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10 sats \ 1 reply \ @cjasonmaier OP 5 Jun \ parent \ on: I'm Jason Maier, author of A Progressive's Case for Bitcoin, AMA! AMA
I have taught math for over 20 years. Both in public and private institutions. College, middle school and high school. Currently I'm at a private HS. I've taught all levels of math from Algebra I through post-calculus electives.
I don't like the guy. And in the very very short term, I think Trump is good for the USD price of Bitcoin. I do not think Trump is good for Bitcoin adoption in the long term, nor do I think he cares about Bitcoin. Instead we're letting him off the hook by claiming to be proBitcoin when in fact he is only into scamming and grifting with crypto to enrich himself.
Yes, I think Alex's work is great. I have referenced him in my book and I consider him an asset to the space and my target audience.
I'm wrapping up the AMA - but you should always feel free to be in touch on Twitter @ cjasonmaier or through my website www.BitcoinProgressive.com
Thank you and keep working for a bright orange future we deserve.
- There's a conservative case for bitcoin book too. :)
- You're making a lot of assumptions - I don't believe Bitcoin is a product of the national security state.
- Your excellent set up was just a framing for me to chose between two ways progressives are bad. I'm not interested in that.
There's a lot to unpack there. LOL.
I'm progressive and I care about solving problems and Bitcoin doesn't give me the ick. I also think that the WSJ describing David Bailey's conference as "Bitcoin goes all in on MAGA" is pretty accurate - not sure wha they'd be coping about.
So perhaps it's time to reexamine your priors. (?)
Thanks! I'm a life long teacher, so really my goal is to meet people where they are. It's hard to learn something complicated and scary if you don't feel comfortable.
I get this question a lot. I think people are just waiting for me to become a carnivore and start talking bad about feminism just because I like peer to peer permissionless money. Hasn't happened yet. :)
The book I wrote was meant as an educational resource for someone who is skeptical of Bitcoin - especially if they assume it's only for libertarians or MAGA folks. I'm willing to bet that most of the books I sell are sold to conservative Bitcoiners who want to give it as a gift to a liberal person they love and care about. Lots of copies go to moms, sisters, coworkers, dads, in laws. :)
I haven't moved much left or right since being involved in Bitcoin. I do think that being involved in Bitcoin has helped me reevaluate my beliefs through a news lens. The things I care about and the things I think are wrong with this world are all the same. But the reasons behind those problems I feel I understand one level deeper.
I have never had any affinity toward Democrats specifically, and that hasn't changed either.
I think most conspiracy theories are BS. What's one I believe... I'm not sure I can think of any crazy ones I believe. I do believe that the modern food industry is slowly killing us all because it's cheaper to provide process junk. And the pharmaceutical industry is okay with this because sick people make them money.... not really crazy, sorry.
GREAT Question. I have been thinking about this a lot recently. I try to regulate my social media consumption carefully and decided last year to prune a couple of things so my life would be in more balance. That said, Nostr has been on my mind and I will probably log back in and start posting this summer while I'm on break.
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I think all of the worries I expressed during my discussion with David Bailey have panned out 100%. We see Bitcoin and MAGA completely intertwined and regular folks less able to differentiate between Bitcoin and Crypto. Many people seem less willing to engage with me because the assume I must support Trump. So, yes David Bailey aggressively courting Trump has made wider adoption more difficult.
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My wife really hated your review of my book. I'm not sure Bitcoin has moved me much on the progressive vs. Libertarian with a strong social ethos. I am still proud to call myself a progressive and try to engage with people about the pro-social aspects of Bitcoin. I will always hold that there is a role for government in our society and am willing to accept that bitcoin can help make that government more transparent, effective and responsive.
Absolutely. But in the meantime there are a lot of low information people (voters) that conflate Bitcoin and Crypto and Trump isn't helping on that front either. It takes education and being patient with people who are just learning.
This is a tough one. For most progressive people, there isn't just one thing that works for everyone. It depends on what they are passionate about and what they think is going wrong in the world. The most common argument that gain traction are: positive environmental impacts, empowering victims of violence, standing up to authoritarian regimes.
Yes, indeed. There is a much stronger relationship between age than even party affiliation. My hope is that younger people will continue to gain traction in the party and railing against Bitcoin as a knee-jerk policy decision will fade away.
Yes, it actually is a bit harder now. This was one of the worries I had about Bitcoiners courting Trump so aggressively. This is a huge turn off for a lot of moderate and left people who are skeptical of Bitcoin in the first place. If there assumption is that Bitcoin is a scam before they start learning, having Trump involved won't help that assumption.
But the GOOD news is that Trump isn't really acting like a Bitcoiner. He's using crypto to enrich himself. So if Democrats play this right, there is an opportunity to distinguish themselves from Trump on Bitcoin. I'm not optimistic, but it is possible.