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10 years ago, I would think to myself "Man, it feels like we're headed for a civil war"; but, I didn't say anything as I wrote it off to being too focused on th
by kerneloftruth 5y ago
10 years ago, I would think to myself "Man, it feels like we're headed for a civil war"; but, I didn't say anything as I wrote it off to being too focused on the present-term context. I compared the times to the 1960s, when there was a lot of unrest and division. 5 years ago, though, things seemed even worse, and I began wondering out loud if we're headed for civil war.
Now, I think we're closer than ever to a real split. Covid has exacerbated it all. People are self-sorting in terms of migrations from blue states to red states, and from cities to suburbs and rural areas.
This summer, and the elections in November, could be flashpoints of something larger and worse -- I hope we can hold it together.
As for HN toxicity -- beware items whose number of comments exceeds the votes for the article itself; it's a rough metric for how big the flames are.
- coding123 5y agoThe thing that gets scarier about that - is that in the past I am guessing a "civil war" was probably not possible because you don't know what side anyone is really on. Everyone from every political background lives everywhere. Your neighbors. But what happens when half of everyone wears a mask and the other half does not?
- newsbinator 5y agoNot sure about the political and USA-centric part of this, but "People are self-sorting" really hits hard. I feel like people on Reddit, and to a lesser extent on HN, are trying now, more than ever before, to label and sort themselves into "us" and "them". Commenting on a post didn't used to require as a compulsory first step announcing which "us" you belong to. In a nutshell: us = rational and fact-based them = irrational and emotion-based All sides think they're "us" and that other sides are "them".