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Topic: Bitcoin Smashes Empires (Read 3111 times)

legendary
Activity: 3920
Merit: 2349
Eadem mutata resurgo
April 24, 2013, 05:06:59 AM
#8
We are not in Kansas any more Dorothy, Your magic does not work here ...   Smiley
full member
Activity: 167
Merit: 100
April 24, 2013, 04:19:23 AM
#7
Great essay!

Bitcoin is the Rebellion. Those in the Bitcoin community that wish to "work with" banks and the State in order to further Bitcoin are operating under the delusion that banks and the State have any desire to "work with" anything that has potential to undermine their authority.



Thank you! This seems to be making an impact. I was contacted by one of the editors of The Agorist Report… they want to publish it in their 3rd issue coming out sometime soon-ish.

I hear you regarding the "work with", or inside-the-system, people… I'm running into that in some of the other sites where this is posted, particularly reddit. It's been a long time since I've done any writing like this… I'd forgotten how the results can draw criticism and attack. :-D
full member
Activity: 167
Merit: 100
April 24, 2013, 04:18:22 AM
#6
The United States, with extreme hubris, says to the rest of the world that "the dollar is our currency but your problem"

I now say unto the United States that Bitcoin is our currency and your problem, karma's a bitch and what goes around, comes around.

Well said! I like this a lot.
full member
Activity: 238
Merit: 100
April 23, 2013, 03:33:37 PM
#5
Agreed^^
sr. member
Activity: 453
Merit: 250
April 23, 2013, 03:32:06 PM
#4
The United States, with extreme hubris, says to the rest of the world that "the dollar is our currency but your problem"

I now say unto the United States that Bitcoin is our currency and your problem, karma's a bitch and what goes around, comes around.

"Our currency, your problem" is probably worthy of an entry into the slogans thread.
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
April 23, 2013, 03:02:54 PM
#3
Great essay!

Bitcoin is the Rebellion. Those in the Bitcoin community that wish to "work with" banks and the State in order to further Bitcoin are operating under the delusion that banks and the State have any desire to "work with" anything that has potential to undermine their authority.

newbie
Activity: 10
Merit: 0
April 23, 2013, 02:50:02 PM
#2
The United States, with extreme hubris, says to the rest of the world that "the dollar is our currency but your problem"

I now say unto the United States that Bitcoin is our currency and your problem, karma's a bitch and what goes around, comes around.
full member
Activity: 167
Merit: 100
April 23, 2013, 10:27:40 AM
#1
Originally posted here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/ru-phree/bitcoin-smashes-empires/444079539014072
Also posted here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1cxpt3/bitcoin_smashes_empires


Bitcoin Smashes Empires
by R.U. Phree
22 April 2013

What follows is my response to a question that was posted on the Rugatu website asking, "What is the legal status of Bitcoin?" (http://www.rugatu.com/questions/16612/what-is-the-legal-status-of-bitcoin).

After composing this over the course of 10 minutes or so, I realized I liked the response, and decided I want to "polish it up" into a better op-ed style article. Any feedback, positive or negative (though keep it constructive, please) is appreciated.

==========================================

While it is true that the UNITED STATES (or, as I like to call it, the American Federal Empire) Treasury Department issued rules (or rather guidelines) regarding Bitcoin financial transactions, the fact is that Bitcoin is an international phenomenon… so, the joke is on the regulators. The American Federal Empire has no authority or power to regulate Bitcoin! Nor, for that matter, does any other "government".

Sure, they can issue arbitrary decrees for anyone within the artificial lines drawn on a map over which they say they rule, but can they enforce? There is a reason this is called a "cryptocurrency", people. They may bring the hammer down on a person here or there, but their efforts are futile, especially if people take on the attitude that these criminal gangsters have no power or place here, and simply ignore their impotent decrees, as should be done.

I, for one, will not comply with The Empire or their so-called "laws". Many, many others will also ignore this shriveling Empire which is withering away as we speak. The Empire's currency is weakening and within our lifetimes will break… that is why Bitcoin has taken hold as it has. When that break happens, The Empire will die…. plain and simple.

Now, here is the big secret (which really isn't that secret)…. if you look into the history of the concept of Bitcoin, where the idea started and who the early phase 1 and phase 2 adopters are, you'll discover that the destruction of The Empire is the goal of these people, and a Bitcoin-like concept has always been seen as a tool to achieve that goal. The idea of Bitcoin came out of the crypto-anarchist Cypherpunk movement of the mid-90s, and the earliest adopters of the currency have largely been people in the "liberty movement" (libertarian, voluntarist and anarchist movement), especially participants in the Free State Project in New Hampshire (as evidenced by the fact that the largest concentration of Bitcoins held in any one geographic region has been reported to be New Hampshire).

To sum it up, Bitcoin smashes empires…. that is what it was designed to do. The "legal status" of Bitcoin is irrelevant. These gangsters calling themselves "government" really don't get the Internet, and they certainly don't get Bitcoin. They don't understand that it is the doom of their power.

They can write all the rules on paper that they want to. It will be meaningless. Magic scrolls only exist in Dungeons & Dragons games…. the decrees of these criminals have no such magic and should be treated as the impotent babblings of the ignorant that they are.

================================================

EDIT: 4/22/13 8:05am

I know this doesn't really answer the question, per se. But it does bring a different perspective to the question... one which is very present within the Bitcoin community. As such, it does in its own way, answer the question.

It is also something of which those with a more mainstream view in the Bitcoin community need to be aware.... this digital coin that you love was designed to destroy The State that you worship. Sooner or later, you are going to have to make a decision as to which one you value more.


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