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I think it’s important in that someone may read the comment above and start to think “hey, maybe that guy is on to something.” My snarky reply may remind them t
by patentatt 7y ago
I think it’s important in that someone may read the comment above and start to think “hey, maybe that guy is on to something.” My snarky reply may remind them that it’s a ridiculous proposition in the greater context. Maybe?
But I will agree, I come to hn for a higher level of discourse. And the whole comment thread doesn’t belong here. As long as it is, however, I think it’s important to rebut absurdity.
- concordDance 7y agoThe only people who will think "this guy is on to something" will be those who already agree with you. Strawmanning and mockery may silence people, but it will very rarely change their views. (Do you really think a racist who is on hackernews hasn't already read a hundred variations on your post?) Also, it would have been pretty easy to communicate your point without the mockery.
- growlist 7y agoA white master/black slave dichotomy is poorly supported by history: it's thought that enslavement goes back before recorded history, and apparently appeared almost everywhere at one time or another, and as such involved a rainbow of ethnicities at its top levels, and moreover, it still goes on today, and the people at the top are still very diverse.