Making fun of "the other side" through strawmen and irony will earn you social points among people with the same views, of course. meanwhile, people that you make fun of will think before venting their opinions the next time among you or on this platform in general.
What it will not accomplish, though, is changing anybody's minds. Just make the forum more of an echo chamber which creates an illusion of political consensus.
Do you want to leave in an illusion? Do you think that bullying people of opposite political opinions into shutting up helps your political agenda in any way? Or, may be, you're setting yourself up for another big surprise come next election?
Making fun of their self-victimization is not bullying either. Do you really think Palantir employees are a group that needs to be protected from semianonymous Internet comments?
Can we talk about it without value judgements whatsoever, please? I don't think that we'll come to terms about who's a victim, who needs protection, and so on - but most of all, I think that these questions are inconsequential and boring.
What I'm interested are the objective things that we can agree on regardless our political stances. So, I want to ask my question again: do you think that your comments help your political cause in any way?
Your original comment calls HN an echo chamber and suggests that people who work at Apple, Uber and Palantir are afraid to express their political views. That's entirely about feelings. What specifically was it that you wanted to discuss there?
Maybe it's not helpful to make a joke of it. But I honestly think it's a ridiculous notion that people with six-figure salaries and stock options are somehow being discriminated against — in a society that's built to support them at every step.
I only ask about things that matter personally to you. It's about your rational self-interest, and nobody else's. Do you want to be in an echo chamber where everybody has the same political opinion? Does it really benefit you? Does it benefit your political agenda to push out and silence your political opponents?
Your original comment talks about echo chambers and insinuates that people at Uber or Palantir "know better" than to discuss their political opinions.
Was that a good faith attempt to engage in discussion? What kind of response did you expect? How does it benefit you to come in and say the equivalent of "you all suck and wouldn't listen to me anyway"?
Yes.
> What kind of response did you expect?
Something like this.
> How does it benefit you to come in and say the equivalent of "you all suck and wouldn't listen to me anyway"?
I don't hope to change your mind. But I want to change the mind of all the people reading this thread.
Anyway, hesitating to say something is not always the best idea, maybe it ought to be said aloud while everybody hesitates.
People are social creatures, programmed to respond to approval and disapproval from others. This includes replies as well as votes. It's irrational, but that's who we are.
Now, try registering an alternative account on HN and write political comments, polite, articulated, and reasonable, from a conservative point of view. What do you think the response will be like? Will you feel encouraged to proceed, or will you feel (emphasis on "feel", as these things are emotional and not rational) that you'd rather not continue with your point of view?