I know I am stating the obvious, but it's up there because enough HN users thought it was important enough. (my best guess would be misplaced national pride) I

I know I am stating the obvious, but it's up there because enough HN users thought it was important enough. (my best guess would be misplaced national pride) If enough users find a submission objectionable enough to flag it, it will be killed automatically. Flagging, though not as gratifying, is faster, easier, and usually more effective than submitting a comment complaining about a submission. If your karma is lower than the flagging-allowed threshold, karma-whoring is easy.