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Comment by jackmott | Hacker News Reader

We perceive if differently because its being used by evil people now, for the love of science.

Are you a shill? you sound like a shill. The world is burning and you are harping on some edge point about "Obama did it too"

fuck I hate this place.

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Please don't accuse others of shilling. We have much more of a shillaccusation problem on Hacker News than actual shillage.

The world isn't burning. The opposing party won this election cycle and is using the power it was granted to mold the nation to their view of how our society should look. It's a peaceful transfer of power and a modern miracle, as these things typically were accomplished with blood and fire throughout most of human history.

In 2-4-6-8 years we will have te opportunity to peacefully transfer power back to another group that has a vision closer to yours. Assuming the majority of regions within our union agree with you.

If that's not a system you can live with, fight for a weaker federal government and stronger state rights.

I think you're overly optimistic about things being peaceful. America is more politically polarized than ever, and becoming even more so every day. I fully expect shit to hit the fan soon. There is, after all, historical precedent for it.

It's not an "edge point". One can discuss the inherent moral goodness or lack thereof of using a certain tool, whereas you seem to subscribe to the view that something is bad if "evil people" use it and not otherwise. With similar train of thought one may argue that nuclear weapons are good for the US to have but not for an evil empire such as the USSR (actual argument that was used by people), or a gun is bad when it's used by a criminal but good when used by someone in self-defense.

You see that in these cases one can discuss the merits of the application but also argue about the whole ban of the tool itself, irregardless of who's using it.

Also if you hate HN noone is forcing you to be here.

A tool cannot have inherent moral goodness or lack it. A tool is inanimate. It is amoral. By itself it does nothing. Only humans can put tools to uses that may be good or bad for other humans. Morality does not exist outside of human perception.

> A tool cannot have inherent moral goodness or lack it.

I disagree. A registry of Muslim/Jewish/... people is a tool with inherent discrimination, which has next to no known good use for society. Only for evil.

The tool would be a database, the use is a registry. Also, have you never heard of a census?

> Also, have you never heard of a census?

In a proper census you do not collect proven-sensitive information together with identifiable information, that's the difference.

A database with a direct link between identity and religion can only be used for nefarious purposes.

They mentioned the census as a use of database (tool) that is not immoral not as being equivalent to a Muslim/Jewish registry. You seem to be missing their point

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