pull down to refresh

I was watching Stacker News Live, live on Friday and @Car said something that triggered a memory. It reminded me of a response to personal privacy I have witnessed. I don't recall what he was talking about specifically but he expressed an emotion of dread. I got the feeling that it is a kind of hopelessness. In the realm of, what's the point? Why should I bother? There are many forces that can create this emotion. I have felt it as well. I still feel it from time to time. The feeling of, its too hard. I might do something wrong and screw it all up. Then what's the point of even trying.
This is a trap that is easy to fall into. We are propagandized pretty often by people in big tech to just believe and accept that privacy is dead. Of course that is a lie. We all have things we selectively reveal and no matter how open you are online there are things you keep private. Privacy is not secrecy. Privacy is a choice. So its not dead. But, if you think in this way you will not be careful about what you do and what you share. You drop your guard. But there is another type of person that can evoke this feeling of hopelessness. The "privacy advocate". In my social circle I sometimes were the hat of the privacy advocate. Through experience I have learned to be careful not to overwhelm people. It is easy to let perfection become the enemy of good. If I go to hard on the topic many, dare I say most people will just give up. This is because what I am saying to them is so radical. So different from their current view it is easy to reject as crazy or too hard.
So what's my point? My point is that each of us should take a look at ourselves. I can't do it for you, though I hope this will spawn some deep thought about how we communicate about privacy. Everyone doesn't need to be Edward Snowden but we all should be more aware of what we are doing online and offline. When we have folks in our circles that are concerned about privacy, we should be practical. What is their threat model? What do they care about? It is likely different from what we care about. Lets try to put ourselves in their shoes.
I often see good advice (depending on the situation/threat model) mocked as not good enough. I know that some of this is just bragging. But if that's you, don't kid yourself. You aren't an advocate. You are just bragging that you are in the circle. You're not a sheep. You're a wolf. That's fine. I do think there is a place for this. Even here on SN. We need to push back on companies and projects to make privacy a priority. But realistically, what will make these project grow is more people that want to be private. And if we aren't practical, helpful, and real we are gonna fail to spread the message of the value of privacy.
84 sats \ 5 replies \ @Car 8 Mar
I think if you knew my personal story coming into the Bitcoin space it would make more sense.
I can talk about it tomorrow on SNL.
Check out this privacy podcast with Tony on the subject. Where I've talked about it some.
reply
Thanks @Car. I hope I wasn't out of line in mentioning you and I haven't heard your story. Your comment just triggered a thought reminding me of experiences I've had.
reply
Ok, that's a pretty wild experience you had there.
reply
43 sats \ 1 reply \ @Car 8 Mar
All good.
I don’t think people actually realize how many bitcoiners on the front lines go through similar journeys.
One of the reasons I go to church twice a week. He guides me. John 10:1-18
reply
Right on.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @anon 8 Mar
It might be helpful to consider and conceptualize "informants" as swimming here among the SN users.
if I was a spook, I'd keep my cowboy hat and be one of the plebs, or would I?
beware anything that feels like bait plebs don't be a low hanging fruit
reply
fear is the mind killer.
reply
Indeed.
reply
80 sats \ 0 replies \ @brave 8 Mar
Privacy is not dead as many people live by mantras that keep they too private to even be recognised
reply
I have a friend who is a privacy bro yet he didn’t file or pay taxes for 5 years and now has IRS liens on his house and other assets.
reply
The IRS has guns. They do not play. Bravado is often a cover for insecurity and immaturity.
reply
The important thing here is that you have to live in a way that is morally correct. It's a decision that is personal. We are responsible for all of our actions. Caving to the violent psychopaths is hyperbole. Regardless of who had the guns those who use the guns to confiscate the property of others will suffer a grave consequences. It doesn't matter if you have a government badge, paperwork or permission. Each individual who does harm to others is stealing.
What we doing want to do is give others the opportunity to steal from us. We must care about what we have built. We must care about our work. We also must understand that this is a spiritual journey and not a secular one. Secular is state worship. That's the simple explanation.
We don't have the mental energy to get spun up about the state. We don't need the state. The state is a reality but it is not THE reality.
reply
20 sats \ 1 reply \ @anon 8 Mar
In 2003, Hill became a proponent of tax redirection, resisting payment of about $150,000 in federal taxes, donating that money to after-school programs, arts and cultural programs, community gardens, programs for Native Americans, alternatives to incarceration, and environmental protection programs. She said:
I actually take the money that the IRS says goes to them and I give it to the places where our taxes should be going. And in my letter to the IRS I said: "I'm not refusing to pay my taxes. I'm actually paying them but I'm paying them where they belong because you refuse to do so."[30]
reply
10 sats \ 0 replies \ @OgFOMK 8 Mar
Income tax is theft.
Any government funded program first funds the government, then the graft goes to contractors and finally the people are forced to use the public services because they can't afford anything else due to inflation and taxation. Which helps to have a volunteer military of broke and financially illiterate people.
reply
I tend to talk about privacy and security as two sides of the same coin, and as bitcoin is a purely digital asset, important to consider and learn as a bitcoiner .. however, the privacy and security topics are deep and complex, so it's always important (imo) to offer a small number of concrete actionable steps that help people get started.
In the case of digital privacy and security the three I usually mention are: always run a VPN on every device you use, use a password manager if you're not already, and use separate email addresses for different activities but especially for tardfi and for bitcoin.
It's the same concept as with talking about bitcoin which is a wide and deep topic .. but worth giving easily actionable advice for noobs to start with. Regularly stack some bitcoin into a wallet that you control, read a few key titles/watch a few key YT's/listen to a few podcasts.
In both topics, starting by having some skin in the game fosters the curiosity to learn more. Everyone's needs are unique, and some people live in far more adversarial environments than others so, like bitcoin custody (for example), there is no one-size-fits-all.
reply
Well writ!
When I first got into Linux the point was driven that the most secure system doesn't do anything.
Just like you can make your own kernel and it will be great until you want to work with another system.
We are in a funny place with Bitcoin. With Linux I was just a nerd. With Bitcoin we have real scarcity and value that we openly discuss but also we don't want to be low hanging fruit.
reply
Yep. I think about this quite often. One aspect I do not hear very often is that as bitcoin fiat market value rises we will likely go through a phase of hatred and envy but at the same time bitcoiners will have more wealth. It is very hard to be free without wealth. Wealth solves many problems. I'm not saying this will happen but I think about it being a possibility. Not that I have any bitcoin.
The other thing I think about is how much we bitcoiners assume about others. I think many assume other bitcoiners have massive stacks. Its very possible many do not. It also has to be that there are people with massive stacks that have kept it completely private.
There's a lot to think about.
reply
10 sats \ 0 replies \ @OgFOMK 8 Mar
We have a lot of human knowledge that is thousands of years old. That applied to Bitcoin will make the difference.
If we think of this place as a secular order based on human opinions then we have lost.
If we think of this place as a route to greater heights then we will win in all of our endeavors.
reply