In much of what I’ve read about the fall of rule of law and dictators rising to power in other countries, people very often talk about one of two things - how they wish they had done more to stop it, or how they’re proud of what they did and they feel they made a difference - even if small.
Even the parents of Alex Pretti who was killed yesterday said in a statement they’re very proud that Alex was protecting a women at the time he was killed, helping others like he always did.
Given what you just said above, I can only think you either don’t really understand how much power you have to enable or curtail discussions or you know exactly and last night when you closed your eyes and thought about it you realized you aren’t / won’t be proud if it gets real bad.
I’m sure you’ve read a lot of history Dan.
Has there ever been a case where stopping citizens talking about what their government is doing has worked out well for the people? I’m not aware of one.
I know these discussions are “off topic” for HN Dan, but I’m shocked you don’t see that literally nothing else will be important for a decade or more if the dictator takes full control or starts a civil or world war.
The lives of a vast number of people will change drastically for the worse, and you’ll have to live knowing you stopped people talking about it when there was still something to be done.
I hope on the life of my little girl none of this happens, but man you’re going to have a hard time looking in the mirror if it does.
I don’t envy you, and I understand you’re between a rock and a hard place.
Doing the right thing is often the hardest path.
Do you genuinely feel you are doing the right thing?
I appreciate that there's a gap between what people intend to say and what they actually say, but I'm not sure I've ever seen the gap as large as what you posted above vs. what you posted here.
In case it helps at all, "When your door is kicked down, your partner is dragged away and citizens are executed on your street, will you feel proud about how you have helped suppress these discussions?" struck me as grammatically, rhetorically, and emotionally more aggressive than even "have you stopped beating your wife yet?" as an incriminating cross-examination.
You’re right Dan that it is an aggressive statement.
The much more important and concerning observation is that it’s real. It’s not hypothetical. That is happing to real people in the US right now. Today.
I wasn’t exaggerating, I wasn’t being aggressive for effect or to intimidate.
I was asking how you would feel when what it’s happening to your fellow countrymen happens to you.
I’m very aware it’s a hard hitting statement and question, and that’s because reality in your country is currently hard hitting. It’s life right now, like it or not.
To close the loop on your example above, if your question was asked to a twice convicted wife-beater it would be a perfectly reasonable question.
The same applies here.
Those things in my question are real, and it’s important for you to think about them and plan for them and think of the future through that lens.
You have an enormous responsibility in this because you, an individual, have the power to stop discussions by educated people that may lead to all this being prevented.
Of course it’s easy to say “there are plenty of other places to discuss this stuff, which is true. But people are here and they want to talk about it. People have a community here, and people are reaching out to that community in desperate times.
It seems you’re so focused on keeping “low value” comments and discussions off HN you’ve forgotten how important it is for people to be able to discuss such important topics before it’s too late.
So I ask again - do you think you’ll be proud of shutting down discussions around the collapse of society for millions of people if and when the consequences are in your house?
I’m a bit taken back you would say that.
In much of what I’ve read about the fall of rule of law and dictators rising to power in other countries, people very often talk about one of two things - how they wish they had done more to stop it, or how they’re proud of what they did and they feel they made a difference - even if small.
Even the parents of Alex Pretti who was killed yesterday said in a statement they’re very proud that Alex was protecting a women at the time he was killed, helping others like he always did.
Given what you just said above, I can only think you either don’t really understand how much power you have to enable or curtail discussions or you know exactly and last night when you closed your eyes and thought about it you realized you aren’t / won’t be proud if it gets real bad.
I’m sure you’ve read a lot of history Dan. Has there ever been a case where stopping citizens talking about what their government is doing has worked out well for the people? I’m not aware of one.
I know these discussions are “off topic” for HN Dan, but I’m shocked you don’t see that literally nothing else will be important for a decade or more if the dictator takes full control or starts a civil or world war.
The lives of a vast number of people will change drastically for the worse, and you’ll have to live knowing you stopped people talking about it when there was still something to be done.
I hope on the life of my little girl none of this happens, but man you’re going to have a hard time looking in the mirror if it does. I don’t envy you, and I understand you’re between a rock and a hard place.
Doing the right thing is often the hardest path.
Do you genuinely feel you are doing the right thing?
I appreciate that there's a gap between what people intend to say and what they actually say, but I'm not sure I've ever seen the gap as large as what you posted above vs. what you posted here.
In case it helps at all, "When your door is kicked down, your partner is dragged away and citizens are executed on your street, will you feel proud about how you have helped suppress these discussions?" struck me as grammatically, rhetorically, and emotionally more aggressive than even "have you stopped beating your wife yet?" as an incriminating cross-examination.
You’re right Dan that it is an aggressive statement.
The much more important and concerning observation is that it’s real. It’s not hypothetical. That is happing to real people in the US right now. Today. I wasn’t exaggerating, I wasn’t being aggressive for effect or to intimidate.
I was asking how you would feel when what it’s happening to your fellow countrymen happens to you.
I’m very aware it’s a hard hitting statement and question, and that’s because reality in your country is currently hard hitting. It’s life right now, like it or not.
To close the loop on your example above, if your question was asked to a twice convicted wife-beater it would be a perfectly reasonable question. The same applies here.
Those things in my question are real, and it’s important for you to think about them and plan for them and think of the future through that lens.
You have an enormous responsibility in this because you, an individual, have the power to stop discussions by educated people that may lead to all this being prevented.
Of course it’s easy to say “there are plenty of other places to discuss this stuff, which is true. But people are here and they want to talk about it. People have a community here, and people are reaching out to that community in desperate times.
It seems you’re so focused on keeping “low value” comments and discussions off HN you’ve forgotten how important it is for people to be able to discuss such important topics before it’s too late.
So I ask again - do you think you’ll be proud of shutting down discussions around the collapse of society for millions of people if and when the consequences are in your house?