A big long rant on the madhouse that is Bitcoin...

Ever find yourself in a room full of people who just give you the ick—and you can’t help but wonder, “How did I end up here?”

That’s been me looking around at the Bitcoin world for the past ~3 yrs. It’s been a rough few years on the personal front. I changed my social circle and parted ways with dear old friends. But don’t get me wrong, there are still amazing people here and the Bitcoiners that I now hangout with I genuinely find to be the most interesting and impressive people on the planet. I’d pass on a ticket to the Met gala to go to a dive bar with my fav Bitcoiners! But, looking around at the broader space… it’s ugly out here.

Blatant misogyny, political boot licking, tyrant worship, nonsensical infighting. This is not the behavior of humanity's best and brightest. And we think so highly of ourselves in this space, we are geniuses… right? Well how did all this madness wind up here, with us?

The breakdown of my relationship with one particular Bitcoiner friend of mine is very illustrative of what’s been happening here. This is a person who was a long time anarchist deep in the libertarian world. We connected over shared values, or at least I thought we had. Then the values got eroded, one by one. Liberty! …unless you are a woman, because of course women want to be led by a man. No rulers! …well except Trump, because he’s going to beat those evil libtards with the satanic agenda.

Pain will motivate you, and so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what happened there. I see three recurring patterns: the perpetual rebel, the disillusioned, and the power hungry.

1. The Perpetual Rebel

Someone suffers a deep injustice at a formative point in life. They engage in righteous rebellion, and that becomes their identity. When one fight ends, they seek another, just to keep feeling like themselves. They aren’t just fighting for something—they’re fighting to stay someone.

2. The Disillusioned

Sometimes there are reality breaking moments in people’s lives. Someone has been told their whole life that the sky is blue, but one day, they look up and it is red. Their whole model of reality breaks, they question everything, they trust no one. They become stuck in disillusionment, always doubting, never grounded.

3. The Power Hungry

Some rebel against their rulers. Their rulers are unjust and are suppressing them. They are filled with righteous anger and join the movements to remove the oppressive leaders. But, while they may have spent years chanting it, it wasn't that they actually wanted “no rulers”, they didn’t want “freedom” in a general sense. They wanted to not be ruled themselves. They wanted freedom and power for themselves. And so, when the time comes, they will support the tyrant that they see as giving them the power to be the ruler of others.

My former friend was to some extent, all three of these things, and the Bitcoin world has a way of attracting these types of people. Bitcoin is a wildly powerful and “disruptive” technology. When you see that, when you get it, it’s mind blowing! It’s a powerful tool for the rebels. It’s a bit of hope for the disillusioned trying to find a new map of the world. It’s also a method of enrichment for those who wish to be above others.

But the perpetual rebel and the disillusioned don’t just get caught up in Bitcoin, they also get caught up in social causes, politics, and all sorts of movements that offer them an enemy to fight or a new grip on reality. And when those seeking power are feeling wealthy, they will exert that power and seek to expand it. And when we recognize the high concentration of these volatile people in the Bitcoin world, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that we have the madness that we do.

But then, it gets worse. Bitcoin gets picked up by a lot of these people and becomes their identity, their religion. … In some circles, Bitcoin is a cult. Beards, guns, steak, and toxic maximalism. Those with a cult-like mindset are also drawn to Bitcoin.

I was born into a Christian doomsday cult and I have to admit, that’s probably a factor in why I find myself standing in this room.

My family left the cult that I was born into when I was 7, and both of my parents then drifted away from Christianity and religious extremism. But that mind set, the us-vs-them, the occult knowledge elitism, the righteousness obsession, that mindset was installed deep in the back of my head during those 7 years, and parts of it have stayed with me.

What really stuck with me was a sense of elitist righteousness as a form of safety from the evils of the world—a kind of magical thinking that promised security and fulfillment if I could just follow a rare, enlightened path and avoid the sinful, misguided sheeple. Given my history with religion, I couldn’t find this path through a church, though I did try a few times. Instead, I found it in economic and political ideologies—first in Austrian economics, where I railed against the evils of communism; then in Libertarianism, railing against the evils of collectivism and authoritarianism—and ultimately in Bitcoin, which seemed to unite these ideas and offer both a sense of purpose and a righteous path.

Bitcoin with its fringe status and world altering potential can really appeal to those seeking elite knowledge—the kind that feels like a righteous path to salvation.

But not everyone in this space is a cultist, a perpetual rebel, the chronically disillusioned, or power hungry. There are brilliant, principled people here. And people who came for the wrong reasons but stayed for the right ones. Still, it’s undeniable: Bitcoin is a magnet for the unbalanced, and that causes real problems.

It’s kinda an asshole move to rant about a problem without offering a solution. But I needed to find the patterns before I could start addressing them. I’m finally in a place where I can begin looking for solutions. And I will.

What do you think the solutions are? What do we do about this? What can we do about this?

A big long rant on the madhouse that is Bitcoin...

Ever find yourself in a room full of people who just give you the ick—and you can’t help but wonder, “How did I end up here?”

That’s been me looking around at the Bitcoin world for the past ~3 yrs. It’s been a rough few years on the personal front. I changed my social circle and parted ways with dear old friends. But don’t get me wrong, there are still amazing people here and the Bitcoiners that I now hangout with I genuinely find to be the most interesting and impressive people on the planet. I’d pass on a ticket to the Met gala to go to a dive bar with my fav Bitcoiners! But, looking around at the broader space… it’s ugly out here.

Blatant misogyny, political boot licking, tyrant worship, nonsensical infighting. This is not the behavior of humanity's best and brightest. And we think so highly of ourselves in this space, we are geniuses… right? Well how did all this madness wind up here, with us?

The breakdown of my relationship with one particular Bitcoiner friend of mine is very illustrative of what’s been happening here. This is a person who was a long time anarchist deep in the libertarian world. We connected over shared values, or at least I thought we had. Then the values got eroded, one by one. Liberty! …unless you are a woman, because of course women want to be led by a man. No rulers! …well except Trump, because he’s going to beat those evil libtards with the satanic agenda.

Pain will motivate you, and so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what happened there. I see three recurring patterns: the perpetual rebel, the disillusioned, and the power hungry.

1. The Perpetual Rebel

Someone suffers a deep injustice at a formative point in life. They engage in righteous rebellion, and that becomes their identity. When one fight ends, they seek another, just to keep feeling like themselves. They aren’t just fighting for something—they’re fighting to stay someone.

2. The Disillusioned

Sometimes there are reality breaking moments in people’s lives. Someone has been told their whole life that the sky is blue, but one day, they look up and it is red. Their whole model of reality breaks, they question everything, they trust no one. They become stuck in disillusionment, always doubting, never grounded.

3. The Power Hungry

Some rebel against their rulers. Their rulers are unjust and are suppressing them. They are filled with righteous anger and join the movements to remove the oppressive leaders. But, while they may have spent years chanting it, it wasn't that they actually wanted “no rulers”, they didn’t want “freedom” in a general sense. They wanted to not be ruled themselves. They wanted freedom and power for themselves. And so, when the time comes, they will support the tyrant that they see as giving them the power to be the ruler of others.

My former friend was to some extent, all three of these things, and the Bitcoin world has a way of attracting these types of people. Bitcoin is a wildly powerful and “disruptive” technology. When you see that, when you get it, it’s mind blowing! It’s a powerful tool for the rebels. It’s a bit of hope for the disillusioned trying to find a new map of the world. It’s also a method of enrichment for those who wish to be above others.

But the perpetual rebel and the disillusioned don’t just get caught up in Bitcoin, they also get caught up in social causes, politics, and all sorts of movements that offer them an enemy to fight or a new grip on reality. And when those seeking power are feeling wealthy, they will exert that power and seek to expand it. And when we recognize the high concentration of these volatile people in the Bitcoin world, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that we have the madness that we do.

But then, it gets worse. Bitcoin gets picked up by a lot of these people and becomes their identity, their religion. … In some circles, Bitcoin is a cult. Beards, guns, steak, and toxic maximalism. Those with a cult-like mindset are also drawn to Bitcoin.

I was born into a Christian doomsday cult and I have to admit, that’s probably a factor in why I find myself standing in this room.

My family left the cult that I was born into when I was 7, and both of my parents then drifted away from Christianity and religious extremism. But that mind set, the us-vs-them, the occult knowledge elitism, the righteousness obsession, that mindset was installed deep in the back of my head during those 7 years, and parts of it have stayed with me.

What really stuck with me was a sense of elitist righteousness as a form of safety from the evils of the world—a kind of magical thinking that promised security and fulfillment if I could just follow a rare, enlightened path and avoid the sinful, misguided sheeple. Given my history with religion, I couldn’t find this path through a church, though I did try a few times. Instead, I found it in economic and political ideologies—first in Austrian economics, where I railed against the evils of communism; then in Libertarianism, railing against the evils of collectivism and authoritarianism—and ultimately in Bitcoin, which seemed to unite these ideas and offer both a sense of purpose and a righteous path.

Bitcoin with its fringe status and world altering potential can really appeal to those seeking elite knowledge—the kind that feels like a righteous path to salvation.

But not everyone in this space is a cultist, a perpetual rebel, the chronically disillusioned, or power hungry. There are brilliant, principled people here. And people who came for the wrong reasons but stayed for the right ones. Still, it’s undeniable: Bitcoin is a magnet for the unbalanced, and that causes real problems.

It’s kinda an asshole move to rant about a problem without offering a solution. But I needed to find the patterns before I could start addressing them. I’m finally in a place where I can begin looking for solutions. And I will.

What do you think the solutions are? What do we do about this? What can we do about this?

ugh, not sure if I can. I'd like to buy some with fiat, more than I could get p2p. its been sitting in etfs since last October.

installed my first cold wallet today! no btc transferred to that address yet, but I got started.

but compare to renting the same house

You don’t own your home if you are forced to pay property taxes, you’re renting for 30+ years & you call it ownership but a house is a liability not an asset:

• Mortgage Interest 7% x 30

• Property taxes 2% x 30

• Maintenance 1% x 30

• Insurance ?% x 30

The bank, govt & insurance companies are likely to make more money on you buying a house than you are! Don’t hate the messenger. GC

Its my birthday 🥳

The New York Historical Society has an exhibit this month on Flaco, the Ungovernable Owl. If you were here in 2023, you make have followed along with the saga.

RIP Flaco 🦉🧡😢

nostr:note19le6p4dadym6uwwehq3694rg2m5nke524ajgk2p47vjsyspd7j3s884yrk

WOULD YOU RATHER❓

Me: RED

I love this guy, and have listened to his videos several times. I am pastor of a small "assembly" and I have been introducing his ideas slowly over the past year.

GM plebs

Have a beautiful day

how does it do when the honey crystalizes?

C.S. Lewis' way of saying, "go touch grass".

That vers is part of the later addition of Mark, called the “long conclusion”.

The fact that elected politicians and leaders never apologize for their mistakes and failures is everything that is wrong with humanity. We allow ourselves to be ruled by people who are constantly above any form of judgement and responsibility.

Ordinary people always pay for their own mistakes. The ruling class hardly ever does that.

6/13/2025

The best day of my life.

how are you #buying, #stacking #zapping?

#strikesux

War

You don’t actually need a real id to fly

I wanted to speak,

But nothing came out.

My mind was confused,

The words not allowed.

All of my own doing,

No others to blame.

Now crying in silence,

Feel nothing but shame.

We think they come easy,

Our God-given rights.

They perish in silence;

Unless someone fights.

But who is this fighter?

Is it you? Is it me?

It comes down to courage.

The courage to be.

Why not remain silent?

Why say things at all?

Why tear down the comfort,

Of this prison wall.

Compliance is easy,

Resistance is not.

We need to SPEAK CLEARLY

A rule we forgot.

It's all dia-Logos,

Allein or zu zweit,

A chat between friends;

You alone, late at night.

Without speaking clearly,

Proper thought can not form.

Free Speech is not optional,

It must be the norm.

So FUCK all the censors,

Both big and so small,

And fuck myself too,

For preaching to all.

We need more conversation,

And less claims of Truth.

Way more compassion.

"Corruption of Youth?"

They killed him for questions.

He wouldn't shut up.

But "they" are still with us,

And he drank the cup.

There is no distinction,

No "them" and no "us,"

So why all the fighting?

What is all the fuss?

P doom equals zero,

Some old crazy guy claims.

It's hard to agree.

We all live in chains!

Of our own making,

Of thought and of bytes,

confusion and silence;

There's no given rights.

Rights must be defended,

Or lest they may fall,

The fight is decisions,

To be made by all.

Should I stay on the platform?

Should I leave? Should I fight?

Should I build my own platform?

Should I enter the light?

The light that is Logos,

the word that redeems.

That speaks truth and beauty,

and is good—so it seems.

We don't need no platforms.

No login; no sign-up.

Get a key and some relays;

Sign your words and speak up!

I know it's not easy,

Though simple it sounds.

But it is your duty!

Responsibility abounds.

Some of us are tiny;

Some have a huge heart.

I'm still a bit whiny;

But all ends are starts.

I wanted to speak,

But nothing came out.

So now I'll just send it,

No censors allowed.

We need more easy places to spend bitcoin. I keep saying this because people ask me where they can spend it. I think it’s wrong to assume that everyone will be a hardcore hodler, people are actually curious where to spend.

It’s a tough marketplace problem and we’re making progress, but more effort needed.

I feel the need to share more of my original #poetry here on nostr. The following piece appeared first on the Steemit.com blockchain:

~Starlit Evening~

by Duncan Cary Palmer

Do you ache for me

At the window pane,

Gazing on a starlit evening?

Does your soul reach out

O'er the weary miles

When you see the rising moon?

As you call my name

In your fevered dream,

At midnight, bathed in starlight,

Am I still the hope

Of your swelling heart

Underneath the rising moon?

Do I yet hold sway

As the man you love

On this lovely starlit evening?

Do you still recall

The sweet times we shared

When you view the waxing moon?

That bookcase I once built for you

In a dream so very long ago:

I'll refashion it, and more one day.

We will tread the stars again,

And be more than artless friends

'Midst the craters of the Moon.

I once promised you we'd marry;

Once for all, we'll join two heartbeats

When the obstacles are gone.

We will sail the stars together,

We will walk upon the Moon.

In a dream that lives

Deep within my soul,

I hold you in the starlight.

We will build a house

Where we both can dwell

Underneath the harvest moon.

Soon the day will dawn

When we set a course,

Wand'ring in the starlight.

We will leave the pain

Of the past behind,

As we sail beyond the moon.

We will tread among the stars.

We will sail beyond the moon.

~FIN~

#poetstr #poetry #love #romance

Gm Nostriches.