In the words of MLK:
> Hate cannot drown out hate, only love can do that.
Please don't get me wrong — I wasn't trying to excuse my wording; I was just trying to explain that I don't mean to create a flamewar or bitter argument. My comments are a genuine expression of my thinking, and I'm not trying to make HN a place for ideological battle. I suppose these discussions just naturally veer into that sort of back-and-forth.
I hope that makes sense.
That's unfortunately how human communication works, especially online, and it takes a conscious (and considerable) effort to learn to do otherwise. It's not easy! We're all working on it, including me. Unfortunately, when the topic is divisive and activating, the rapid-fire, low-information nature of internet comments causes threads like this to compound extremely quickly into an all-out war.
As you can see here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25843540, I do try to reach out where the opportunity is available, even with those I might disagree with.
--
It seems you think this issue is particularly inflammatory to me (and others) because of "nationalistic interests," but for me it's much more about friendships. I have a group of Falun Gong practicing friends in Amsterdam, my math tutor was Taiwanese and had family who disappeared on the mainland, and I know a lot of people who were lucky enough to get out of China, including a very good family friend.
On the other hand, an opthamologist who almost treated me and whose clinic I regularly visit stepped down after being ousted as a member of the Thousand Talents Program (see https://timesofsandiego.com/education/2019/07/08/ucsd-doctor...).
--
With respect, I do think there is a lot of gaslighting in this thread (from my side as well, perhaps).
I'll refrain from posting such things in the future.