I Will Not Remain Silent - I Must Speak Up.

Recently an article/blog made the rounds, and while I love the writer , and have enjoyed everything he has written, including this blog , that I'm responding to. I do have problems with the, overall , message. I used to say these same words, because I THOUGHT they where the answer. However, those words failed me and I failed Bitcoin. We can let the past repeat itself, but I've already watched this happen. We aren't quite to the place where the past is repeating itself, and have along way to go before we are in any danger, but we have to look at the our past failures from a much different perspective. Silence and propaganda was the enemy, if you look out our current situation, from a much different perspective, and ignore the warning signs, or even stifle your speech or self censor because, YOU FEEL , it is for Bitcoin Cash, then you are failing Bitcoin. I've done all this, in the past, A lot of it had to do with my personal feelings that "Bitcoin" could do no wrong, and I still believe it can't. Bitcoin, is perfect in every way shape and form , and no matter what, I have no question it will change the world but it can be held back and innovation can be stifled, because people remain silent.

I'm not going to pick apart the blog, because once again, it is not wrong. We all though this was the correct path, and psychologically speaking it probably was and if we had infinite time to compete against the banking and government institutions then I would say that it would be the least painful way to succeed, but we can't win by not getting our hands dirty.

I am going to look at the main points of the article and view it from a much different perspective. If you have not already read it, Please read it here: https://derekmagill.com/2018/05/01/how-to-not-argue-in-bitcoin-cash/

False appeals to altruism When I first got into Bitcoin I was amazed by the community that already existed. It was late 2012 and the "occupy movement" was in full swing. The majority of the members of the Bitcoin, were not only "NOT SELFISH" but were extremely giving. The Hodl mentality didn't exist, and the ICO experiment wasn't "the new way to innovation." So, we had one option and that was to help others, we the people of Bitcoin, could not afford to be selfish, we had to be giving and welcome every new type of member with open arms and teach them that Bitcoin is different, as long as you are there for me, when I need it, then I will be there for you if you need it.

This mentality accelerated growth and didn't stifle it. Faucets sprang up, people gave money willingly, to help random ideas get off the ground, so we could build out an infrastructure, wallets and increase adoption. There was also this strange unexplainable "karma of Bitcoin" the more you gave the more you seemed to get back. This has not changed, I know this Karma still exists, because, in my eyes giving away Bitcoin without strings attached is still the most important way to on board new people, and I know that losing money is temporary, because everyone knows BCH is the future of money, so I'm going to get it back, and then some.

Theoretical bitcoiners or confused noobs Whether you like it or not, we all know confused noobs. Not so much as in "new people" confused by the reality of Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash, but those brainwashed, or even those not willing to admit when "some entity," person, or group is spreading misinformation or trying to stifle discussion or debate.

I was one of them. When Mike Hearn wrote his, now infamous, rage quit blog, I listened to the people calling him a baby, that he is just confused and he doesn't understand what he is talking about, because that is what the "MAJORITY" was saying and if you broke away from the "majority" you were laughed at and called names, so why would you question the status quo. Ignore your gut and believe the "propaganda," it is easier that way.

The character of individual actors. Even though the small minority was shouting it from the rooftops, We ignored, that Adam Back, Gregory Maxwell, Theymos and many others were doing. We even used special "Words" to silence those in those small minorities. Words like conspiracy theorists, detractors, divisive, pot stirrers, baseless accusations, character assassinations, collectivism, socialism, individualism, capitalism, anarchy. This history is repeating itself, instead of proper debate, we are using those same "go-to's" and now adding new ones, like "segwit justice warrior."

While the character of individuals can NOT "kill" Bitcoin it can hold back its growth and adoption. Bitcoin is too good for single "characters" to have so much control, but because of our undying "love" for some of these individuals we sometimes just accept what they say instead of "verifying" it for ourselves. These "characters" will NOT kill Bitcoin Cash, but they can become "Better Characters" if you help them, in the ways you can, and they are open to constructive criticism and helpful advice.

I've studied, in depth, a few things, Philosophy, Psychology, Propaganda, Image Consulting, and Social Engineering. The human mind is quite easily tricked. Edward Bernay's is famous for controlling the minds of millions and his propaganda(public relations) techniques are still being used today. If you ask the "Right" questions you might often find yourself staring in, from the outside asking, "WHY THE F*CK are people not seeing this the way I am? Maybe, it is just me? Should I talk about it? Should I keep quiet for the good of BCH? Maybe I'm wrong? Instead of being told why I'm wrong people are telling me to just not to talk about it, why? Why, as a small minority, am I being told my WORDS are hurting the community? Why is that large majority not listening to,easy to implement, advice? Is it ego? Is the advice bad? If it was bad advice, wouldn't they explain why? Does that person just not see how they are ? If others are enabling that person will they never see how they are ? Or do they see how they are, and not care about other people's help or opinions? Or do they see how they are , and not care enough about BCH to act on small bits of constructive criticism for the betterment of BCH as a whole which in turn would bring us faster, more thorough adoption?"

Dogmatic maximalism Have no real different perspective. I was a Bitcoin Maximalist and still have tremendous, "WANT," for Bitcoin Cash to be the only coin, but when the fees on Bitcoin skyrocketed in November 2016. I had to stop looking at, what I considered, "THE ONE," and had to move on to actually studying every aspect of the cryptocurrency community, ok, maybe I can limit it to the TOP 25. No way my brain can handle 1400 plus, but the mighty can fall, we have already seen it with BTC. I can not be caught off guard, again.

Bitcoin Cash needs better spokespeople than X people. Agree and disagree at the same time. I call certain "spokespeople" in the Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash communities "crypto celebs." The celebrity or political superstars, both inside the mainstream community, as well as the Crypto community are always used to progress strange and random agenda's. If you are watching TV/Movies/Music and don't think you are being programmed by the plots/celebs then I kind of feel sorry for you. Your acceptance of reality can only be adjusted when you are able to see through the propaganda and lies and see the truth. Even then what you might find to be reality may still be skewed by your biases. That is why you can not wall yourself in your own echo chambers, just because you like someone doesn't mean they are not lying to you. Never stop learning, debating and learning, why, others think differently than you.

You should just become a crypto Celeb if you don't like who is already there. Good luck with that, just because you might be rubbed the wrong way by a certain Crypto Celeb they did do a lot of work to get there. Even if those "celebs" are bad for the community, which I don't think any of the current ones are, you won't easily be able to take their places.

Can people give constructive criticism to these individuals? YES. People who are not crypto celebs should be listened to, if the criticism is deserving and REAL solutions are being offered. Than the Crypto Celeb could listen or ignore the advice. No company, politician, celebrity "got better" at their jobs by ignoring advice, in fact, a major industry sprang up with mainstream celebs, public figures, CEO's, and even Scientology going to great lengths to protect their images.

The image consultants : This career path is not held by celebrities, but psychologists, social media experts, morale specialists, social engineers, and even search Engine optimization(damage control) experts. If the "crypto celeb" thinks they know better, and refuses to listen to the free advice, from people in that industry, they can't hurt BCH, but they cause major divisions among those innovating or creating. Just like when a CEO doesn't listen to their shareholders, the company suffers. The same is true with Bitcoin, the USERS tell you what they need, If the CEO of a company does not take that advice the people that are giving the money/time and innovation will look elsewhere, find a different path to implement their wants or spend time they could be innovating or bettering the community, instead rallying around a problem they see needing to be fixed. Look at what Elon Musk did to his "SHAREHOLDERS" the other day. He should have listened to the advice his image consultants gave him.

You’re not a developer Agree with the original author. Listen to all voices no matter how small, even the worst advice could change the future.

That’s a stupid use a block space. I have no reason to refute this because I agree with the original author, but I will expound a bit with my own personal opinion.

The novelty factor is there. Have fun with the new tech. These, most likely wont be the future, but there will always be needs for writing thing permanently to the blockchain. As far as decentralized social media. On chain solutions like Memo.cash and Blockpress will most likely NOT replace Twitter, they will however adapt, with much better innovations in the future. Decentralized Twitter like social medias already exist and have for awhile at Mastodon.social people choose not to use them, because they do not offer the same "addictive" stimulus that other social media platforms offer.

To put it simply: Do you want to test the CRYPTO KITTIES NOW or wait until Bitcoin Cash is taking over the world? If we wait until later then all we are going to do is piss a bunch of people off and they will run away. Look at what BTC did in December when everyone wanted Bitcoin but it couldn't scale and Fees skyrocketed. Use the toys now and use them hard. You are the guinea pigs and you will make future users experiences much better by being there NOW.





MY Final Words

What did I do wrong in the past? I've seen us make the mistake in the crypto past. I kept my mouth shut, for a couple different reasons.

I didn't want and still don't want the spotlight.

I didn't have enough knowledge or I leaned on other peoples opinions to form my conclusions.

I believed much of the propaganda and lies, or I just ignored the truth, because it was easy

I was an extreme maxamilist

I expected others to fix "the problems" for me

I didn't want to make waves, because I was afraid contention would hold back Bitcoin.





What am I doing differently?

Putting myself out there for criticism, rebuttals and refutations - please prove me wrong. Find a better solution. I don't want to be a voice in the community I want to hide in the background on work on other "shtuff." But if nobody else is speaking up. I have to.

I have spent every waking moment reading, learning and educating myself on every aspect Bitcoin history, the "characters," compromises made, debates had, innovation accepted and excluded. Most importantly, I've seen and listened to what the users want, how they act towards and how they provide for the Bitcoin Community. This gives me a path of study and knowledge so I can provide for the users in what they want or need, not what I think they want or need. I'm not the only person in BCH I have to admit I don't know everything, and I have to be willing to listen, help and debate when called on to do so.

I don't believe anything. If I don't ask 20 questions with every statement said by the "crypto celebs," twitter/reddit posts, the devs and the users, then I'm not being fair to BCH. It is, MY DUTY, no everyone's duty to confirm the information you are provided and quit believing the lies and propaganda

Any Coin can win. I hope that it will BCH, it currently has the most potential. My mind is open, and it will change if any other coin can give everything that Bitcoin Cash is offering.

I'm done waiting for others to "fix things." I'm learning how to code Bitcoin related technology. I'm learning and contributing, from everything to designing Bitcoin Cash related software, blender animations, and even stuff like this blog.

You know what has held back BITCOIN the most? In my humble opinion, it has been to many people afraid to make waves, question, and help others in the community. We all make mistakes. We all have our failures. We all have our strengths. If we refuse to listen to the criticism. Are not humbled by the adulation. Increase our knowledge and change ourselves for the better then we stagnate and fester instead of learning, and building on our failures or successes to make BCH everything it needs to be.

Did you miss my last Yours.org Blog? Check it out here: Animation? I Can't Even Draw a Straight Line

Or

You can also find me when I'm not #shadowbanned at Twitter @toomuch72 Or Reddit as u/toomuch72 and once in a blue moon you will find me on Facebook and if you hate censorship mastodon.social is the place you need to go @toomuch72





Behind the Paywall, a big Giant "Thank You." I have included a 10 cent comment price, due to the controversial nature of this blog: Fair Warning.