witness resistance to facism

I've heard this melodramatic nonsense my entire life. The Nazis and Fascists are gone, the few that remain are completely irrelevant. I was told George Bush was Hitler 2.0 back in the early 2000s. These days people talk about his bad paintings.

[SparkBomb]

Go on then, What are they? Since you can read my mind.