4 ms·

I imagine many people have a specific phenomenon in mind which they will avoid mentioning because it's considered impolite and impolitic.

by Veen 4y ago

maxbond 4y ago
Either it is a real issue, in which case, we should have a discussion about it. Or it is not a real issue, in which case, it is not worth vagueposting about. Taking the most charitable interpretation, this creates cover for dog whistling while not adding to the conversation. The other possibility is that it is dog whistling in order to promote bigotry.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  So either discuss it directly and be a bigot, talk around it and be a bigot, or silence all discussion about it and be a hero.
  - maxbond 4y ago
    There's no heroes and no villains here, but if someone has got something bigoted to say, then they should dispose of their waste or surrender the restroom. It doesn't make it any more or less bigoted to be circumspect, it only makes it difficulty to have a proper discussion. If they believe what they have to say isn't bigoted, they should take courage in their convictions and speak their mind. If they're punished in a way that's unfair, then that's something with bringing to the community's attention. If they don't actually have confidence in their convictions, maybe their ideas need some more time to develop before they're comfortable sharing them (and maybe the reason they're uncomfortable is that there's a problem). I'm not trying to silence anyone, when people vaguepost, clearly there's something on their mind, and I'm inviting them to express it. Do you think that's an unfair position for me to take? What I see is that they did say what was on their mind, we had a substantive discussion, no one got flagged, no one got banned, their comment isn't even gray. The reports of HN being hostile to this discussion are greatly overstated.

4 ms·

I imagine many people have a specific phenomenon in mind which they will avoid mentioning because it's considered impolite and impolitic.

by Veen 4y ago

I imagine many people have a specific phenomenon in mind which they will avoid mentioning because it's considered impolite and impolitic.

maxbond 4y ago
Either it is a real issue, in which case, we should have a discussion about it. Or it is not a real issue, in which case, it is not worth vagueposting about. Taking the most charitable interpretation, this creates cover for dog whistling while not adding to the conversation. The other possibility is that it is dog whistling in order to promote bigotry.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  So either discuss it directly and be a bigot, talk around it and be a bigot, or silence all discussion about it and be a hero.
  - maxbond 4y ago
    There's no heroes and no villains here, but if someone has got something bigoted to say, then they should dispose of their waste or surrender the restroom. It doesn't make it any more or less bigoted to be circumspect, it only makes it difficulty to have a proper discussion. If they believe what they have to say isn't bigoted, they should take courage in their convictions and speak their mind. If they're punished in a way that's unfair, then that's something with bringing to the community's attention. If they don't actually have confidence in their convictions, maybe their ideas need some more time to develop before they're comfortable sharing them (and maybe the reason they're uncomfortable is that there's a problem). I'm not trying to silence anyone, when people vaguepost, clearly there's something on their mind, and I'm inviting them to express it. Do you think that's an unfair position for me to take? What I see is that they did say what was on their mind, we had a substantive discussion, no one got flagged, no one got banned, their comment isn't even gray. The reports of HN being hostile to this discussion are greatly overstated.