Yeah, not the first time. People are knee-jerk accusing him with the latest fashionable to their peer-group catch-all characterizations all the time...
There have been plenty stories showcasing his racist beliefs of late (I won't link any, just Google it), so it's no unreasonable to read his comments in that light
I'll take your point that such readings exist, but "he's just being racist" isn't a thoughtful expression of one. It's garden-variety internet flamewar, a thing we don't want here—actually we can't have it here if we want the community to survive.
Just to be clear, the issue I'm commenting on is not what deserves the label 'racism'—it's what sort of internet discussion flamebait leads to. The existence of racism, and of differing views about it, is no reason to wreck the community one's participating in. Maybe commenters don't owe John Cleese better, but they owe HN better if they're posting here.
I agree with you that flamewars are bad, and I didn't think I was starting one by stating the obvious. In fact, leaving my comment here, I doubt I would get any objections to it except yours!
I recollect now that you posted "Please don't do this here" to me few months ago after I attributed one of Trump's action to racism, and like now you were the only one who took issue with me labeling racism by its name.
Naga Munchetty, a BBC presenter has recently been dismissed for labeling Trump as racist on air, but her dismal was overturned when the BBC decided not to be impartial about racism, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49859060
If HN moderators believe they should run the site like Mark Zuckerberg runs Facebook, then it wouldn't be the right place for me.
Your comment in question serves to communicate anger and derision in a way that is only likely to provoke more of the same, and contributes nothing of substance.
There may be other places for this sort of content, but it’s not here.
