U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests • Hacker News Board

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#381

Post by hombre_fatal » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:13 PM UTC

hertzrat wrote: post #225

umvi wrote: post #72

How did we arrive to this point where a huge chunk of the population is in one reality and another huge chunk of the population is in another reality? Segregation of information sources? Politicization of media outlets? Self-reinforcing social bubbles? A combination of all of them and more?

All the social media sites did the research and learned that filter bubbles and outrage drives engagement more than anything else. If you tune your systems to maximize engagement and ignore the side effects, the side effects still happen, whether it’s deliberate or not

We blame algorithms and optimization a lot here but that analysis always glosses over the fact that people pick their own sources and form their own bubbles.

Everyone’s Youtube subscriptions are an echo chamber of views they mostly agree with because people only click subscribe on such channels.

A recommendation engine working perfectly is going to show you lateral channels that might be more or less extreme of the last one. But that’s not the root of the problem.

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#382

Post by umvi » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:13 PM UTC

dhruvkar wrote: post #47

Are there people here on HN that believe the election was stolen? I haven't seen any evidence, most of the lawsuits haven't borne fruit either. However, I also recognize that there may be blindspots/biases. I'd really like to hear from anyone who believes this, to present a cogent argument. I promise not to attack. I want to hear the argument from the other side. I also beseech the rest of HN to please refrain from a…

I do not believe the election was stolen. But I also don't believe we had perfect election integrity either. In my mind any system involving hundreds of millions of people is bound to have some bad actors, mistakes, fraud, etc. It's important to acknowledge when and where it happens, and how to improve. But claiming any given election had near perfect integrity raises some alarm bells with me at least.

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#383

Post by tomp » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:14 PM UTC

umvi wrote: post #72

How did we arrive to this point where a huge chunk of the population is in one reality and another huge chunk of the population is in another reality? Segregation of information sources? Politicization of media outlets? Self-reinforcing social bubbles? A combination of all of them and more?

The mainstream media did this to themselves. They actively promoted outright lies, conspiracy theories, politically convenient fake facts (“masks don’t work”) and misinterpretations of truth.

The end result is, nobody trusts anyone. We’re seeing one side of the story, but I suspect if Trump narrowly won, it would be the same.

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#384

Post by selimthegrim » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:14 PM UTC

th48 wrote: post #317

This is partly a result of the left steadfastly opposing measures to protect the integrity of US elections, including strong voter ID laws (which are common throughout the developed world) out of fear that such measures will somehow disenfranchise people who apparently can't even spare an hour at the DMV every few years and can't afford to pay the small processing fee ($9-13, in NY[1]) to get an id. As a non-voter, s…

Go read some English common law and get back to us

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#385

Post by jMyles » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:14 PM UTC

shadowfacts wrote: post #40

It is despicable how tepid the police response to armed rioters storming the Capitol has been compared to the response to BLM protests over the summer.

> It is despicable how tepid the police response

Having been gassed and flashbanged all summer in Portland while protesting for Black Lives, the last word I can imagine using to describe police restraint is "despicable." I don't wish that shit on anybody.

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#386

Post by dang » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:15 PM UTC

Zamicol wrote: post #188

umvi wrote: post #72

How did we arrive to this point where a huge chunk of the population is in one reality and another huge chunk of the population is in another reality? Segregation of information sources? Politicization of media outlets? Self-reinforcing social bubbles? A combination of all of them and more?

[flagged]

Good grief, let's not turn this into a generational flamewar of all things—the most arbitrary kind of flamewar and the easiest to avoid.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#387

Post by mhh__ » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:15 PM UTC

eli wrote: post #375

ineedasername wrote: post #358

This is what happens when a country's leaders actively dog whistle an incitement to violence and others hitch their political future to fiction & propaganda instead of fact.

It's not really a dog whistle. Just a few hours ago the President told his supporters gathered near the Whitehouse to march to the Capitol.

"Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#388

Post by TehCorwiz » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:16 PM UTC

An IED was just discovered, these are not protests, this is insurrection and sedition.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Live-updates-U-... @ 12:59p

EDIT: fixed time.

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#389

Post by wonnage » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:16 PM UTC

coryfklein wrote: post #353

It's the practical erosion of Free Speech. Liberal (small "l" liberal) democracy and liberal science thrives on members: 1. Being willing to admit they may be wrong 2. Having access to a diverse information diet But the past two decades have shown erosion of not only legal Free Speech, but practical free speech: * Whereas previously they were just ignored (or even rebutted), today employees, students, and professors…

This is stupid

Re: U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests

#390

Post by mhh__ » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 9:16 PM UTC

jonwachob91 wrote: post #279

patagonia wrote: post #258

Politics maybe off topic, but this is partially our fault. It’s always frustrated me that politics are largely unaddressed on HN. Not talking about it doesn’t make it not so.

Plenty of political discussion happens on HN, but dang does a good job of removing the toxic comments and letting the civil comments remain.

[flagged]