The most polite spin I can put on the cheering of these sorts of techniques, is that too many Hacker News members lack sufficient historical awareness to realiz

The most polite spin I can put on the cheering of these sorts of techniques, is that too many Hacker News members lack sufficient historical awareness to realize that these tactics are reminiscent of the public humiliation and crowd intimidation techniques employed by Italy's blackshirts in the 30s. There are reasons why we have rule of law and courts. There are reasons why it is not acceptable for one group to retaliate against another group, no matter how strongly they may feel they are in the right.