INTRUDER ALERT! - Statist at the Meetup \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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1831 sats \ 21 comments \ @jasonb 25 Jun bitcoin

Some of you may remember the problem I had with a shitcoiner at our meetup back in April. Last night, we had an outright, outspoken, and worst of all, savagely interupty, anti-privacy advocate appear in our midst. I'm using the sorcery language because I didn't pick up on any prior warning signs before he transformed right in the middle of my presentation.

The agenda, following up on last month's reading on of A Cypherpunk's Manifesto and a healthy but sad conversation about the Samurai takedown, was to discuss permissionlessness and privacy. Then we would go into how PWA apps and Fedimints help out with this.

Everything seemed to be going well until I pulled out my favorite PWA to demo and this guy just jumped in to let us know that the government was going to throw the app devs in jail. At first it was just annoying, because I had just given a big spiel about how that was exactly why we wanted to use this technology. But he WOULDN'T STOP TALKING. Do other meetup organizers experience these things? Exasperated, I finally clicked my fingers and said his name real loud, as if calling an animal and @dagny761 gave me a look like, "you need to mellow out and act like a grown-up." I basically gave up on the demo at that point and am sad to say that the presentation unraveled.

The incident a couple of months back was hard, but I was at least able to maintain order and I think everyone walked away more knowledgable and still respecting one-another. I wanted to share to get people's thoughts. I don't think this guy was a shitcoiner, but he certainly was a statist...and also a huge jerk. The common thread was, I think both of these fellas just wanted to talk about NGU. Afterwards, I found out that last night's guy is a tech guy for the department of defense. He was giddy to tell me about all of the new tech he was developing that he said is already being used overseas. I'm embarrassed to say that I was too tired too beat down at that point to debate the merits or demerits of developing weapons for a government that he admitted was a black box to the public on what they were doing with this stuff.

Anyway, I share here to ask, is this common? This meetup is coming up on a one year anniversary and we've already had two frustrating nights like this...AND last night I definitely lost the debate. Worst of all, it's not because my points weren't more well received, but because some of them were literally not heard over statist howling. Also, does this guy sound familiar? He apparently goes to bitcoin meetups all the time in Michigan (multiple cities! he mentioned Detroit, Lansing, and Grand Rapids). Are Michigan meetups just NGU discussions or do you guys up there just smack this dude down better than I do?

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236 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 25 Jun

In future I would suggest you simply say if you would like some time after the presentation or at the next meeting to refute my arguments or present your own we can make that happen but while I am presenting can you kindly shut up and listen or leave.

170 sats \ 1 reply \ @jasonb OP 25 Jun

Thanks, I think this is the simple solution that I should have already known and need to remember. Sadly, I didn’t even think of this while writing the post. Maybe the real skill here for me is to not get so pissed off that I get blinded and forget the simple and effective solution.

41 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 25 Jun

I think this is the logical solution after the fact but not always so easy in the heat of the moment when you are trying to present something.

I remember back in the day when I played in a band and we agreed to do a show for a friend who was promoting a party. Everyone was just talking through our whole set and we were having issues with the levels from the sound guy it was just a mess. I was growing more and more frustrated as the set went on. Then with one more song to go I stepped to the mic and said "we have one more song to go, so shut the fuck up for 5 minutes and you can get back to your party".

Grace under pressure is not always the easiest thing.

62 sats \ 4 replies \ @siggy47 25 Jun

You know, sometimes an old fashioned ass whupping can be effective in these situations.

106 sats \ 3 replies \ @jasonb OP 25 Jun

Haha, I coulda taken him for sure, which is not really saying much… but yeah, I’m not sure the punishment would have fit the crime here… I’m trying to brush up on my figurative ass whupping for next time.

72 sats \ 2 replies \ @siggy47 25 Jun

I'm kidding, of course. I'm more likely to be the whupee than whupper anyway. Seriously, though, I have noticed now that I try to attend more in person meetups that I can't assume everyone thinks like me. That's maybe why I'm more comfortable here. I notice that NGU is prime, people think I'm nuts if I say anything negative about ETFs, and they can't believe I would spend my bitcoin.

104 sats \ 1 reply \ @jasonb OP 25 Jun freebie

I figured as much. You don’t meet too many violent bitcoiners. I’m with you on the value of being around people that challenge you. The thing that made this unbearable was his propensity to talk over everybody and just not shut up. I think @grayruby hit the nail on the head with my issue. If I had just said, “wait until I’m done and we can argue then,” the whole thing would have probably gone better. But I knee-jerked a rebuttal and everything fell apart. Part of the problem was, I agreed that the DOJ and FBI might try to further crack down on this stuff. He just didn’t share our ideals on wanting to push back.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @info8 27 Jun freebie

Indeed like @grayruby mentioned the best way to moderate this kind of behavior is to refer to questions and discussions after you finishes your talk. To make it easier it would be Nice to have somebody with you that moderates the interaction with the public so its easier to keep it clean and simple. Or make make a list also with possible behavior and counters reactions . 🙏🍀 good luck with all your beautiful adventures 🚀

42 sats \ 1 reply \ @anon 25 Jun

and this guy just jumped in to let us know that the government was going to throw the app devs in jail. At first it was just annoying, because I had just given a big spiel about how that was exactly why we wanted to use this technology. But he WOULDN'T STOP TALKING

Afterwards, I found out that last night's guy is a tech guy for the department of defense.

I'm not sure I understand what your problem is. Especially why "intruder" is a word used here

You met an annoying person. Probably just autistic. Maybe drunk or on shrooms. Or like some kind of mental illness.

I suspect the reason why your thoughts first jump to "intruder" is that YOU have paranoia. Or some very weird ingroup/outgroup obsession that could be just as harmful as an autistic person that nobody gets to shush on an event.

A job doesn't define a person and the department of defense isn't the CIA or NSA. By that logic you'd also have to exclude every policeman from becoming a Bitcoiner.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @jasonb OP 25 Jun

Good point. The "intruder" language is mostly supposed to be bantery. I'm happy to have people that are into big government, shitcoins, or other things I disagree with at our meetups. The problem was definitely more with the anti-social behavior that made it impossible to have a discussion. I'm not sure if the reason for the anti-social behavior is relevant beyond identifying potential ways to safely mitigate it.

As far as his working for the DOD, I think the line you're makes more sense in the context I wrote it. My beef with that was his almost gleeful description of working on deadly weapons that are being used in ways that are, ironically and by his own admission, being concealed from the public. I hope that clears up what I meant there.

By the way, kudos to you for being the first person to comment on this privacy post privately!

32 sats \ 0 replies \ @southside263 25 Jun

we’ve had shitcoiners which kills the vibe fr.

it’s hard to not get in heated debates…

The best solution as mentioned already would be “can we leave questions to the end. Come see me after “

I’ve definitely lost motivation to attend meetups when one guy steals the oxygen repeatedly

31 sats \ 0 replies \ @travis 25 Jun

I recommend using a venue that will allow you to trespass disruptors/trouble makers. If the individual doesn't rise to that level of an issue, then having rules or guidelines for the meetup could be preventative at least.

31 sats \ 2 replies \ @ways_wilderness 25 Jun

Did you guys pin him down to confiscate any ID? Or is there any other reason why you can't post that here & now? ;-)

That is what these freaks fucking deserve...

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @jasonb OP 25 Jun

Exactly, right?! I had given the analogy of putting up curtains. That is, people don’t put up curtains because they’re doing nefarious things, they put up curtains because they don’t want to show everyone in the world what they do in their own home. When he started his monologue, he circled back to that and said, “yeah, but putting up curtains isn’t illegal.” I thought (but didn’t have the quickness at that point to mention) that he had some unique features and if it became illegal to protect the privacy of meetup attendees, he’d be one of the easiest for someone to pick out in a lineup. Maybe he wouldn’t care, but it highlights how creepy it is that a government would want to know that info.

31 sats \ 0 replies \ @ways_wilderness 25 Jun

One could also treat'em as cattle, bring a branding iron to give them some real unique ID ;-)

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @riberet19 26 Jun

Staying calm in those moments is your best weapon.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Manikese 26 Jun

Never take anything personally.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coinsreporter 26 Jun

I assume it's a case of bullying rather than just intruding. He seems to be escalating si as to get him some attention. What I can suggest you to just start your presentations with more straightforward words. Just say... Questions or any suggestions will be taken after the presentation or simply make a gesture that there will be an AMA after the presentation so kindly try to understand every aspect of the app with seriousness..

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @IamSINGLE 25 Jun

You should think that it's common. Even half hearted Bitcoiners may ask to validate It.

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @SatsMate 26 Jun

Yikes! I have been to about 10 meetups in the Phx area so far, and we have never encountered something like this.

It is very disrespectful, but the best thing to do in this situation is tell them questions are being saved for the end.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @info8 27 Jun freebie

Smacking down is not necessary, beter moderation is key and the solution. I just think this experience gave you a golden nugget to have a better answer next time , thank you for sharing, we also had a jerk on our meetup but we already received a signal he would attend at forehand, so we managed to conclude some actions in case things would escalate