We may each be a part of HN but that doesn't mean we can't criticize what we perceive to be the gestalt of HN. It's like saying "<Insert Community / Country /

We may each be a part of HN but that doesn't mean we can't criticize what we perceive to be the gestalt of HN. It's like saying "<Insert Community / Country / Organization Name>, goddammit!" I personally don't mean that I'm better than everyone in said community, but that I'm disappointed with the prevailing sentiment, and so feel the need to signal my separation on the issue. It's shorthand "I don't identify with <Community> on <Issue X>". People do indeed abuse this rhetoric to feel superior to others, e.g., "Reddit is a hivemind!". But on issues where the community clearly falls prey to its biases, a little snark now should remind us to avoid those collective pitfalls in the future.