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Downvotes aren't "suppression of dissenting views", they most often come from snarky and hostile comments or clearly incorrect information stated as fact. I've
by root_axis 3y ago
Downvotes aren't "suppression of dissenting views", they most often come from snarky and hostile comments or clearly incorrect information stated as fact. I've been on this site for more than a decade across different accounts and from my perspective things are mostly the same. A thoughtfully articulated comment or one that strikes a cadence of open discussion and humility is pretty much never downvoted.
- smitty1e 3y agoFigures against whom at fatwa has been pronounced, e.g. Clarence Thomas, are defended at peril.
- foogazi 3y agoI’d be interested in how someone would (care to) defend Clarence Thomas Seems like an odd pick for a “provocative or speculative” topic
- version_five 3y agoI don't know why it would come up in HN (though apparently it did though this discussion). But he has lots of supporters, your comment represents exactly the kind of narrow view people are talking about. It's not a given that everyone would hate a sitting supreme court judge, an elected politician, etc.
- pfannkuchen 3y agoI'm not sure if this is off topic, but I live under a rock and I've missed what the beef is with Thomas. As an apparent anti-Thomasite, would you mind briefly bringing me up to speed? People here are usually a little bit more level headed than the media, so I expect your opinion is likely to be more grounded than a MSM article might be (hence why I'm asking instead of Googling).
- foogazi 3y ago> As an apparent anti-Thomasite, would you I have expressed no view on Thomas. I don’t follow the supremes. Gp said they couldn’t defend him - I didn’t know he had or needed fan club I could speculate but want to give gp a chance to answer
- pfannkuchen 3y agoOh I misread, I thought you were saying that you didn't think anyone sensible could possibly defend him given what he has said/done. Carry on!
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- quantified 3y agoIt quite depends. A review of downvoting I've been part of includes "I don't like your view" and "you're demonstrably wrong" together. I appreciate the "you're demonstrably wrong" commentary, which downvoting doesn't provide.
- lowmagnet 3y agoI think a lot of us are used to the "bullshit asymmetry principle" and would rather disengage than engage in a handful of fruitless and repeated arguments.
- pfannkuchen 3y agoI believe that principle only holds when the "bullshit" generation is tactical, as opposed to stemming from either confusion, a different sampling of existing facts, or different values. It seems against the spirit of HN to assume the first option?