Sadly, there is a rift now since quite a few hackers are left leaning and therefore are by definition activists.

80th, 90th were the last time were hacking was a means to an end. C64 and Amiga scene had skindheads showing up at copy parties but no one cared really.

Some were a bit unsure but the moment they talked about their craft there was no divide but hacker spirit.

In recent years this would be unimaginable. And guess what? Talking to each other made the skins disappear.

It was more of a niche expression without doing harm. Popper, Goths, Ted’s, Rockers - in comparison to today there was more unity than today.

Hooligans were the same. Many local groups that fought each other due to political stances befriended each other later because it was more of a ritual than ideology.

It is a bit sad because politics doesn’t belong to hacking, and never did.

Hacking is Boolean only in the sense of it either works or it doesn’t. Or does a computer care about left or right?

And BtW that’s why I find local attempts in Europe for “Go EU” pathetic. It is about ideology, not improvement.