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The amount of comments on this thread decrying 'socialism' with very pithy comments is concerning. I guess the whole internet is infected with trolls now, espec
by RubenSandwich 9y ago
The amount of comments on this thread decrying 'socialism' with very pithy comments is concerning. I guess the whole internet is infected with trolls now, especially political ones...
- whistlecrackers 9y agoOr those who understand economics and history.
- thesmallestcat 9y agoI'd like some of them in here, but you're a troll. Or maybe we're the "fucking morons." Oh well, mods in California will be awake soon enough.
- whistlecrackers 9y agoNeed a safe space?
- thesmallestcat 9y agoYou mean like a forum with certain rules of civility? Yea, I guess so, welcome to our "safe space."
- dang 9y agoWould you please stop making HN worse just because other people are? I know how tempting it is but in the end these comments are just as much the problem as the others.
- dang 9y agoActually you posted so much of this that I've banned your account until we get a commitment to use HN as intended. You're welcome to email us at hn@ycombinator.com if you want to do this.
- yequalsx 9y agoGiven that there are some knowledgeable economists and historians who are socialists your comment makes no sense. Care to perhaps post something insightful? Or comment in a meaningful way to OP?
- jbm 9y agoI am actually a bit concerned with how this reached the top page with so many low effort comments. Regardless of whether it is the case that socialist policies are responsible for this situation, it’s weird that there are a sudden upswing in the strange, almost sneering style of comment that is littering the comment area. I almost expect a list of Wikipedia links about Zimbabwe and other countries to follow.
- RubenSandwich 9y agoAgreed. If governments are invested in changing opinions on other Internet forums, why not here? These comments are very low quality and seem to me to be writen to stir up political screaming matches, not actual debate.
- thesmallestcat 9y agoWell, they've succeeded, if "need a safe space?" is upvoted and my reply calling that commenter out is heavily downvoted, why even try to discuss current affairs on HN? Let the trolls roll in their shit. Fighting with pigs in mud, etc. etc.
- mitchellberry 9y agoWhy should it even be discussed anyway? Some accounts seem intent on creating a "special" reddit here. Would love to see some technological solutions to this problem currently afflicting millions, but this is just general world news and the associated opining. It's noise and nothing more.
- yorwba 9y agoTo be honest, if the only response you have to a comment is to call them a troll, you should remember your own advice: Let the trolls roll in their shit. Do not engage. Downvote, flag and move on. The mods will sort things out for you.
- thesmallestcat 9y ago
- tonfa 9y agoI think the word is a trigger in US politics somehow (since the Cold War and maybe McCarthyism?). While outside it's just a normal political current (and most of the western democracies besides the US will recognize and embrace some elements of socialism).
- mmirate 9y ago> (and most of the western democracies besides the US will recognize and embrace some elements of socialism). Indeed. Quite unfortunate for those other democracies.
- matte_black 9y agoWhen would it be appropriate to decry socialism? If ever? I want to be ready for when that day comes.
- RubenSandwich 9y agoMy comment is not in favor of any political system, but rather wrote to showcase how the word 'socialism' seems to be used by internet trolls to destroy debate with noise.
- matte_black 9y agoWell, the question still stands.
- mmirate 9y agoErr, why do you assume that everyone with a certain opinion must be a troll?
- DanielBMarkham 9y agoI just deleted a comment I was going to make on another HN article that was basically a long political rant against the Republicans. Ugh. It's not valuable when it goes either way, and I doubt there's this huge lack of sympathy for the disaster. If anything, we all saw it coming. It's horrible. When I read these other posts I don't see people not caring, I see people quite frustrated because they do care. There's this line of debate that goes "Since I cannot argue with you on merit, I will call you heartless and rude" It's designed to shut people down without consideration for the merits of what they are saying. It kinda works sometimes. Sure enough, there are plenty of folks who are heartless and rude on the net. But when I read comments that begin with "This whole situation is so sad, because it is 100% human caused. This is not a natural disaster! Socialism does not work and it is not moral..." I nod my head. This doesn't mean I care less for the people involved. In fact, I care more. What a terrible thing to bring on yourselves for what appeared like a noble cause at first! And how many other South American countries have skated with this very disaster, most of the time coming out better than these folks did. This is a horrible disaster and I wished I could do something about it. You don't have to be a troll to point out that this has been a train wreck everybody saw coming, and the disaster continues to play out with more and more harm befalling others -- all for predictable reasons. That's not trolling. That's just where we are.
- dang 9y agoI understand the frustration but meta-decrying is no more substantive than first-order decrying.