Theft is defined by the governance structure that defines theft.
Steem is a governance structure.
If Steem says it isn't theft, then it isn't theft.
If Switzerland does something that America says is theft, is it theft?
Not according to Switzerland.
At that point the only way to resolve the issue is with a war by force.
The whole point of blockchains is that you can't go to war with them.
They are borderless; they exist in all physical spaces that have access to the Internet.
To say that this is theft is to give power back to the government that is enslaving you.
Tread carefully.
Freedom from debt slavery.
We took all the real value away from Steem and pumped it into Hive, and now we are trying to say Steem is stealing from us and we need to resolve this in a court sanctioned by the USA? It's a greedy and nonsensical argument. Truly, we just might get away with it, which would be hilarious.
Pretty sure that throughout history, when people were stolen from they didn't need the government to understand they had been relieved of their property.
I've seen this asserted a lot in crypto, noticing with every year the growing regulations and clampdowns grow. None of us live in a borderless country, and at any moment the central authorities could do whatever they deem necessary through whatever show of force they might need to deploy. It is unavoidable that they will be involved in crypto, all resistance to that will be squashed, of that I have no doubt. Just because we aren't interested in them for the most part, doesn't mean they aren't interested in us.
I have no doubt that many who were stolen from have filed their necessary paperwork in regards to explaining movements of large sums of money as required by KYC/AMA. Most likely they have been paying taxes on the money as well.
In their shoes, I would go scorched earth on Justin Sun. He doesn't get to hide behind some abstract idea that theft is no longer theft because some code (that he implemented) said it was no longer theft. That shit may fly in some abstract world, but in the real world people get hurt (by street justice) and jailed for much less. The law has already made sure they need to pay their share and jump through hoops to be free of being molested by government kidnapping and violence. They might as well employ the good that comes with the bad from that.
He stole nothing from me nor most of us, in thanks because of many of those he just stole from creating this new chain. But he did steal from some, and quite large amounts. I might be repeating myself now, so will wrap this up and leave you last word if you want. I know this is one of those few times we won't see eye to eye. But to sum up, I'm so outraged by what Justin has been pulling, if he were to fall victim to street justice and I were on the jury? I would do my best to convince the jury even if there were video of the event to utilize jury nullification. Ok, done for reals now.
I think we see eye to eye quite well. Remember, I am hosting a debate here with myself and playing "Devil's Advocate". What Sun has done here is absolutely 100% securities fraud. Proving that to a court is another matter (although I expect an indictment).
I've talked about crypto city-states about a dozen times.
Trust me, they are coming, and people will flock to them.
I use this picture often:
#lastword (this might be the first time I've said this without getting a reply)
Going to ruin my 10/10 record.
Steemit and Justin Sun (physically present in the US) are subject to US law. Crypto in the US is defined as property. @theycallmedan et al. merely have to display to a court their property was misappropriated by a cartel controlled by them. A judge will give zero fcks about the governance structure of Steem if that governance structure was manipulated to unlawfully seize his property, any more than they would give credit to a hacker adding zeros to his bank balance.
You're really reaching.
I mean it is a "Devil's Advocate" post.
Isn't that like the definition of "reaching"?
Assuming the myth is true, what kind of idiot would side with the Devil?
It's a good thought exercise, though I'm sure some BPs have become elevated!
Reaching is still reaching! This was a good exploration of the mental gymnastics taking place within the thick skulls of your average Justin Sun sycophant.