[CPLX]

This is a story about Microsoft building data centers and people opposing it.

So yes, one of the two key players here is the heavily financed tech sector.

Starting to think these disingenuous replies are in fact the point here.

Since none of of these conversations on HN make much difference anyways, my only hope is that one person, somewhere, who is a part of the "tech community" that usually gathers here (and of which I am a longtime member) becomes newly aware that people fucking hate us now for excellent and extremely well-supported reasons and thinks a little about how that happened and how they might change it.

[tptacek]

I simply disagree with you. I'm not a fan of populism, and, more importantly, I think that people have had very good reason to "fucking hate us" for decades --- we are in the business of automating away people's jobs, and have been since the 1960s.

It's fine that you think the discussion is unproductive; I agree, our premises are too far apart to get anywhere. But you'd get further with, well, everybody that doesn't already agree with you if you'd stop accusing anybody who doesn't agree with you of being "disingenuous".

[CPLX]

Well at least you're honest then. I hope your team loses because the outcomes here suck and are destroying our culture.

And on a personal level, I hope you reconsider your life decisions a little and realize the importance of a culture where people can feed their families and lead healthy productive lives of dignity, regardless of who their parents are or how gifted they happen to be intellectually.

[tptacek]

You can just say "fuck you". You don't have to do this kind of violence to the concept of civility. "Fuck you" is what this kind of populism inevitably devolves to anyways. Skip the middle steps!

[CPLX]

If having your values questioned sounds like "fuck you" then that's on you.

What I actually said is perhaps you should think about the people who end up worse off under the system you advocate for.

Your call of course but this is definitely not violence.

Violence is what happens when attempting to work through civic institutions and discourse has failed so many times that people no longer try this approach.

[tptacek]

I don't think you understand what I'm saying. I'm not worried about actual violence. That's OK, we can be done.

[CPLX]

> I'm not worried about actual violence.

Right. That’s something I’ve found that those of us in the modern ruling class tend to have in common.

Perhaps we should be. It’s the most common outcome of this degree of inequality and disenfranchisement.

Or maybe we’ll get lucky and this will be history’s one exception to the rule.