One of the nice things about HN is being exposed to a broad range of opinions. As fairly left wing myself, I don’t find it particularly welcoming nor hostile when it comes to political issues. Which is a refreshing change from the normal echo chambers both the left and right can get into. However, some people interpret “there exist people with different opinions than me” as somehow being a mob, which just seems like an angry attempt to silence discussion. (I’ve seen left and right complain about that on HN, so I think it’s less about politics alignment than it is about certain personality types that can be found across the political spectrum. The right’s equivalent of militant “SJW’s” or whatever the current bogeyman is.)