HN is a house built out of Chesterton's Fence, this is an old algorithm newly multiplying in the wild.
This is not to the mods, this is for users to think about. Even if you avoid the active list, when a front page item goes there it will also go toxic. /active doesn't contain users like shadowban.
Much like a CEO who only cares about next quarters profits and violating the companies mission statement to do it, you want the short term benefits of indulged curiosity, without paying the price of the coercive defense of it.
From a Kantian philosophical point of view, your statement is self contradictory, if the maxim is applied that everyone who values curiosity chooses to ignore or be neutral towards attacks on curious places (such as universities), then curious places will seek to exist as they are submitted to authority based truth rather than reason based truth.
There is no freedom or curiosity without solidarity, material support, of those who share the same values.
In times of peace I would agree with you, but a war has been declared on the disobedient and curiosity is disobedience to authority.