Please don't take HN threads into cheap flamewar and certainly not low-information ideological battle. That's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for.

You're referring to a comment by a banned user that was blatantly trolling. Copying something like that into a live comment and making firestarter out of it is definitely not a good thing to do here! so please don't.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

It's not really helpful to take an unthinking, throw away comment, and run with debunking it. I understand the urge, but is ultimately useless.

I’m pretty sure ‘zzzeek was riffing with me, not attempting to debunk me, given their top comment.

But then again, that’s what every fool thinks!

Not cool. Please don't enhance your mood at the expense of damaging the ecosystem. I'm sure you wouldn't litter in a city park or enjoy setting fires in a dry forest. Please don't do the equivalent on HN.

im sorry, has something burned here? HN has a moderation system, ive been downmodded, the whole article was flagged, nobody will see my comments, problem solved. the immune system worked. i lit a small campfire that was summarily put out by a firehose, no threat to any forest here.

Yes, that would be the point. But I don't think you get to take credit for the firefighting!

also, there is some serious hypocrisy on the part of RP and his followers. They are libertarians. They are all in on private indivduals and companies having very little restriction on their activities, with the notion that "the free market" fixes all problems. So why is it a problem that youtube banned Ron Paul? They can do whatever they want, RP merely needs to find the correct market solution to his problem. There should not be any complaints. Yet we see these "libertarian" followers extremely upset.

there's a point here. Which is that "libertarianism" is a fiction. its adherents really want something else, which we often refer to as "freedom for me, but not for thee". they should stop.

You're making a lot of assumptions about the typical Paul fan, why? Also fallacious to take low-effort drive-by comments and apply them to a whole movement. Have an axe to grind?

Most people are dumb (ha hah) so it's easy to make such an argument.

ive been talking to libertarians all my life, nothing is really assumed here. the "drive by" comment spoke to a very real attitude on the part of "libertarians" that anything they don't like is "communist". this is pretty explicitly present in today's political dialogue. as for my commenting i think it's important that hacker news meets at least a little bit of resistance in its otherwise relentless push towards being a right wing echo chamber.

Yes, dumb people are everywhere. Sounds like you’re influenced from cable news or social media trolls, more than you realize, however.

The doc “the social dilemma” on Netflix is a good intro to the problem.

I personally don’t trust the judgment of “us vs them” overt partisans, and think the worst are suffering neuroses. I like a good fraction of Paul’s stuff. Have no need to hear it from youtube.

> Sounds like you’re influenced from cable news or social media trolls, more than you realize, however.

uh no, from the signs in my own neighborhood proclaiming everything they dont like (yet gladly receive, like medicare) as "socialist" or "communist". I live in a purple district. I have to socialize with people who someday could very easily be burning my house down if they were convinced I was in fact going to war against "their country". We are neighbors with people who are law enforcement, who proudly wear "blue lives matter" garb intermingled with weaponry and show up to Trump rallies as speakers. We go to parties and dinner with these people and have polite and shallow conversations about boating and such which end quickly and back into awkward silence. other neighbors leave their lights on all night as they are afraid of mexican gangs invading their property (we are in New York state). A church features a black lives matter display throughout their lawn, and two doors down is a house with a giant 6x8 foot flag (among many others) waving out into the road of Donald Trump as a flaming skull. it is a very uneasy peace around here. this is not a "only on TV" thing for us here. I am literally afraid to post on more "close to home" sites like Facebook lest the neighbors see them and decide that I'm "antifa" and should be targeted when the revolution is called by their orange leader.

so yes im pretty triggered when people throw out terms like "all communists should be killed" in response to something stupid like RP having his precious youtube channel banned.

It may be the media affecting them affecting you as well. But this is supposed to be a sanctuary. :smiley:

I personally know a lot of folks across the spectrum who are good people with different priorities.