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Seeing this post made me very happy, actually. I've commented before about my perspective in the NSA and doing government work, but immediately get showered wi

Seeing this post made me very happy, actually. I've commented before about my perspective in the NSA and doing government work, but immediately get showered with downvotes because I have a point of view that differs from what other people have been rallying towards. I don't understand the motivation behind preventing discussion of actual facts or interesting points of view. If 11 year old BBS-hacking NSA-conspiracy-fearing me had an opportunity to talk to and ask questions of former NSA analyst/programmer me, I would definitely have come up with a better discussion than the HN community. At least my upvote will counter at least one close-minded person.

k__ 13y ago
What's the deal with everybody always taking sides?! NSA AND Russia are bad. There is nothing good in spying on people OR outlawing gays...
- userulluipeste 13y ago
  Not only individual people take sides, organizations and governments take too. For how I see it, NSA is bashed because it took a side against the most of us. Russia on the other hand, gets its "hurray" because it opposes the one that is against us right now. It's not necessarily taking a side and sticking with it as a partisan, it is just condemning or recognizing one's merit when it's the case, simple.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
lotsofcows 13y ago
Have a different opinion to you is not close-minded. Being unwilling to discuss ones opinion sensibly, eg labelling those whose opinions differ to yours as "close-minded", is close-minded.
- bazillion 13y ago
  Please re-read what I wrote and what I responded to. It was a post which was being downmodded because people didn't agree with his opinion, and I was opposing those who were suppressing his opinion. As in, those that were downmodding rather than supplying discussion content were close-minded. This isn't supposed to be reddit, where people downmod something because it is an opinion that they don't agree with.

k__ 13y ago

What's the deal with everybody always taking sides?! NSA AND Russia are bad. There is nothing good in spying on people OR outlawing gays...

userulluipeste 13y ago
Not only individual people take sides, organizations and governments take too. For how I see it, NSA is bashed because it took a side against the most of us. Russia on the other hand, gets its "hurray" because it opposes the one that is against us right now. It's not necessarily taking a side and sticking with it as a partisan, it is just condemning or recognizing one's merit when it's the case, simple.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

lotsofcows 13y ago

Have a different opinion to you is not close-minded. Being unwilling to discuss ones opinion sensibly, eg labelling those whose opinions differ to yours as "close-minded", is close-minded.

bazillion 13y ago
Please re-read what I wrote and what I responded to. It was a post which was being downmodded because people didn't agree with his opinion, and I was opposing those who were suppressing his opinion. As in, those that were downmodding rather than supplying discussion content were close-minded. This isn't supposed to be reddit, where people downmod something because it is an opinion that they don't agree with.