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Comment by hwbehrens

5 years ago

I don't necessarily agree that this article is not appropriate for HN, but I do agree with the parent that, in general, it is not an appropriate venue for political discussions.

That is not to say that political discussions shouldn't be had -- simply that they shouldn't be had everywhere. In particular, different venues are appropriate for different discussions, and in my opinion we don't benefit if all spaces consist of homogenized topics.

If I want to discuss and learn about tech, HN is a good venue for that. If I want to learn about cooking, I might go to Youtube or Chowhound. If I want to delve into politics, I might go to NYT or Reddit.

However, when I'm searching for a recipe for banana bread, I don't care to discuss politics in the comments of that post, nor do I consider that preference to be burying my head in the sand. Adjustments to the amount of baking soda, or the replacement of bananas with plantains, yes; "orange man bad", no. Not because I don't agree, or because I am ignoring politics, but simply because it's not the place to have that conversation.