zlacker

"Why don't we have some politics but discuss it in thoughtful ways? Well, that's exactly what the HN guidelines call for, but it's insufficient to stop people from flaming each other when political conflicts activate the primitive brain. Under such conditions, we become tribal creatures, not intellectually curious ones. We can't be both at the same time."

I think this calls for more moderation so users that can speak civilly and intellectually about politics can do so, not banning speaking of politics entirely. "Conflict activat[ing] the primitive brain" is rather infantilizing, gaslighting, and not true.

>>jrubin+(OP)
It is true, and quite literally so. Our fight-or-flight threat detection systems (what I meant by 'primitive brain') get activated when these topics flare up, and when that happens people can't even see each other as human, let alone engage each other in intellectual curiosity, which is the purpose of this site.