&#62;I can be upset and angry and still participate in a rational discussion.<p>The problem is that it would only take a few people who <i>can't</i> remain rational for a tipping point to be reached whereby the overall quality of debate badly degrades. (That's when some of the most valuable contributors start to disappear.)<p>&#62;What will we do when an issue is both important and divisive<p>If such a political issue affected hackers directly then there'd be no way to avoid that discussion.<p>&#62;Do we want to prevent, to silence, discussion?<p>Of course not. And that's precisely why politics in general should be avoided.<p>Aside from the eve psych, I'm with Eliezer Yudkowsky on this:<p><a href="http://lesswrong.com/lw/gw/politics_is_the_mindkiller/" rel="nofollow">http://lesswrong.com/lw/gw/politics_is_the_mindkiller/</a>