Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, or celebrities, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
The definition of "interesting new phenomenon" has room for variance in interpretation, but the sentence following really scopes that down.
So, yes, participation is optional; however, if moderation can't keep it under control, HN will suffer, badly.
If you believe they aren't doing their job, I would re-evaluate your priors and the mental model on the topic. If mods wanted you to have a different experience, it is well within their power to make those changes trivially, either through human or programatic actions. This is distinct from "I do not like the experience I am having and mods will not change the experience." But, if you are here, it is likely well within your control and capabilities to build your own tools to improve the experience to your liking if mods will not. It is theirs to operate as they wish, after all.
You're quoting guidelines as if they are law, while the law is what you experience constantly as mods tend to the site. "The purpose of a system is what it does."