GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage • Hacker News Board

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#121

Post by wwww4all » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:02 PM UTC

hintymad wrote: post #28

> Let’s state the uncomfortable truth. The future for many Americans is bleak and their lives are going to be nasty, brutish and short. Everyday I see a world where many in my generation have simply given up all hope for opportunity of a family, a house, a stable career and forced to confront an uncertain future in a world that is slowly boiling itself to death. But why? Why can't more kids get into STEM fields? Why…

The US public school system is money graft operation to pump money to teachers unions and education industry.

It’s not about kids and education anymore. Just look at how all teachers unions and most teachers are opposed to opening schools. They know the joke in the system and just want to ride out the COVID plan forever.

Teaching kids about anything, especially difficult STEM subjects, are very difficult and requires excellent teachers. The teachers unions don’t care about that, they just run the kids through the system. That’s why good education is lacking in US.

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#122

Post by timerol » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:05 PM UTC

Judgmentality wrote: post #92

loeber wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strong agree. This is a lazy polemic. Take, for instance, this one amazing part: > Goldman Sachs, Citadel, Andersen Horrowitz those guys are making transaction fees "Andersen Horrowitz"? Does the author have any idea who he is criticizing or what industry they're in? > Failing microcap stock GME is not a microcap stock, and it was not a microcap stock, even before this entire saga > I make no pretense that I don’t de…

> > I make no pretense that I don’t despise the bitcoin philosophy > Erroneous double negative here, does he even proofread his own work? I think he got this part right. I make [no] pretense that I do [not] despise the bitcoin philosophy ---> I {admit} that I do despise the bitcoin philosophy. Unfortunately, this is one of those weird English phrases where the more you look at it, the weirder it is. I'm actually less…

I think you've got it backwards. I'm counting it as a quadruple negative when considering "despise" and "pretense" meaning deception. "Make no pretense" means the same thing as "admit", not the logical opposite. Some equivalent statements to the original:

I make no pretense that I respect the bitcoin philosophy.

Edit: I made an bad logical leap here. The statement can only be interpreted about how the author pretends, and not the author's actual position. So everything after this edit is suspect. All we can say is that the author does not pretend to like bitcoin. The statement doesn't say anything about the author's actual opinions of bitcoin, though that is very clear from the article.

I make a pretense that I despise the bitcoin philosophy.

I admit that I don't despise the bitcoin philosophy.

I admit that I respect the bitcoin philosophy.

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#123

Post by vinceguidry » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:05 PM UTC

solosoyokaze wrote: post #24

seaourfreed wrote: post #22

The US Congress sells out all citizens, via lobbyists. Populist rage comes a rigged economy, where they are losing money. Rigged pharma. Unethical medical billing. Out of control healthcare costs. 2008 mortgage crisis. High Frequency trading firms front running trades. Panama Papers. Libor. And a million more. Citizens won't have it any more. Fixing congress (so they don't sell us out), and congress CAN would WOULD f…

I'd add the rules around being an accredited investor. The US government cuts off early stage investment opportunities to non-high net worth individuals "for their own good". The same US government that happily allows for state run lotteries.

This is mostly due to the dangers it poses to old people, who are by and large defenseless against scammers. If you don't put barriers in place to prevent old people from making the choice to throw their nest egg away, bilking old people becomes an industry.

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#124

Post by h0nd » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:07 PM UTC

>The last ten years have seen a massive redistribution of wealth from this age bracket into older demographics.

This has very strongly increased during that year of pandemic. In my country a vast amount of money is spent on protecting old people that future generations will be liable for.

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#125

Post by albntomat0 » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:09 PM UTC

jancsika wrote: post #120

pcstl wrote: post #97

"Let’s state the uncomfortable truth. The future for many Americans is bleak and their lives are going to be nasty, brutish and short." I find it funny how first-worlders are horrified by the idea that they might have to live in mild discomfort. Maybe try looking at how most of the world that isn't the US and Western Europe lives before saying people's lives will be "nasty, brutish and short" because they won't be wo…

Let me tell you, we used to dream of living in the non-US/Western European world! What I did there-- and what you are doing-- is referred to as "one-downmanship." Essentially, attempting to ignore or downplay suffering by talking about a case of worse suffering that you have experience with. When not part of comedy sketches[1], it's usually considered disruptive. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE

Do you allow literally anyone, regardless of situation, to claim "woe is me"?

I understand that "one-downmanship" can be used to dismiss legitimate claims, but the existence of such tactics does not automatically validate anyone who claims their lives are hard.

The original article used a line from Hobbes regarding existence pre-society, which does not apply. The author could have used many valid other things in the US (homeownership and marriage rates, opiod addiction, savings rate) that would have made that part of their argument valid, but decided to go to the rhetorical extreme.

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#126

Post by MonsterBurger » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:09 PM UTC

missedthecue wrote: post #54

nonameiguess wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could already own land, houses, cattle, ownership shares in companies that produce useful goods other humans want, all things the government doesn't control. If the concern is the government could potentially seize control of those things, sure, but a sufficiently malicious government can seize control of you and no amount of magic numbers on a USB stick is going to stop them.

I predict his reply will be that your property rights to land, cattle, homes, and common equity are protected by governments.

You were right!

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#127

Post by pcstl » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:09 PM UTC

jancsika wrote: post #120

pcstl wrote: post #97

"Let’s state the uncomfortable truth. The future for many Americans is bleak and their lives are going to be nasty, brutish and short." I find it funny how first-worlders are horrified by the idea that they might have to live in mild discomfort. Maybe try looking at how most of the world that isn't the US and Western Europe lives before saying people's lives will be "nasty, brutish and short" because they won't be wo…

Let me tell you, we used to dream of living in the non-US/Western European world! What I did there-- and what you are doing-- is referred to as "one-downmanship." Essentially, attempting to ignore or downplay suffering by talking about a case of worse suffering that you have experience with. When not part of comedy sketches[1], it's usually considered disruptive. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE

Fair enough. But my point is to be disruptive.

I don't think the author has a point here. I think he's appealing to the fact that, on an emotional level, humans think they're entitled to always have their standards of living be equal or better to what they were before to make people think they live in uniquely hard times.

Looking to the world outside of the US might provide some badly-needed perspective as to why that is not true.

I think it is important to differentiate people's subjective feelings of being let down from there actually being a problem, or their lives being "nasty, brutish and short".

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#128

Post by jtbayly » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:12 PM UTC

Judgmentality wrote: post #92

loeber wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strong agree. This is a lazy polemic. Take, for instance, this one amazing part: > Goldman Sachs, Citadel, Andersen Horrowitz those guys are making transaction fees "Andersen Horrowitz"? Does the author have any idea who he is criticizing or what industry they're in? > Failing microcap stock GME is not a microcap stock, and it was not a microcap stock, even before this entire saga > I make no pretense that I don’t de…

> > I make no pretense that I don’t despise the bitcoin philosophy > Erroneous double negative here, does he even proofread his own work? I think he got this part right. I make [no] pretense that I do [not] despise the bitcoin philosophy ---> I {admit} that I do despise the bitcoin philosophy. Unfortunately, this is one of those weird English phrases where the more you look at it, the weirder it is. I'm actually less…

You're right, he's right, but your analysis is not helpful, actually.

"I make no pretense..." means "I don't claim to..." For example, "I make no pretense at being an bitcoin expert" means "I don't claim to be a bitcoin expert."

So here's some more helpful analysis:

"I don't claim to despise BTC" means I like it.

"I don't claim to not despise BTC" means I don't like it.

Thus, "I make no pretense to not despise BTC" means I don't like it.

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#129

Post by mdale » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:13 PM UTC

solosoyokaze wrote: post #24

seaourfreed wrote: post #22

The US Congress sells out all citizens, via lobbyists. Populist rage comes a rigged economy, where they are losing money. Rigged pharma. Unethical medical billing. Out of control healthcare costs. 2008 mortgage crisis. High Frequency trading firms front running trades. Panama Papers. Libor. And a million more. Citizens won't have it any more. Fixing congress (so they don't sell us out), and congress CAN would WOULD f…

I'd add the rules around being an accredited investor. The US government cuts off early stage investment opportunities to non-high net worth individuals "for their own good". The same US government that happily allows for state run lotteries.

At least with the lottery there are odds published and audited... ICOs maybe not so much.

That said nothing preventing kick starter for seed rounds with a cut for said audits of at least good faith intent to build business value in some way.

Re: GameStop, Bitcoin and the Commoditization of Populist Rage

#130

Post by throwawaywoke » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 4:15 PM UTC

h0nd wrote: post #124

>The last ten years have seen a massive redistribution of wealth from this age bracket into older demographics. This has very strongly increased during that year of pandemic. In my country a vast amount of money is spent on protecting old people that future generations will be liable for.

Essentially, shutting down the economy (well, the poor person sectors only) was also a move to protect old people at the expense of young people. The COVID IFR rate increases sharply with age.

If you don't see what's happening, then quite bluntly, you need to broaden your circles to familiarize yourself with people that aren't privileged enough to be able to continue working remotely.