4 ms·

Don't really care much about this election since I'm not a US citizen, but I decided to check out Bluesky as the results were coming in and it confirmed my long

by bakugo 2y ago

Don't really care much about this election since I'm not a US citizen, but I decided to check out Bluesky as the results were coming in and it confirmed my long-time suspicion that roughly 99% of its users are far left American political activists. Literally the entire discovery feed was post after post of said activists apparently suffering from legitimate mental breakdowns as if the entire world was crumbling around them.

irusensei 2y ago
[dead]
bogle 2y ago
Hold that thought. HN Commentators, feel free to correct me if I've mis-read the room, but I think there are very few here who do not realise that Trump's presidency will go poorly for the USA and the rest of the world's democracies.
- cmrdporcupine 2y ago
  I think in fact you'll find there's been a huge rightward shift in the tech sector in the US and HN reflects that.
  - Tainnor 2y ago
    800 VCs backed Kamala Harris. There has been some rightward shift, yes, but probably not enough to offset the general vibe.
    - cmrdporcupine 2y ago
      Should be interesting to see how those folks are treated by the Musk-Vance-Thiel axis that just took power in the Whitehouse.
  - maxehmookau 2y ago
    The rightward shift in the tech sector seems to only apply to executives. ICs seem to be as lefty as they always have been.
    - cmrdporcupine 2y ago
      Wish I could agree. I've seen a marked shift in tone. What I'd say is that there is a significant number of "libertarians" whose "liberty" veneer is scratching off and the authoritarian conservative body underneath is starting to show through, as it always does. Also, most "lefty" US tech workers are "lefty" only on social/cultural issues -- and would not be broadly in favour of socialist or social democratic economic policy... which I guess describes Democrats in the US generally.
      - maxehmookau 2y ago
        This is probably partially cultural. My experience is with the UK admittedly.
  - sumo89 2y ago
    Absolutely. This comment section shows it as good as any. HN used to be about intellectual curiosity, now you get people complaining about pronouns.
- bakugo 2y ago
  Yes, yes, we know. Democracy is over, America is doomed, he's going to start a nuclear war and kill us all, etc. That's what you all said the last time he was elected.
  - bogle 2y ago
    Your hyperbole aside, you imply that his last term was good, rather than poor. I'm asking about HN's collective opinion, which you've contributed to, thank you, but not, perhaps, in the way you thought you were.
- ur-whale 2y ago
  > there are very few here who do not realise Double negatives ought to be illegal, they make muh head hurt
arp242 2y ago
Which is not really very strange, or unreasonable. I felt this was a fairly good article on that: https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/liberal-tears https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/liberal-tear...
- steve_adams_86 2y ago
  That seems very astute to me. As a Canadian I’m not having a breakdown, but the turmoil and conflict in the USA is seriously troubling. I would hate to be immersed in it.
  - arp242 2y ago
    I'm in Europe so I'm not having an "identity crisis" either. My views on the US have long been somewhat mixed, but there's definitely a "I thought you were better than that" feeling. Our friendship with the US was always a bit mixed and there were ups and downs, but this feels like a "I don't know if I can ever trust you again" moment. Or at least, it will take a long time to rebuild the trust. Basically this: "A Trump victory will be akin to the moment in an unhappy marriage where the spouses are arguing again and one hauls off and hits the other. It might not mean that the marriage is over—but it’ll never be the same. Both partners will have learned something hard about what one is capable of and that will inform their future interactions forever."
    - steve_adams_86 2y ago
      Absolutely. I think this is a reasonable take. I think I knew America was already capable of it and it was a matter of when, not if, something bad would happen. But we’re certainly past the threshold now. For what it’s worth, I have a feeling Canada will elect a questionable conservative next year as well. North America is trending this way. Young men are more conservative than I’ve seen in my lifetime. Things are getting worse in various ways. People are going to vote for a significant change, I think. No other party offers anything of the sort.
- carapace 2y ago
  This. It feels like USA just lost the Cold War. > Tens of millions of people are going to wake up [this morning] to find that they don’t live in the country they thought they did. Liberals, classical and otherwise, will discover overnight that they’re now outnumbered by a coalition of earnest fascists, partisan Republicans who’ll rationalize literally anything, and millions upon millions of less tribal voters who don’t care how corrupt Trump is or which laws he breaks or whether he overturns elections or not so long as they get the results on their pet issues that they’re hoping for. > That’s an identity crisis. A big one. And a lot of people are going to be having it at the same time.
remram 2y ago
What's "far left"? Communism?

by bakugo 2y ago

irusensei 2y ago

[dead]

bogle 2y ago

Hold that thought. HN Commentators, feel free to correct me if I've mis-read the room, but I think there are very few here who do not realise that Trump's presidency will go poorly for the USA and the rest of the world's democracies.

cmrdporcupine 2y ago
I think in fact you'll find there's been a huge rightward shift in the tech sector in the US and HN reflects that.
- Tainnor 2y ago
  800 VCs backed Kamala Harris. There has been some rightward shift, yes, but probably not enough to offset the general vibe.
  - cmrdporcupine 2y ago
    Should be interesting to see how those folks are treated by the Musk-Vance-Thiel axis that just took power in the Whitehouse.
- maxehmookau 2y ago
  The rightward shift in the tech sector seems to only apply to executives. ICs seem to be as lefty as they always have been.
  - cmrdporcupine 2y ago
    Wish I could agree. I've seen a marked shift in tone. What I'd say is that there is a significant number of "libertarians" whose "liberty" veneer is scratching off and the authoritarian conservative body underneath is starting to show through, as it always does. Also, most "lefty" US tech workers are "lefty" only on social/cultural issues -- and would not be broadly in favour of socialist or social democratic economic policy... which I guess describes Democrats in the US generally.
    - maxehmookau 2y ago
      This is probably partially cultural. My experience is with the UK admittedly.
- sumo89 2y ago
  Absolutely. This comment section shows it as good as any. HN used to be about intellectual curiosity, now you get people complaining about pronouns.
bakugo 2y ago
Yes, yes, we know. Democracy is over, America is doomed, he's going to start a nuclear war and kill us all, etc. That's what you all said the last time he was elected.
- bogle 2y ago
  Your hyperbole aside, you imply that his last term was good, rather than poor. I'm asking about HN's collective opinion, which you've contributed to, thank you, but not, perhaps, in the way you thought you were.
ur-whale 2y ago
> there are very few here who do not realise Double negatives ought to be illegal, they make muh head hurt

arp242 2y ago

Which is not really very strange, or unreasonable. I felt this was a fairly good article on that: https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/liberal-tears https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/liberal-tear...

steve_adams_86 2y ago
That seems very astute to me. As a Canadian I’m not having a breakdown, but the turmoil and conflict in the USA is seriously troubling. I would hate to be immersed in it.
- arp242 2y ago
  I'm in Europe so I'm not having an "identity crisis" either. My views on the US have long been somewhat mixed, but there's definitely a "I thought you were better than that" feeling. Our friendship with the US was always a bit mixed and there were ups and downs, but this feels like a "I don't know if I can ever trust you again" moment. Or at least, it will take a long time to rebuild the trust. Basically this: "A Trump victory will be akin to the moment in an unhappy marriage where the spouses are arguing again and one hauls off and hits the other. It might not mean that the marriage is over—but it’ll never be the same. Both partners will have learned something hard about what one is capable of and that will inform their future interactions forever."
  - steve_adams_86 2y ago
    Absolutely. I think this is a reasonable take. I think I knew America was already capable of it and it was a matter of when, not if, something bad would happen. But we’re certainly past the threshold now. For what it’s worth, I have a feeling Canada will elect a questionable conservative next year as well. North America is trending this way. Young men are more conservative than I’ve seen in my lifetime. Things are getting worse in various ways. People are going to vote for a significant change, I think. No other party offers anything of the sort.
carapace 2y ago
This. It feels like USA just lost the Cold War. > Tens of millions of people are going to wake up [this morning] to find that they don’t live in the country they thought they did. Liberals, classical and otherwise, will discover overnight that they’re now outnumbered by a coalition of earnest fascists, partisan Republicans who’ll rationalize literally anything, and millions upon millions of less tribal voters who don’t care how corrupt Trump is or which laws he breaks or whether he overturns elections or not so long as they get the results on their pet issues that they’re hoping for. > That’s an identity crisis. A big one. And a lot of people are going to be having it at the same time.

remram 2y ago

What's "far left"? Communism?