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I disagree with OP's characterization of HN as a 'technical' site. Technical and political domains are recursively embedded; engineers have a moral and ethical
by glup 10y ago
I disagree with OP's characterization of HN as a 'technical' site. Technical and political domains are recursively embedded; engineers have a moral and ethical obligation to understand the 'political' implications of their 'technical' decisions, and may make better technical decisions if they understand the political context. One of the reasons I value HN is because very knowledgeable people think about this greater context. This is the core of the political.
The problem isn't activists using services like github; it's states shutting down these services in response.
- jshevek 10y agoI took the parent's comment to be describing github as a technical site, not HN.
- PavlovsCat 10y ago> The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude. -- George Orwell, "Why I Write" (1946) Having no position means adopting the position of bullies and tyrants; or as the title of the Howard Zinn bio goes, you can't be neutral on a moving train. Also, entertaining "purely technical" (or mathematical or whatever) thoughts is kind of a luxury, and it's downstream from politics. That's not a value statement, but while all work and no play may make Jake a dull boy, all play and no work will make him a gone boy. If you love a thing very much, you absolutely should care about its foundations, and those who would sink them into the memory hole.