I feel the reason why Hacker news needs to stay apolitical is simply that politics is everywhere. If I wanted to hear about politics I would just goto CNN or Fox News or CNBC.
I just want to hear about technology and enjoy myself.
You don't get it, do you. Technology is only political for brief periods. When introduced, they are apolitical, existing to solve a specific problem. They become political based on usage. Then, the technology either becomes obsolete or so ubiquitous as to make any politics largely irrelevant.
That said, I don't think technology should be either political or apolitical. If there's a need to use a technology to solve a political problem, then do so. Once done, one should just revert to the natural state of enjoying or abandoning the thing for what it is.
I just want to hear about technology and enjoy myself.