HN is heavily moderated with strict posting rules, as far as "safe space"... Eh as long as you maintain a level of respectful discourse I never found that you can't comment on social or political issues due to fear of Dang or any other mod (I'm not sure how many are there) interfering in the discussion.

The community itself is another issue but even that isn't as clear cut as it seems if you look at any of the more political topics that are being posted.

In general HN isn't the place you go to discuss politics, social issues or current events some posts are allowed when it's in the public's interest or they are relevant to the wider tech industry but that's about it.

I always turn on "Show Dead" and on controversial topics, go to the bottom first.

This thread (along with all COVID threads) are weighted to sink very quickly. So you won't see them often, but when you do, there's a treasure of diversity of information and viewpoints. The best threads are the ones that start with a greyed out comment.