Annie-Rose Strasser thinks "Bitcoin is bred from white privilege" - here is the truth

Enter Annie-Rose Strasser, the writer at "Think Progressive" who is attacking bitcoin in an effort to relate the digital currency to the notion of "white privilege" - you can feel free to take a look at her ridiculous attempt to link the revolution to what she basically describes as her people missing out, here - try not to laugh too loud if you're at work. Her problem seems to be that the community around bitcoin - the revolution in currency exchange and the baby of techies all over the globe - is somehow a whites only club. She points out that because bitcoin is "so expensive" only whites who control wealth can afford them. Perhaps she didnt know that like gold, the dollar, and just about every other currency that I know of, bitcoin can be broken down into smaller increments, so one can in fact purchase, say, a penny's worth of bitcoin - crazy, I know - it pays to do your homework, Ms. Strasser. Wait it gets better. The other basis for her claim stems from the truth that the tech sector is dominated by young white males, as to somehow imply that young white men have forced others out and kept them out by force - but I would be crazy to correlate the overwhelming demographic differences to, say, oh I don't know, the amount of work and commitment involved. Do you see how it becomes racist when I spin it? 

Honestly though, is Ms. Strasser really this dense? Now, I know I may be a bit blunt at times, I can't help it, it's the military in me, I call it as I see it - but if I may be so bold; I would venture to say that if the minority youth of this country were taught to glorify computer programming instead of hip hop artists and sports figures, she may not have much of a leg to stand on. It's hard to take this message seriously as is; can you imagine if there was a mass migration of minority and underprivileged kids toward software like ruby mine? Do any of you know what that is? How about GIT? GitHub? - Hmm. Maybe we should be reevaluating our priorities when it comes to what we teach in schools. Maybe commercials should push script editors instead of an ugly $200 pair of Jordan’s. You see, I spent my money on script editors, IDE’s and coding classes. That is why I am in the position I am in, Ms. Strasser. When some government fan-gal like Annie-Rose Strasser attacks a revolution developed by individuals who consider themselves on the side of the greater good, simply because of their skin color and sex, the only purpose it serves is to alienate an entire audience, and it turns everyone in that audience off to your message when the truth is, some may have sympathized with you. 

The hacker culture is comprised primarily of individuals who turned to tech as a means to vent the frustration acquired from being picked on, and/or being labeled "socially awkward," and other such oppression. When others rebelled, skipped school, sold drugs, did drugs, vandalized private property, and so on, these individuals studied an art - the art of creating with algorithms. We programmed and programmed and programmed, and when things weren’t going so well, we programmed some more. When we finished, you liked the product of our work, and many individuals gave you their work to use for free, simply because they love doing what they do (enter Firefox, Facebook, WatsApp, and most of the games you played in the arcade as a kid), and giving it out for others to enjoy, Ms. Strasser. And you liked our creations - oh boy did you. You were now able to buy your new shoes online, post pictures of your shoes to show all your friends who used our programs, just how cool you were with your $200 shoes. Now these individuals are acquiring wealth from their hobbies, and because her little bus missed the trip, she slams the tech industry for being racist? Here is a clue Ms. Strasser, if you want to make the field trip next time, stop promoting sports, rap and $200 shoes to your youth as a means to an end. It doesn't take a techie - or as you would describe us, "young white men" - to understand how ridiculous that message is. 

The people around this movement donate their time, energy and finances to people all over the world - yet you have the gall to claim that this currency favors the wealthy? Some of those "young white men," i.e. Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, will use their money to do more for the people of this planet than you will ever do. I suppose you would say that it's only because they are guilty in some way, though, wouldn't you? Do you envy their money and power? Why? Because a few "white geeks” saw investment potential? Maybe it's because they were looking, Ms. Strasser. Oh and also, isn’t it cool to be a geek now? Don’t you copy the style, the glasses, and just about everything else except for the one thing that you can’t copy; the brain? You can’t mimic time, dedication and commitment, Ms. Strasser. And you sure as heck can’t make the claim that because we put it in, and that the majority of us happen to be one color, that we are for some reason a racist institution because of it. All are welcome here, ma’am, but this is one industry in which you have to actually try, and if you do, you are rewarded for your efforts - I am sure you may not understand what that looks like, when you sit on the backs of your government employed peers and watch them sit back under their unions and take paychecks for nothing. This woman speaks of bitcoin as if she has any clue as to what it is, or what it represents, while demonizing anyone who doesn't feel that they need the government to guide them in order to survive. What I find most hilarious is the fact that she rides this wave of government love, as if it weren't that very same government she would just as easily slam for enslaving her people in the 18 and early 1900's, segregating her people in the mid 1900's, shoveling her people heroine in the 60's and 70's, and keeping her people suppressed as nothing more than modern day house slaves from then on (enter "The New Jim Crow"). 

So which is it? You've despised them for a century, and now love them because they "protect you?" Ms. Strasser, I beg you and those like you to think from now on, about the implications of your messages, before you speak. In a sector dominated primarily by young white males, your pathetic message only serves to divide further, the fabric of what could be a cohesive society. Next time you attempt to open your mouth about something you know nothing about, especially when it comes to the tech industry, think about how many young black and Hispanic children you will succeed in turning off to the industry, who may have otherwise been interested in pursuing a career or degree in tech. 

All in all, you seem to me to be the sort of individual who is far more counter intuitive to your own people, than the opposite - but then, what can we expect from someone who is just another media ploy from the government, hell bent on creating a need for government. To those of you out there who read this woman’s trash and feel that for some reason you are not welcome in this industry, know this: This woman's views are those of jaded self sympathizers who would rather see individuals remain segregated than not. Do not feel that as a young person of color, you must adhere to this pathetic ideology because some of your mentors do. This is a different time in our history, and theirs is over. We should not continue the history of separation which has come full circle, on the part of both of our respective races, rather, unite as a people, not of color, but rather of the same species, in an effort to displace those like Ms. Strasser who would rather see innovation and true progress thwarted in an effort to maintain her comfy position, safely nestled under the blanket of a government that I'm am certain she would just as well despise, be it not for the free handouts she claims you need to survive. You are welcome by all of us here in the tech world. We are united under the reality that we find innovation and advancement fascinating and exciting, and some - such as Ms. Strasser - do not. Let it not be far from your mind, that you are very much welcome and that diversity is not something that can be forced, rather is something that grows from the evolution of a group of people united and focused in a common direction - all are welcome.

About Me: I am a Computer Scientist, more specifically a Database Administrator, a business man (Holding a Bachelors in Business with a focus in Enterprise Administration from Fordham University, Magna Cum Laude), a writer, a blogger, as well as a philosopher, a philanthropist (as much as one with limited finances can be..) a veteran, and in general, an all around thinker and do'er. My purpose is to point out that there is a reason for everything and an opinion for every reason. I am designed to interpret what I see and dictate what I've interpreted. My hope is that my words will not be seen as harsh, rather as liberating, and at very least, thought provoking. I enjoy everything from technology, to race relations, biology, genetics and economics..  for a start..