The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis • Hacker News Board

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#431

Post by stackghost » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:07 PM UTC

andoando wrote: post #411

brightball wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to defend the HN "no politics" rule here. The reason "no politics" zones exist is because there are enough people going out of their way to shout at everybody, everywhere, in every corner of the internet and enough people are tired of it that they flock to...no politics zones. In real life, a person like that confronts you...you remove yourself from the situation, because that person who can't stop shouting…

Same, you wouldn't criticize a woodworking forum for not having politics.

I would, if people on that woodworking forum did critical work for DOGE, or Palantir, or Facebook, or Sam Altman.

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#432

Post by foobiekr » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:07 PM UTC

an0malous wrote: post #131

I remember in the 2010s when Silicon Valley was full of founders who genuinely wanted to use technology to make the world a better place, and now it's just fascists who want to use technology to kill brown people more efficiently

This take is so wrong it qualifies as delusional. The valley was all about money and nothing but money by any means by no later 1996 when the dotcom got under way. In 2001 I was at a company actively engaging in meetings with a certain three letter agency wanted us to build a secret project to tap oc192 cables at various service providers while talking about how the internet was bringing freedom and openness to society.

Tech has been a cesspool for thirty years.

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#433

Post by embedding-shape » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:07 PM UTC

senordevnyc wrote: post #415

embedding-shape wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because I have a kid to take care of. A job I need to keep, and a way of life I'd like to maintain. Exactly, so why not go out on the streets and actually defend those things then? Currently your (presumed) inaction will cause those to be harmed, you're not "saving those" by saying and doing nothing, you're effectively giving them away if you don't actively protect them.

The same reason you guys don't just deal with any of the big problems facing Spain that collective action would solve pretty quickly?

What physical government oppression have I missed now? I'm not trying to claim Spain is perfect, because it really isn't, especially considering "freedom of speech" (depending on your perspective of it) and some other things Americans might take for granted.

But I'd say that usually when there are large issues impacting large parts of the population, then you can be pretty sure that there will be country-wide protests against it, many times with smaller violent elements, because people here make their opinions and feelings known.

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#434

Post by hvb2 » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:07 PM UTC

embedding-shape wrote: post #418

afavour wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A broad answer: because America is more violent. The ICE officers are armed and absolutely will use their weapons if given half a chance to. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think any rioters in countries like Spain go to a protest with a bet real chance on their minds that they might die.

> Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think any rioters in countries like Spain go to a protest with a bet real chance on their minds that they might die. That's the thing, they do, and have in the past too. Some might even recall riots ~70 years ago that kind of spiraled out of control and led to a civil war. Looking at what's happening in Iran as we speak might be a good idea as well, where they've had enough, know that th…

Americans are much more comfy than Iranians are though. As much as Americans might dislike what's going on, they're not fighting got their own survival.

Democracy, authoritarianism are all abstract and vague concepts

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#435

Post by kilroy123 » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:08 PM UTC

unstyledcontent wrote: post #2

Make no mistake, the immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota are only a training ground for how to undermine civil rights for us all. Everyone is ok targeting te immigrant populations because they are "illegal" or live in a gray area of legality. But eventually these same tools will be used against us.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Came

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#436

Post by pas » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:08 PM UTC

agubelu wrote: post #353

embedding-shape wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If all those things happened in Spain where I live, I'm 99% we'd have actual riots on the streets, together with a lot of other unpleasant-but-needed civilian action, until things got better, like we've done in the past (sometimes maybe went slightly overboard with it, but better than nothing). Why are Americans so passive? You're literally transitioning into straight up authoritarianism, yet where are the riots? How…

I'd say a couple of reasons: - The American political system has been very successful in telling its people that the only acceptable way to show discontent and enact change is by voting on elections. - Lots of people are okay with it because it can only happen to the "bad guys", and why would it ever happen to them since they're the "good guys"... right?

... yet still tens of millions of eligible voters don't even bother

the country is very low-density, there's no one obvious point to protest (there was Occupy Wall Street... and then the Seattle TAZ and .... that's it, oh and the Capitol January 6th), strikes and unions are legally neutered, it's just not the American way anymore

the country has a lot of experience "managing" internal unpleasantry, see the time leading up to the civil war, and then the reconstruction, and then there was a lull as the innovation in racism led to legalized economic racism (the usual walking while black "crimes", vagrancy laws, etc), and then the civil rights era, with the riots, and since then (and as always) police brutality is used as a substitute to training and funding

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#437

Post by alex43578 » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:08 PM UTC

embedding-shape wrote: post #315

andrewvc wrote: post #19

For an idea as to how this gets translated into the reality on the ground here in Minneapolis this is an article on what’s going on from the main newspaper in the state. > In the past week alone, ICE boxed in a Woodbury real estate agent recording their movements from his car, slammed him to the ground and detained him at the Whipple Federal Building near Fort Snelling for 10 hours. A 51-year-old teacher patrolling t…

If all those things happened in Spain where I live, I'm 99% we'd have actual riots on the streets, together with a lot of other unpleasant-but-needed civilian action, until things got better, like we've done in the past (sometimes maybe went slightly overboard with it, but better than nothing). Why are Americans so passive? You're literally transitioning into straight up authoritarianism, yet where are the riots? How…

[flagged]

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#438

Post by praptak » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:09 PM UTC

basket_horse wrote: post #413

praptak wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, this is how market economy works. For every organization doing horrible things, literally everyone is a small number of payment-handshakes from it. No, it doesn't mean that "mr gotcha"[1] argument is valid. You don't have to isolate yourself from society Kaczynski-style to either criticize society or to do something smaller (like choosing who you work for). [1] https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/

Sure, but in that case your rage should be directed at ICE / the federal government. Not a third party software vendor.

The rage should be dependent on the contribution. You mention a third party software vendor who produces tools that aren't even "dual-use" with respect to the abuse by ICE, they are specifically tailored. That's not the same as, say, providing electricity to them.

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#439

Post by hvb2 » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:09 PM UTC

agubelu wrote: post #353

embedding-shape wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If all those things happened in Spain where I live, I'm 99% we'd have actual riots on the streets, together with a lot of other unpleasant-but-needed civilian action, until things got better, like we've done in the past (sometimes maybe went slightly overboard with it, but better than nothing). Why are Americans so passive? You're literally transitioning into straight up authoritarianism, yet where are the riots? How…

I'd say a couple of reasons: - The American political system has been very successful in telling its people that the only acceptable way to show discontent and enact change is by voting on elections. - Lots of people are okay with it because it can only happen to the "bad guys", and why would it ever happen to them since they're the "good guys"... right?

> The American political system has been very successful in telling its people that the only acceptable way to show discontent and enact change is by voting on elections.

Has it? Because I recall a bunch of people gathering in the wrong building on Jan 6

Re: The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis

#440

Post by tremon » Thu, Jan 15, 2026, 5:09 PM UTC

yawboakye wrote: post #382

embedding-shape wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If all those things happened in Spain where I live, I'm 99% we'd have actual riots on the streets, together with a lot of other unpleasant-but-needed civilian action, until things got better, like we've done in the past (sometimes maybe went slightly overboard with it, but better than nothing). Why are Americans so passive? You're literally transitioning into straight up authoritarianism, yet where are the riots? How…

spain isn’t a great example here. it has some of the most racist fans football has ever seen and yet there’s no action. only italy probably compares. if there was a government agency going after black and brown people (ie non-white) i wouldn’t bet on the spanish population to come to their rescue. lamine yamal, a young footballer of moroccan descent hasn’t been spared the vitriol of the spanish hooligans even though…

Sad as it is, I think Spain only barely makes it into the top 10 on the UEFA racism ranking. Serbia, Hungary and Israel are probably the top contenders, with Albania and Poland completing the top 5.