You can definitely be downvoted for ideas here. Comments that go significantly against the political norms of the site seem particularly prone to this.
I think a thoughtful and compassionate but unfavored argument here will not be downvoted to death.
That is a higher standard than what the accepted political stances face. But it feels better than what is achieved in any other place.
Agree, but notably, the political norms of the site are not distinctively left or right wing. There are any number of opinions that will get you downvoted here (unless your comment flies under the radar), and it really does not matter how thoughtful you are about it.
Example 1 (right wing): opposing gay marriage or abortion rights, opposing taxes, support for Donald Trump
Example 2 (left wing): anti-capitalist views, arguing that Richard Stallman should be removed, general anti-startup culture sentiment, (usually) opposing Elon Musk / Tesla
Example 3 (which side gets downvoted depends on who's awake): your opinion of Brandon Eich, universal basic income, your opinion of Apple (particularly socio-economic), unions
It's really not that surprising; the median Hacker News user is a white American man, wealthier and younger than average, with moderate liberal political views that skew libertarian on social issues. That's a "norm" of discourse even if it doesn't fit perfectly on the American Republican / Democrat spectrum.
I doubt this is very true. Last I checked from what dang said less than 10% of HN comes from Silicon Valley and it has an increasingly global presence. Secondarily, your use of race, age, and gender are antithetical to good analysis. These categories are not monoliths and it's insulting to refer to them as such. The way you categorized the politics of this site even seem out of touch from my experience.