Comment by oraphalous | Hacker News Reader

Comment by oraphalous | Hacker News Reader

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>There is no feasible way to separate politics from everyday life.

I got up early this morning to look at the fog that had rolled across the city. Politicise that.

> and leaving "politics to those who knows about it" isn't really viable.

Viability is relevant to desired outcomes. What outcome do you desire? Is that outcome a political reality? Given you believe everything is politics anyway - we can safely assume yes to that question. Of course - you're going to want YOUR political outcome and for these leaders to represent your political beliefs. So - really I find it hard to believe you really want anything other than an opportunistic desire to leverage platforms to achieve your desired political outcomes. And for you to achieve that - of course you have to first successfully politicise those platforms.

Some of us - on the other hand - believe that the fewer the vectors of political co-ercion there are - the better. And also - we'd like to get some engineering done among other things - which is harder when things are politically co-opted. Making everything political detracts from quality work generally.

edit: Just to add, I'm not arguing that people shouldn't be politically active. Just because I don't want to talk about how woke a particular pull request might be - doesn't mean I won't take to the streets to demonstrate against some injustice that I oppose.

>I got up early this morning to look at the fog that had rolled across the city. Politicise that.

"Meanwhile, those in power went on their business as usual, and I was letting them, sending a signal that I'm ok with that, or at least that I wont stand in their way".

That is just absurd, not every hour of every day can be spent in resistance of things you don't like. I doubt you were actively resisting the powers that be while you were sleeping last night, does that mean you were sending them a signal that you're perfectly happy with the way things are?

>That is just absurd, not every hour of every day can be spent in resistance of things you don't like.

No, but many hours can. If those aren't, appreciating nature (or gardening or whatever) instead, has political implications...

As someone quoted, "You might not care for politics, but politics cares for you".

True, those who don't want to do politics will still have politics done to them. But...

> No, but many hours can. If those aren't, appreciating nature (or gardening or whatever) instead, has political implications...

Sure. But also, spending time on politics has gardening implications. What is your basis for deciding that politics should be the thing that wins? Further, what is your basis for saying that politics should be the thing that wins for my use of time? I'll be involved in politics when I think the issues are important enough, and not otherwise, you got a problem with that?

I don't want politics to dominate my life, my time, and my mind. I deny you the right to tell me that it should.

> I got up early this morning to look at the fog that had rolled across the city. Politicise that.

If you have been in Seoul or Beijing, this sentence automatically politicises itself. Not fog but smoke though.

Lol - I wrote that expecting the flimsiest of retorts to roll in - knowing they would be good for a laugh.

I mean - it doesn't even achieve what it's aiming for. I haven't been in either of those two cities - so by your own logic, my statement isn't political.

And either way - it can't be true that my statement would politicise itself. Statements just represent states of the world. It is humans and their beliefs that politicise them. No statement can politicise itself.

BUT EVEN IF THEY COULD...lol - this just gets better... You just got done saying that my being in another city is what is somehow causally related to the politicisation.

Your response is so far from being an intelligible thought... you need to tear it all down and start again. Go slow... maybe test it out on a family member first. Workshop it.

> ... by your own logic, my statement isn't political.

No. NOT P does not necessarily imply NOT Q.

> it can't be true that my statement would politicise itself.

Environments matter. That's why I pointed out those two cities, where your statement can deliver totally different meaning and depth, and cause totally different consequences. Does that make any sense to you?

> Your response is so far from being an intelligible thought... you need to tear it all down and start again. Go slow... maybe test it out on a family member first. Workshop it.

Thanks for the feedback.

> I got up early this morning to look at the fog that had rolled across the city. Politicise that.

What are you doing to ensure that in 10 or 20 years time other people will be able to do the same? Your ability to look at the fog rolling across the city is the result of a finely balanced set of climatic factors. If it's something you cherish, it is something you should think about preserving.

> Some of us - on the other hand - believe that the fewer the vectors of political co-ercion there are - the better.

But you're happy to do nothing, other than hope that technology will fix it.

... Clearly I'm exaggerating to make a point, and I know nothing about your political beliefs, but I hope you understand the point that I'm making.

> What are you doing to ensure that in 10 or 20 years time other people will be able to do the same? Your ability to look at the fog rolling across the city is the result of a finely balanced set of climatic factors. If it's something you cherish, it is something you should think about preserving.

This is an ideology. People don't think this way, most of us just enjoy the view.

> This is an ideology.

Well, the first part is science. The desire to preserve it for others may be an ideology. It certainly requires political action.

Read my edit in my post above... you are completely missing the point.

I'm not missing your point; I was responding to your challenge.

The point is that if you wish to continue the activity you enjoy, you may well need to be politically engaged.

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