I admit I have a soft spot for Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is a controversial figure, but he is also a hero for his writings on consent and conformity, and perhaps the most eloquent critic of the development of the deep state. Now 95, he suffered a massive stroke last year and is no longer able to speak. This article isn’t really about him, but it was inspired by him. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that works, but the world we’ve built around it is incredibly insulated and disconnected from the rest of society. We’ve been effectively isolated, and anyone who thinks that will help adoption is dreaming. I think the room stinks and this little Bitcoin world isn’t working for Bitcoin.
The irony of people who love Bitcoin, and I mean really love Bitcoin — the kind of people who might be reading this article — is that they, or we, believe they are immune to propaganda. They believe they are immune to processes that shape consent for decisions that do not concern them, and that they would not tolerate if they had the opportunity to consider them independently.
Bad news. You are not immune. In fact, I think many of the people who call themselves “Bitcoiners” today are “Bitcoiners” only because they have been given the publicity for it. An entire cultural production machine is being built around Bitcoin, and it is a very reactionary, and in many ways biased, machine.
For example, flying an LGBTQ flag with the Bitcoin symbol on it is not controversial. Attacks on transgender or gay people, who make up over 90 percent of Bitcoin holders, are normal. Abusive behavior against women is normal.
This reproductive cultural machine comes in the form of popular influencers, mostly millennial men who spend a lot of time taking pictures of themselves flaunting their muscles in front of the mirror. I really wonder how big those muscles are to protect the fragile ego buried beneath those muscle fibers.
These influencers aren’t selling you anything real. They’re not selling you a way out of the system. All they’re doing is giving you a simple story that will help you sleep better at night. You’ll be fine, just remember: all the bad things that happen are because of “money printers” and trans ideology.
I call this phenomenon the “cultural reproduction machine” because I see more and more people who share the same narrow-minded, ignorant, bigoted ideas. These ideas are spreading and poisoning the minds of otherwise good people. I wonder if those who hold these ideas could stop for a moment and ask themselves, “Where did these ideas come from? When did I start believing them?” I realize that the narratives that are circulating around you are often constructed in such a way that you think you invented them yourself.
If you’re new to Bitcoin, keep in mind that you don’t have to conform to mainstream ideas. You don’t have to be an orange guy who loves orange currency (he claims to be anyway). You don’t have to eat steak every day and hate seed oils. You don’t have to believe in transphobic or homophobic ideology. You don’t have to keep an altar in your garage where you pray to Hayek every night for the day when collectivists will finally be eradicated from this planet.
The truth is that Bitcoin is available to anyone who needs it. Bitcoin is apolitical money. Bitcoin doesn’t need a political party, Bitcoin doesn’t need a nation. The only thing Bitcoin needs is for people to use it and learn how it works.
Noam Chomsky made some really good points about the problems in society that I think are still relevant. American democracy is disgusting because it’s not really democratic. He said that when political systems operate without public input, ordinary people feel marginalized. Obviously many of you are here because you feel marginalized by this corporate-run society. It’s natural to react. But don’t let the loudmouths try to convince you to act against your best interests. Bitcoin wins when we accept each other as we are. Bitcoin wins when we maintain a healthy skepticism of political leaders and their promises. Bitcoin wins when we organize against the forces that are trying to destroy us.
I’m sure I’ve offended a lot of you, but again, that’s the whole point of this nonsense I have in mind. I want to piss you off. I want others who disagree with you to realize that they are not alone. No matter how stifling the bigotry and fascism in this space right now, there are still plenty of us who won’t agree.
you are not alone.
This is a guest post by Margot Baez. The opinions expressed here are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.