It's not trying to be disingenuous. I ran a cycling forum and thought it could be without politics, but cyclists died in road traffic incident in London that t

It's not trying to be disingenuous. I ran a cycling forum and thought it could be without politics, but cyclists died in road traffic incident in London that turned out to be predominantly female cyclists due to heavy goods vehicles, and over time I had to relent... it is policies that shape the city planning, the construction industry regulations (trucks with significant blind spots)... and that these deaths were preventable, people were right to be angry, and that a cycling forum couldn't exist without a political element. I ran a music forum and thought it could be without politics, but music is art and art reflects the feelings of those on council estates and in poverty, with hard backgrounds, and addictions. They are shaped by their environment and through the art attempt to document and also shape those environments. Even for a mostly apolitical band a single song touched upon rape and opened the door to debates on rape culture and the low prosecution rate and the even lower reporting rate. A music forum that tried it's best to avoid politics couldn't exist without a political element. And here on hacker news, that new app that is in the YC batch that allows someone to sofa surf... that's political but you just didn't know it at the time. AirBnB and so many other companies, apps, tools... have leveraged the gaps in local policies and law to fuel their margins and stock value. It is very difficult to say that even this site could exist without a political element when a lot of the technology and companies that have come about it impact so many people globally in ways that only political and legal tools can protect. I don't really believe this site can exist without a political element. The only question (IMHO) is whether those discussions can be conducted civilly, with respect and openness, non-adversarially, and with empathy as much as possible.