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Comment by swarnie | Hacker News Reader

Speak out against what exactly?

Defence is one of the most vital sectors in a countries continued existence, coming just after food and water.

There is something of a paradox that I feel exist, at least in the US, with regards to the defense sector. I don’t agree with its ethics or morals as they exists in the country, but I’m curious how others reconcile their privileges in comparison to other regions with the fact that said privileges can be attributed to the US’s tremendous military scale domestically and globally.

One could even argue that defense even precedes food and water at this stage also.

Exactly. The only reason so many Western countries are able to spend so little on defense without being conquered is that the US is spending enough to pick up all of their slack at once.

The screenshot of the DoD recruitment pitch from the conference set off a little "military-industrial complex alarm" in my mind. To be clear, I wouldn't have tagged the guy in a mean tweet. I would have just frowned and gone on with my day. But I think it's crucial that the voices of people like this blogger be present in tech communities.

I can't help but think "glass houses"

Imo its more acceptable and moral to work in the defence of your nation than to design increasingly intrusive data harvesting / advertising machines.

But as ever there isn't a correct answer and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I think it should be okay to complain about both without being fired for it.

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