Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. - Rocky
Dear Bitcoiner, dear Shitcoiner, dear Nocoiner
Since my time in the Bitcoin rabbit hole I come from time to time across people who surprise me very much. They have been dealing with Bitcoin for many years, a whole year or even longer. They dive into the deepest corridors of mathematics, physics, the wonderful world of programming, economics and phylosophy in Bitcoin. They often understand more about these topics than I ever could. They have accepted, learned to love and hate a discovery/invention that at its core was created to disadvantage and exclude nothing and no one.
And yet, in my perception, it is these smart minds that are often the most "wacky" minds. In a world where we all tolerate that everyone can be a part of this world, it just seems too ridiculous to hate others.
I would like to use a very simple and already very detailed topic as an example. And I'm sure the first Bitcoiner will now roll his eyes, stop reading and write the first critical comment or close the page. But let me give it a shot.
The "Bitcoin – Magazine"
This company offers an app in which the user is paid with sats for reading/scrolling an article. First of all: I am aware that by installing the app data is collected, I am aware that as a "free user", you are the "product".
Let's take a look at the user groups of this app:
- BTC Magazine is considered a reliable source: articles are read in good faith
- BTC Magazine is considered a partially reliable source: articles are read and critically received
- BTC Magazine is considered an unreliable source: articles are only scrolled, the "free" sats are stacked
- BTC Magazine is considered immoral: app is not used
To which of these very roughly named groups you count yourself, you are welcome to write in the comments.
A chunky comparison
Imagine that every morning you spend a few minutes sitting at your window, watching what's happening on the sidewalk and enjoying your tea or coffee.
Every morning you see your neighbor Jim step out of his house on his way to work and walk past your window. Every morning he meets a newspaper guy who shouts his stories, the craziest stories ever, to your neighbor Jim. Jim listens to these shouts each time and then gets a coin tossed to him by the newspaper vendor as he walks by. Jim is happy to receive the coin, smiles at the crazy stories the newspaper guy tells, and continues on his way to work. The newsman knows where Jim lives; he sees him coming out the door every morning. He knows Jim has a job, he knows Jim is married with two kids. Is that the price of the coin? I don't know.
Every morning you observe this and are annoyed. Your tea or coffee suddenly tastes bitter. How is it that the newspaper guy is allowed to tell his crazy stories and Jim even smiles, how is it that Jim accepts the coin, is he so stupid and believes these stories?
The only "loser" in this story is the one who ends up angry.
My wish
When you feel angry at something you don't want to or can't believe, acknowledge or understand, just close the window. Close the window and be happy about what makes you excited. There will always be someone or something that makes you angry. The question is, is this anger necessary?