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139 sats \ 1 reply \ @jimmysong 19 Jul 2022 \ on: I'm Alex Gladstein. CSO of the Human Rights Foundation. AMA bitcoin
How do we get people on the political left to really embrace Bitcoin?
Don't know if Alex will answer this question, but, as someone who leans pretty left (voted for Bernie in the last presidential primary) on social issues, I'll chime in.
There are some properties of bitcoin (i.e., immutable, censorship resistant, permissionless) that when discussed in certain contexts (i.e., downtrodden fleeing from authoritarian regimes, as was true for some computer savvy women from Afghanistan) will definitely appeal to some left wingers. I've discussed in some public forums (like ResetEra - a gaming forum that's quite hostile to bitcoin/cryptocurrencies) how payment systems like Venmo have blocked donations to Palestinian non-profits, and how bitcoin not only gets around politically biased platforms, but makes them obsolete. Bitcoin is politically neutral money.
The real elephant in the room, and it's the attacks that left wingers are most susceptible to, are anything having to do with the carbon emissions/energy consumption. Prominent bitcoiners need to get out of the bitcoin podcasting bubble and start addressing/debating these issues on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business, VICE Motherboard, and political shows/platforms like Jacobin, The Realignment (w/Saagar Enjeti and Marshall Kosloff), Breaking Points, Secular Talk, Left Reckoning, The Humanist Report. It can't only be Pompliano, Saylor, and Mallers. Maybe someday (hopefully soon), Mr. Gladstein can do a one-on-one with Bill Maher. Lol. Independent reports on mining farm energy usage need to be published. Reports from The Bitcoin Mining Council, Galaxy Digital, or any industry participants are not going to sway many minds, I don't think. These reports or surveys should maybe only be done if other similar industries (traditional banking, gold mining, etc) will open themselves to similar scrutiny.
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