Edit: to elaborate further, this change artificially eliminates negativity. Hiding something doesn’t make it go away, and we shouldn’t force people to pretend to like things they don’t. That’s like being forced to smile as a cashier.

just saw your edit, figured I'd respond sorry if I'm being annoying, it's an interesting discussion

I'd argue this is the strength of removing the downvote, because downvotes can mean anything, but a comment condemning a post for whatever it is to be condemned for is far sharper and more pointed a weapon

It's not combatting liberalism to downvote a liberal post, but to analyze it and shred it apart in front of the audience