There's a lot 'agoin on in the world today. Agreed?
There are a lot of people rejoicing at the pain of one group of people of certain political affiliation. That's an old song, and the lyrics don't get any perdier to listen to. But, a recent flavor of this extreme hatred from one side to the other is taking a turn that many 'tinfoil hats' have been warning, myself included, for a very long time. If it happens, is it a conspiracy theory, or just a conspiracy?
There is a famous saying, often attributed to Patrick Henry, often attributed to Voltaire (wow, there's a spread lol). It is believed to be certain to originate with Evelyn Beatrice in 1906, but we can clear all of this up and just re-attribute it to Gordon Freeman, 2021, because many of you have never heard of the other names, to which we thank the wonders of Common Core- lol.
The phrase is: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.
This, for a long time, has been a beacon of the very left wing Democratic Party in the United States, and embraced by lawful, justice-caring center and right elements in the justice system and political affiliations. I have heard more and more sentiment from personal connections on the left, who do not like this idea, and think it is bogus. "My way or die" is their true understanding of justice. I'm not using a broad stroke; you don't get to be the one to validate my own personal discussions with actual real people in person. I am sure there are people in the center, left, right of political stance who are embracing a more rigid variant of world view. But, this does point to the left for this article, because this is the week where it seems to be a favorite flavor of the left, to ban ban ban people's ability to have free and open forum of discussion, views, sharing.
I have warned specifically about China's lovely Sesame Credit for several years, and it is out of pilot into actual use now. A citizen's ability to keep their job, borrow on credit, and stay out of jail is dependent on their voicing of public opinion in social media that is available to them. If they say things against the CCP, their credits get a down vote. If they praise the Chinese Commie party, they get booster points. But here's the even more important part; if their friends witness them saying things that are not allowed by the state, they are to turn them in and down vote them to their own demise. If they agree, they are punished, and if they disagree, they are rewarded. There is also a brilliant, though dirty-mouth-laden episode of Black Mirror you must go investigate yourself, that is on this issue.
So, I start by asking you, whether you embrace free speech, or only free speech that you like? Do you think that it should only be defended if it checks all of the boxes? How thin is the line between absolute control, censorship, book burning, villagers and torches, and the ability to enter into debate and change people's minds?
This also brings to surface the question of whether we want the freedom to use the internet, to not worry about speaking our minds in a forum one day, and having our doors bashed in the next. It is abundantly hypocritical to warn of statism while jumping up and down in victory when people's most hated arch enemies are given the ban hammer with cheese.
Do you, or do you not think it is a bad sign, when only one political party seems to be taking literal examples pulled from Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's masterpiece, warning of a future of real Nazism, believing that the same force warning against such things, is actually the one doing so? The double speak, double think, 2+2=5 is happening and has been for some time, but only one camp seems to think it is worth being concerned.
So, Jack Dorsey, of which I loath the fact that I still find his platform useful, but also Zuck which rhymes with a word he inspires in me, which is followed by repentance, Bezos, and others soon to follow, are not only banning opposing views full widespread, but they are trying to circle and eliminate alternate platforms of free speech like Parler, causing a true purge of information and justice.
I don't know if any of you know this, but it is NOT good if only one political party is supporting the idea of free speech.
I am not going to get into the reason behind the ban. The debate is long, makes my hair thin, and it never resolves in logic, but simply more venom. If it were a debate with 2 parties listening in addition to speaking, someone's brain may in fact activate and be changed, but I have not seen evidence of this in a decade. But, what I will say, is let's bring this around to the ideals of cryptocurrency.
The thing that has in previous years, united the cryptocurrency world has been the mistrust or distrust of big government, banks that are too big to fail, the hypocrisy of those warning about protecting us and our assets while they do incredibly criminal and reckless things with our global economies. It is about anti-censorship, permitting a free market and free thinking, sharing of ideas and ideals. So, imagine my alarm at just how much hundreds of people in the crypto-world seem thrilled to see big oppositions they hate, getting banned across social media platforms.
I am going to warn you, the left, and who knows where Gordon stands? Well, I've left a trail of crumbs so maybe not so hard to guess, but I see a unified front of those thrilled about specific forms of censorship, and the unfounded nature in this case shows a level of ignorance that is both surprising and disappointing. The warning is this; consolidation is a very, very dangerous thing when it comes to government. Recent months have been about silencing opposition, not the actual dialog you seem willing to be spoon fed. It is an out-and-out assault on your wit and intellect, and I am surprised not more of you are speaking out against it.
So, if you are into crypto, and you actually believe the indigestible food of information the mainstream media of ALL demographic slants is feeding you, and you are thrilled that supposed hate speech and inciting language is being banned for all of our safety, I have a list a mile long of reasons for you to question this. I know there are arguments designed to defend a year full of people given a pass on language asking for people to be beaten, ridiculed, killed, often with great specificity of form, publicly beaten by strangers, ostracized out of their homes, out of public restaurants, businesses burned and destroyed, and apparently it seems that if you're pissed for all of the right reasons, 2020 is the year the Purge movies come true. Do whatever the heck you want, the right targets are apparently fair game. It's "mostly" peaceful, right?
So, I believe you have the right to be that wrong. But, I still didn't want you banned.
See, there is a wonderful difference between unfollow, ignore, mute, block, and BAN. If I don't like what you say, or just generally think you are a moron, I do not have to watch or listen to you. If it does bad things to my mind and emotions to try to stomach your perspective for too long, I have every right to step away and fill my surroundings with something comforting. But, I do not think you should be removed from communication in society.
Now, we do have the extreme scenarios, where there are terrorists planning bombings, arsonists plotting, assassins brainwashing. But, it is a slippery slope to wave the wand of deception to cause people to believe that free speech is actually 'hate' speech. You know what, a lot of people hate broccoli, but c'mon just don't eat it. If you are believing that the format of hate determines whether it is allowed, then you are a hypocrite and you lost the ability to think for yourself somewhere along this journey.
Let me help you out with something that has served humanity well for some time now:
Teaching people that one set of rules for people hating another group of people is punishable by silence, jail, and death, while supporting another group of people to act upon all of their feelings of hatred is a free pass, does not work! It makes one wonder if there is an underhanded reason this narrative is encouraged? If I acted poorly to you because I hated your race, that would be awful. I do not even know people around me who blatantly feel this way. I have come across some in my long history on earth, but I've also had civil conversations about the reasons and experiences that led them to feel that way, and believe it or not, they have come a long way to abandon those feelings and beliefs. That seems like a victory to me. But, I will say, I have witnessed an onslaught of an entire culture developing and ideal ready to do Jewish purge #2, this time for the old, white, rich, and or conservative. If you believe the reasons behind this, perhaps you will be the reason Gordon gets banned, and trust me, the crypto world will be missing out on one of the few people who actually get this stuff. It would be your loss.
So, bringing this all around to cryptocurrency. If you are on cryptocurrency social media and in the crypto press, have a crypto YouTube channel, and you are celebrating the wide-sweeping banning of an entire voice of an entire category of millions and millions and millions of freedom-loving people, you are a hypocrite and you need to reexamine everything you have learned in your life, because you are bad wrong, buddy. You can't celebrate free decentralized platforms in one hand, and celebrate the silencing of your enemies in the other. Hypocrite.
What further inspires this message, is for those who are heads of cryptocurrency projects. Should I trust your 'decentralized' designs, software, programs, if you celebrate the silencing of people? Lemme ask you something. How many people have joyously celebrated the wild rantings of John McAfee for years? Many who absolutely cannot stand the guy, think he is gross, think is a shill and a liar, but then they hear him and he is articulate and brilliant, stomach his presence and opinions because he brings a wide range of (putrid) colors to the cryptocurrency, and cryptography-in-general, world. This is a guy who literally has gone on record with lists of people he hates and wishes to see things done to. He was accused of murdering a neighbor, in a tiny community where frankly, there's not a lot of other suspects. He's been chased by governments of numerous countries. He has been an overt gun slinger and gun hoarder. He's old, rich, white, and opinionated. He promises to eat body parts if Bitcoin doesn't moon by "x", and his personal life and pleasure choices are about as grotesque as one could fathom. But, it has never occurred to most to silence his views. Mostly, they convert him into memes and then ask his opinions on the next bull run. I provide just that one example.
Many herald the humanitarian efforts of Bill Gates. Shall I dig in my bag of goodies and provide a few tasty quotes from Bill's past about global dominance, population reduction (the real kind, not the 'whoops THAT vaccine didn't work lol), how to destroy competition, using kids as test groups in binary education programs designed to test and monitor the body algorithms in a 10 year test "that might not work" according to his inclinations? Listen, I actually deeply adore the history of the microchip and computer languages and platforms, and the battle of Apple and PC. I am a nerd and I love it. But, I do not wear rose-colored glasses about Jobs OR Gates, and I can see past the narrative to understand we are ALL in a lot of trouble if current trends continue. We're all going to wonder where freedom went if it is the assumed norm that we are just lab rats for the ultra rich technocracy, where they feast off of our beliefs, thoughts, all intellectual property and even gps locations and home energy usage. Not all smart devices are a smart idea, my fellow crypto-folks.
The hour is late for you to announce yourself, expose your leanings, be honest with your world view, and decide whether you want to win discussions and find love and unity in humanity, or if you want to simply eliminate your competition. If it is the latter, that actually makes you the racist, fascist, narrow-minded bully you claim to despise. That kind of crypto, I can do without.
And for that harsh reality, Gordon Freeman, the very hoping to continue being a free man, praying for unity and for us to unite to fight censorship for all, for now... out.
