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Comment by sosuke | Hacker News Reader

The negativity is disappointing. Anyone who shows interest in development, even those that don't code, should be encouraged as we wish to be encouraged. When we see products launched here on HN they are sometimes developed by other people than the heads of those companies. Do you attack them as well? A familiar one would be Digg. If someone had an idea for an autism app but not the skill and paid for its development would you be negative about it as well?

Yes I'm ranting, the older discussion linked herein was really ugly.

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Heh, I think it was ugly because of who the man was, not because he has an interest in development. Related, most upvoted comment on Medium:

> It’s amazing what people can do when they’re not being tortured to death!

> The negativity is disappointing.

You do know what kind of negative things Mr. Rumsfeld is guilty of, right? I do not think one could be blamed for feeling _ashamed_ that such a horrific man has entered the field with which those of us here are all so deeply engaged.

But what do the two have to do with each other? It's one thing if the guy is brushing elbows with you in the office every day, but this is nothing like that. He took an interest in the field and tried his hand. His past actions are irrelevant in this aspect.

Apparently to many of us here his past action are not irrelevant. It's an interesting discussion as to why this may or may not be the case, but it's clearly not a given.

I would blame no one for being ashamed of someone they don't like claiming a the same identity as themselves. I'm not immune from that feeling and I don't like to be set into a group I don't agree with based on a passion we both share. In that way I try not to group people for blame by their passion and I don't want others to do so for me.

He has developed an app and is in a position of influence. With that I hope the understanding of how our world works may permeate into areas we've been unable to reach yet. When you learn the logic processes of computing I find it quickly becomes applied to other areas of life. The more logic the world has the better I think.

I'm feeling very optimistic today I guess.

There's nothing horrific about Donald Rumsfeld. He was Secretary of Defense. Was he more horrific than any other Secretary of Defense? War is horrific. So is Leftist bias.

I guarded detainees in Afghanistan for a small stint. I can say with confidence that within the scope of war, there are actions that are more horrific than others.

Having to stare into the face of a man who killed your friend a week ago is mentally taxing. The natural urge to take the butt of my rifle to his chin was nearly over-whelming, but what separates me from horrific people is that in those trying times, I still treated him like a human being.

What does breaking his jaw achieve? My friend is dead. No amount of torture would ever bring him back. All I would get in return is a piece my humanity ripped from my soul as I watched a defenseless man writhe in pain. Congrats, self. Do you feel vindicated?

War damn sure is horrific, but it doesn't have to be barbaric.

You nearly brought me to tears. /hug

I'd hope to have that strength had I been in your position.

I sincerely hope that you are never put into a similar position, and I really appreciate your compassion.

Well, he's probably one of the worst in recent memory. It will be many, many years before the fallout from the Iraq invasion fades.

Rumsfeld's career is the stuff of Trotsky's wildest dreams, so yeah, I guess you're right.

For an apparent Objectivist, you have a very poor understanding of Rand's ideas towards intellectual honesty, and her respect for the US Constitution. Rumsfeld made a career out of flagrantly attacking these two virtues. Rand would have foamed at the mouth if she were alive for Rumsfeld's many lies.

You don't have to be a Marxist to know that Donald Rumsfeld is an immoral man and a war criminal, who was directly implicated in the torture of innocent civilians of the United States and other allied nations. You ought to read OPAR and IOE a bit closer, next time. You also may want to read a newspaper that isn't owned by Rupert Murdock.

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