Reflections on Bitcoin Culture

I admit I’m nostalgic for Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is a controversial figure, but he’s also a hero for his writings on consent and conformity, and he was perhaps the most articulate in calling out the development of the deep state. Now 95 years old, he had a massive stroke last year and can no longer speak. This article isn’t really about him, but it is inspired by him. Bitcoin is an electronic peer-to-peer cash system that is working, but the world we’ve built around it is incredibly alienated and disconnected from the rest of society. We’ve been effectively siloed, and anyone who thinks this will help adoption is dreaming. I think the room stinks and that this little Bitcoin world isn’t working for Bitcoin.

The irony about the people who like Bitcoin, and I mean really like Bitcoin—the kind of people who would read this article—is that they, or we, think they are immune to propaganda. They believe they are immune to the processes that manufacture consent for decisions that are not their own, and which, given a chance to consider independently, they would not condone.

Bad news. You are not immune. In fact, I think many of the people who call themselves “bitcoiners” today are only “bitcoiners” because they were propagandized into it. An entire cultural reproductive machine is being built around Bitcoin, and it is incredibly reactionary and, in many ways, bigoted.

For example, posting an LGBTQ flag with the Bitcoin symbol on it is beyond controversial. Attacks on people who are trans or queer and who contribute far more than 90 percent of the people who hold Bitcoin is normalized. Abusive behavior against women is normalized.

This cultural reproductive machine comes in the form of popular influencers who are often millennial men spending a lot of time taking photos of themselves flexing their muscles in front of a mirror. I really wonder how big those muscles have to get to protect the fragile ego buried beneath those muscular fibers.

These influencers are not selling anything real. They are not selling you a way out of the existing system. All they are doing is giving you a simple narrative that will help you sleep better at night. You’ll be okay, just remember: all the bad things happening are because “money printer go brr” and transgender ideology.

I call it a cultural reproductive machine because I’m seeing a lot more people holding the same narrow-minded, ignorant, and bigoted ideas taking up space. These ideas are spreading and poisoning well-meaning people’s minds. I wonder if those who hold these ideas could just stop for a moment and ask themselves, “Where did these ideas come from? When did I start believing this?” Realize that the narratives around you are often built so that you think you invented them yourself.

If you’re new to Bitcoin, keep in mind that you don’t have to conform to the mainstream ideas. You don’t have to be for the orange man who likes the orange coin (claims to, anyway). You don’t have to eat steaks every day and hate seed oils. You don’t have to believe in a transgender ideology or hate queer people. You don’t have to keep an altar in your garage where you pray to Hayek every night for the day the collectivists are finally wiped clean from this planet.

The reality is that Bitcoin is for anyone who needs it. Bitcoin is apolitical money. Bitcoin doesn’t need a political party, and Bitcoin doesn’t need states. The only thing that Bitcoin needs is people to use Bitcoin and learn about how it works.

Noam Chomsky made some really good points about the problems with society that I think are still relevant. American democracy is alienating because it’s not really a democracy. He said that when political systems function without public input, the general population feels marginalized. It’s obvious that many of you are here because you feel marginalized by this corporate-run society. It’s normal to react. But don’t let people with a loud mouthpiece 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 healthy skepticism of political leaders and their promises. Bitcoin wins when we organize against the powers that are trying to destroy us.

I’m sure I’ve triggered plenty of you, but then again, that’s the whole point of this stream-of-consciousness rant. I want you to be triggered. I want others who don’t agree with you to realize that they aren’t alone. No matter how suffocating the bigotry and fascist tendencies may be right now in this space, there are still many of us who will not consent.

You’re not alone.

This is a guest post by Margot Paez. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.