There's a lot of creepos out there in the industry, Brian.
There's a lot of creeps everywhere, not just in industry.
However, they are very well outnumbered by the indifferent and the good.
I wouldn't be surprised if there were a president being elected in the US ;) I'm not saying that one party is posting in HN, but the awareness they raised probably triggered some people's mood. It's a topic which gets a lot of traction easily and I've personally noticed a more intense activity of my Facebook since 2013.