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Comment by 12xo | Hacker News Reader

This. We created an unrealistic climate where politics is personal and not to be discussed.

Its anything but personal and it should be discussed at length whenever possible where ever possible.

The worst thing we as a society can do, is continue this idea that one should not discuss one's ideals. That's why we have so many ignorant people who find comfort in silos. They have never developed the skills necessary to think past their beliefs.

BTW: that's what a liberal education is all about. Challenging your ideals and pushing your intellectual limits. And that's a great thing for people and for humanity. Insularity breeds crazy. Always.

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I mean, when I say what I really think my comments get buried. Or just ignored.

I get called a nazi. I’m half Jewish. Incredibly insensitive of many people equating words with death.

It's more that we created a climate where academic discussion, devil's advocacy, and outright anti-human political stances are no longer tolerated in the public sphere without comment and ridicule, because we watched how they are both used to derail progress on important topics and how they provide fascists, nationalists, and racial supremacists and opportunity to find each other and organize.

I perceive the Wild West that the internet started as to be in a phase of cooling and public consumption, where that cooling is including cracking and bifurcation. Sections of society are not finding common ground and likely will not find common ground in my lifetime, but the systems we have built are tuned towards global broadcast bidirectional communication right now, not quiet conversation. It will be interesting to me to see how that changes.

People find a lot of comfort with the validation of their own ideas from others. And since that comfort translates into community, they seek out others of similar feather.

I am afraid that this behavior paired with the "personalized" algorithms are a big part of the problem. Instead of pushing people to facts and figures, new ideas and uncomfortable positions, the systems are instead designed to do the opposite. Hide those things in order to hold attention.

Remember: Attention is the currency of media.

Pair the online phenomenon with the false equivalencies created by right-wing media. That "their ignorance is the same as your knowledge", and you create our current political and social environment ripe for exploit. We now have a whole lot of people who think they're right because they find others who also think they are right.

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