Professional surveillance usually outwits amateur thought self-policing. May as well enjoy freedom of thought instead. With more anonymous traffic, all parties are incented to raise their game.
I wasn't making the assertion that HN supports Tor. I was just joking that some dumb flag bot in NSA's network likely flags all users visiting sites with words such as "hacker".
I feel that fear of big brother is a limitation on citizens personal freedom since people will be more guarded about what they say, inquire about, and behave. No shifty behavior. The constable may be watching.
What do you mean by "support"? You can access HN through tor, though sometimes it is blocked (perhaps depending on which exit node you happen to be routed through).
I seem to recall that posts from Tor-only HN users were treated differently, but I could be wrong. I can't recall the details, maybe it was that Tor posts were only visible to those on Tor? Would need to test to make sure.
Does HN support Tor?
Edit: read City and the City by China Mieville?