Oddbean

The most important thing the government represents for the people is that it it plays the role of a half god who tells them he can make something good out of nothing. The longer people believe in this idea, and the more money they fork over to the government in the form of taxes, the more difficult it is for them to admit that the idea is false. For many, the feelings they have for the government is probably different from the emotional attachment to an imaginative nanny who protects them and cares for their welfare. Instead, I think it's more akin to the emotional attachment they have to their own offspring. They have cared for the government, paid for it, believed in it, fought for it and nurtured it over so many years, that doubting its motives and abilities is akin to believing their own son or daughter is evil or incompetent. Which probably is one of the most painful emotions imaginable - something that must be resisted at all cost.

... and because of this 👇, it's only natural that many choose not to protest when they discover that their half god issues licences to create money out of nothing. nostr:nevent1qqsy80lxu8k27a2dvrhmj7uk7dwk8z5wk38zvx38jxvesynqrkjk35gpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvuhsygyr9g4nem6tza2vff6h99j2gndkf5v7ma38a3z30x63n599at5pnypsgqqqqqqskxwrz7

That's a very good point. Just lately I've been thinking about the psychology of the whole thing too and how can I better communicate with people at that stage (statist mindset) while introducing them to Bitcoin or more transparent/meritocratic/entrepreneurial ideals. My conclusion is that one simply can't change that mindset. In other words, I can't turn people that think like that into libertarians, etc. That's simply impossible. Meaning, it has to be with everything but attacking the existence of the State itself. In other words, if we are to steer this kind of people "our" way, just maintaining a connection at a personal level with them is already everything. Just keep being connected at a personal level with whatever that person is doing. We need to find something that people like that we also do and connect with that. The rest would come. In other words, the Overton window needs to be very small because the distance between cultures is incredibly large. And thus, anything can work (or nothing can), etc. Just being connected is already everything. The medium is the message in this case.

Good reflections, thx. Two comments: - nothing bonds like having a common enemy, and I fear this is were many maxi bitcoiners end up, tightly knit together as a group that loath the state and all it does to family, friends and community - I see the need for more playfulness, which should enable bonding with people outside our community, others who want to play for incrementally gaining more freedom. That's a more positive thing than focusing on the negative, and also enables us to reestablish a positive connection with the normies we are closest to. So, rebuild the bonds with others by seeing ourselves as active players in a positive play for more freedom.

Exactly. I really think so personally. I think neutral play is good because it attracts really all kinds of people (old, young, etc), creating a more open, viral and sustainable effort. But this is what I think personally. Other people will find other ideas of course. For example stuff like simply organizing events. All kinds of events. Ideally things where we have a lot of time to talk (an afternoon, a day or more), bond, etc, with time and ideally without alcohol (the idea is to have fun and not need alcohol), etc... for me it's walks, picnics, excursions, stuff that has movement and is not boring, this connects a lot of people, because it's a neutral environment allowing a lot of conversations and connections at a personal, professional levels, etc Bitcoiners should just organize more events and meet more people :D In the end maybe that's what will work better :)

100% But the play is more fun for bitcoiners if we help others with their fight for freedom, instead of just spending time with them. I mean, other freedom fighters are the lowest hanging fruit for us, and if we help them, they will after a while help us too. It's a more patient way of orangepilling, and we allow them to ask us questions insted of us shoving answers down their throat. For bitcoiners just spending time with normies and bonding with them is something I think makes many of us a lot more restless. I am working on an idea on how we can make this play fun, both for bitcoiners and normies, let's see how it goes

Yes, completely understand what you mean. I think maybe the biggest part is economic. If people work for Bitcoin businesses then maybe it would be much easier to get orange pilled too? Looking forward to see your ideas/project in that direction :) that’s a very commendable mission indeed. Great stuff!