Topic: How could bitcoin be used to address civil rights issues with the gay community? (Read 2953 times)

I'm going to be blunt and honest but don't take it as rude. There are several reasons for you encountering so much resistance in trying to support the gay community via bitcoin. In no particular order:

1 Bitcoin is heavily tied to the Austrian/libertarian/anarchist viewpoint. The feminist and homosexual movements are tied to the liberal/statist/neokeynesian viewpoint. These entire worldviews are at extreme odds and therefore turns off many people here.
2 Many other people, such as myself, find homosexuality to be a morally aberrant lifestyle. Religious conservatives for example. We strongly prefer traditional marriage and naturally wouldn't give money to someone fighting against our position.
3 You are misrepresenting civil rights. Being gay is not a basic civil right. Misrepresentation or misunderstanding of rights turns off another section of people. BTC people are often highly educated and therefore very picky. The slightest sign of ignorance means no one will trust you.
4 Finally, probably most importantly, there is good old opportunity cost. Why would someone give money to support the gay community when they can buy asicminer shares and earn a 70%+ yield?? Or even if we wanted to donate to a good cause, why is supporting the gay community better than feeding and sheltering the homeless? (There's a well established btc charity that does that which is why i mention it called sean's outpost https://www.smore.com/e36w-sean-s-outpost )

Pretty much just get all civil rights orgs that are active plaintiffs in federal litigation to accept Bitcoin donations...

I've "met" more gay bitcoiners than self-defense rights people. There should be some crossover. I wish I could get the treasurers of all orgs on board with Bitcoin+BitPay with the conversion fee waiver for non-profits.

Yet most liberals don't give away 90% of their income to the poor. They still love what money can buy them. They generally want other people to give their money away.

I think it's a good idea to promote bitcoin within the gay community. But I don't think there is any way that bitcoin is going to be able to help with gay civil rights.

I think just plain ole advertising bitcoin to the lgbt community through the standard channels is what people should focus on.

Oh.. that's Bruno's (Phinnaues Gage's) address... He quit a while ago. Thanks for pointing this other loose end to tie up out to me.

I would think that gay's concerns and interests could be somewhat broadly reflected thru hrc.org

I contacted the yahoo address thru bitcoin100.org/contact but it was only 1 or 2 days ago.  No rush.

Hit me with a PM or email if you wanna speak further about this and thanks for the interest.

When targeting specific groups, you have to focus on that group's concerns and interests. For gays it's gay marriage, workplace and housing discrimination, green cards for foreign spouses, and, diminishingly, AIDS. If you can figure out how to target Bitcoin at those topics, then yay.


I never got anything from you. Whom were you contacting? Obviously, HRC being a charity, they would qualify, though some may object, claiming that they are too political.

Not all people are the same.  This is about tailoring btc to subgroups of people and individuals when promoting and explaining btc.  I'm always looking for ways to create excitement and interest around bitcoin and every single person has a different perspective / outlook.  Because everyone is different I need to promote btc to every single individual in a different manner.  This hrc initiative can only help me with ammo for specific demographics.  For example, maybe the next group I will focus on will be skateboarders or Pokemon fans.  Even within those groups, everyone is different and wants a personal conversation that tailors to their personal needs.  But if a skateboard shop or Pokemon group accepts btc already then it's potentially an instant connection.

I spoke to 2 lesbians last night who agreed that donations to hrc.org in btc would draw more attention to btc within their subculture to people that might not otherwise care.  In addition, people could donate from across the world and potentially anonymously.  This potentially means more money for an organization which supports civil rights for gays.

If hrc generates more donations thru btc to promote civil rights as well as promote btc then I see this as a positive thing that can only further adoption.  Plus, it's not a headline about money laundering, the Silk Road, anti-govt, etc. in relation to bitcoin.  Also, it helps people.

I haven't heard back from hrc OR the Bitcoin 100 so this specific topic may be dying soon.  Thanks again for all your feedback.

I will need to exclude myself from this thread going forward as it may not be appropriate for me to post such controversial topics while representing BitInstant.  I don't want to cause any confusion here.  I was taking on this project as an individual.  Thanks. 

It's not an issue with more people using bitcoins. No one has an issue with that. It's an issue of Bitcoin not having any specifically pro-gay benefits. There is no benefit to having HRC accept bitcoins than any other large charity with devoted followers accepting bitcoins. I'm all for HRC accepting bitcoins and promoting it to their subscribers, but there's nothing specifically pro-gay about that action.

I'm gay (well, bi). I know a whole bunch of other bitcoiners who are also gay. We don't use Bitcoin because we are gay or because it helps us overcome or simplify some gay-related issues. We use it because it's a good financial system, same as what everyone else uses it for.

>>Honestly, I'm having a hard time understanding why some people here have an issue with more people using btc, especially in a manner that could potentially support basic civil rights for all people.

In any community there are always xenophobic backwards trolls with nothing better to do than harass people who are ... ahem ... supposedly different than they are. I wouldn't worry about it too much. You did get some interesting replies, just ignore the rest.

>>Art in general is a huge area of potential growth for bitcoin.
If people who use bitcoin were will to use it and become sort of patrons towards the artist(and music) community online, it could really open up bitcoin to huge amounts of people who probably would never even think of using bitcoin.

I agree. I bought the website "bitcoinartgallery.com" a while back... let me know what type of art you would like to see on there, if U have any idea... it will probably launch in a month or two..

Once again, this thread is from me as an individual and is not from BitInstant.

I've contacted hrc.org about accepting btc.  I've also contacted the Bitcoin 100 about helping with these efforts.

If hrc.org were accepting btc donations then it could spark enough interest in a gay demographic to look into bitcoin further.  There will be situations at these meetups that I am organizing and attending where I will have opportunities to appeal to particular demographics.

Honestly, I'm having a hard time understanding why some people here have an issue with more people using btc, especially in a manner that could potentially support basic civil rights for all people.

Wtf

Art in general is a huge area of potential growth for bitcoin.

If people who use bitcoin were will to use it and become sort of patrons towards the artist(and music) community online, it could really open up bitcoin to huge amounts of people who probably would never even think of using bitcoin.

That wasn't the OP's point at all. The individuals above look clearly disturbed by the idea of homosexuality, which leads me to suspect they probably have repressed homosexual tendencies. Please seek professional help.


Very well said.


+100

Yeah, FYI, I'm gay, and I have NO IDEA how, or even why, to approach this. There really is no benefit, aside from tax dodging, that bitcoin can provide to the gay community. Now if you were to ask about the furry community, 75%+ of which is gay, I would suggest target their artists, who currently rely on PayPal to sell their art, including porn, and who regularly get their accounts frozen by PayPal for selling porn. Or on a less risque side, target places like FurAffinity and have artists post a bitcoin address in the comment section of the art they post to solicit donations. The big issue you'll rn into, though, is that furries AND gays are typically liberal, so they'll instinctively reject anything that has to do with capitalism or conservative economics.

A very classy insult, I'm afraid I have to steal it for the later use in my repertoire. Thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miosis

PS. It seems that the more popular phrase is "constricted pupils", not "contracted pupils".

PPS. bitcointalk continues to deliver the comedy gold.

The gay community can buy pizza with bitcoins.

Oh well that's a much simpler question to answer: The same way bitcoin can be used to address civil rights issues with the rest of the community. With the same equality of rights, responsibilities, expectations and liberties. Exactly the same as everyone else. IMHO. (grin)

Or the couple that runs a bed and breakfast, or any other business or institution that accepts donations, funding, or payment accepting bitcoin. And happens to be a member of the LGBT community. And can advertise to the LGBT community that not only are they members, but they accept bitcoin as a form of payment. profit! (grin)

I changed the topic title to perhaps address any confusion with my intention.  My intention was more regarding civil rights rather then bringing wealth directly to the gay community.