Or perhaps it's because I appear to be the highest ranked woman here, so pretending to care about women's rights while dogging me and twisting my intent out of shape is an effective way to keep women "in their place" while pretending to be allies to women, pro women's equality, etc.

Hypothetically and theoretically standing up for the author's right to sit at the bar and acting like my remarks on HN somehow undermine her rights while dozens of comments pile on to uncreatively beat a dead horse and say the same thing to me over and over and over is a great tactic for shutting women up on HN while pretending we are all doing the opposite.

Sexism, racism and other social ills tend to be kept alive by such events while the participants believe they are part of the solution, not part of the problem.

I'm not accusing anyone of conscious, intentional malice aforethought. I'm just trying to describe a common social phenomenon.