aa on Nostr: A common tactic of political regimes grabbing more powers is to first direct these on ...

A common tactic of political regimes grabbing more powers is to first direct these on unpopular, disreputable or otherwise easily discredited targets. They start there knowing that few will defend these unsavoury people on principle, and that the sheep can be distracted from the real issues by bringing up all these people’s defects. With those powers thus legitimized through precedent, the regime can advance to wield them on the general population.

A contemporary example is corporately-administered but state-directed censorship, first with Alex Jones, Milo, Spencer, etc. Since these people are hard to defend personally, even free speech advocates have to waste time throat clearing, after which there is only time for a weak defence of the principles involved. The tactic thus legitimized, the power grabbers were then free to move on to blanket censorship on major platforms.

Why does this matter now? Well, they are using the exact same tactic now in the “then they fight us now” phase of Bitcoin. The regime is targeting controversial people because of their past as bitcoiners, and some people that call themselves bitcoiners are bringing up the victims’ misdeeds instead of providing an unqualified and full-throated defence.

Let’s not fall into this trap. Let’s not waste precious time on bullshit. Let’s defend principles. Let’s defend people prosecuted for non-crimes or for crimes they didn’t commit, even if they may have committed other offences. The stakes are too high to do otherwise.