Comment by popalchemist

Comment by popalchemist 4 days ago

I sympathize, and the attitude may be annoying, but you've got to realize you can not bury your head in the sand about the global rise in fascism, nor the fact that what happens in America affects the entire world. Imagine if you were to transfer your comment back to WWII era, perhaps you're French and you're saying that you're tired of hearing about this little kerfuffle between Germany and Austria... well, clearly the disinterest did not pay off.

defrost 4 days ago

I read their comment and at no point did I get the impression they were burying their head in the sand.

They explicitly stated they knew where to read / hear about US politics and did not see the need to have that news domain echoed across every forum.

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popalchemist 4 days ago

They may be aware of it, but others who frequent this particular forum may have HN as THEIR source. When someone like the above commenter tries to gatekeep areas where discussion, particularly of things like fascism or other forms of oppression, takes place, it only serves and furthers the goals of the oppressor. There is no domain of life which is not intrinsically political. When we act like there is -- such as when we pretend politics should be off the table for discussion -- we are simply ceding ground, casting away our part in the story, and abdicating our responsibility to take that part seriously.

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- bigstrat2003 4 days ago
  
  > There is no domain of life which is not intrinsically political.
  There are a great many such domains, and the insistence that everything is political is one of the chief problems with modern society. We can, and should, be able to enjoy some things together without bringing up bickering and strife. If you drag politics into a politics free zone you aren't taking responsibility for anything, you are just being a jerk.
  
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  popalchemist 3 days ago
  
  Whatever domain you think is apolitical is political because bad politics can happen anywhere and ruin the thing you love.
  Get it? Bad people in power = you don't get to do the things you love, at some point.
  
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- 72deluxe 4 days ago
  
  Do you also believe you should discuss every other topic under the sun in the belief that not discussing it is "ceding ground" to a viewpoint or action of others?
  It would seem that in your view, we should be discussing all things at all times due to this "oppressor" mindset.
  This simply cannot be true.
  
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  popalchemist 3 days ago
  
  You're clearly being facetious. I will simply say that the rise of Naziism/Authoritarianism in the west is a preeminent threat to all human beings on the planet, especially when the king of all nazis has access to the nuclear missiles. It obviously demands a sense of urgency that other topics don't.
  If you disagree with that, be explicit about exactly what part.
  
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gyanchawdhary 4 days ago

“global rise in fascism” implies a baseline ... when was fascism declining exactly? curious what point you're measuring this rise from

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alamortsubite 4 days ago

GP hinted at that if you read the rest of their comment, but it took a serious nose-dive during the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, and kinda petered out with Franco.

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- gyanchawdhary 4 days ago
  
  That’s not an answer, it’s historical hand waving .. "global rise in fascism" it seems .. lol
  
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amanaplanacanal 4 days ago

If you are really interested in data, you might check out the Freedom House website. They have been rating countries around the world on things like free elections and civil rights since 1973, and their take is that things have been going downhill since about 2006, with countries becoming more autocratic.

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- gyanchawdhary 3 days ago
  
  Interesting. They seem to be a D.C based NGO .. but i'll check them out.
  
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