Daily Ramble
I’m amazed at how little our species has changed since living tribally in groups maxing out near 150 people. What do I mean? We just cannot help ourselves in wanting to identify with a group of people that fit our belief system. That’s not a bad thing, and I’m not above that impulse. But it’s the lack of awareness by the general public that makes this a worrisome feature of humanity. Especially when powerful interests know how to punch the tribal button to move the masses.
The easiest tribal group to consider is sports. Here in Europe, the idea of changing your football (soccer) team is all but unthinkable. When you decide on a team and put on their jerseys, you’re a lifer. Doesn’t matter how winning or losing the team is, you’re on their side through thick and thin. And if you consider moving from one team to another, you may literally be disowned by family and friends. Not so different than growing up in a tribe really. Moving to another tribe primarily happened through exile, marriage, or enslavement. It was just as unthinkable for a tribe member to leave their tribe as it is for modern-day football fans.
Let’s take tribalism up a notch and look at politics. Red vs. blue, socialism vs capitalism, conservative vs liberal. If these haven’t become tribal identities, I don’t know what are. I can tell because, just like two battling clans, the groups have drawn their borders so tightly that anyone trying to stand in the middle is starved of oxygen. There is no desire for either side to talk. Instead, like the battling clans of Braveheart, they bravely shout insults at the other side. Battle cries coated in insults dehumanize the other side making it easier to justify violence. Tribal war lines etched in the mental terrain of the warring clans.
Don’t agree? No problem, that particular tribal identity is fading anyhow. Humanity has a new threat. Instead of humanity uniting against an unseen virus that rarely kills, we’ve decided that we should allow our selves to be separated into the vaxxed and the unvaxxed — it’s always easier to battle each other than the unseen. Perhaps our tribalism has been purposefully coaxed by master manipulators in big pharma, media, and politics, but really, it doesn’t take much of a nudge for us to fall willy-nillie into the tribalism trap. Once there, we begin to harden our battle lines, forget the otherside is human, and start shouting insults at one another. Again, dehumanization is necessary to enact violence.
Amazingly, once we find there’s a bigger threat, either perceived or real, our tribal identies and fights go to the way side. Don’t believe me? Let me ask: when was the last time you got heated about the red vs blue debate as compared to the the vaccination debate? What, you didn’t notice you’d changed jerseys?
As final proof of the tribal realignment I give you the gun-toting, freedom-oriented conservatives and their anti-vax alignment with the liberal, wellness and yoga community. Both of which would have never imagined being on the same side of any battle, yet here they are. Tribalism in action. It’s a beautifully human thing.
Amazing Things on the Interweb
I don’t know what to think.
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Yesterday: $35.2k - $40.2k
Today: $36.4k - $39.3k
Tomorrow: $34.5k - $40k
After a 40% price increase in less than a week, Bitcoin’s price stalled and was soundly rejected at $40.6k. What comes next has the market in anticipation. Why? Because a similar dynamic occurred in 2019, which was called the Xi candle. It was so named because an announcement by Xi Jinping, China’s President, launched an incredible single-day buying spree. After, the price bled off and headed for new lows leaving the market in dismay. While that could happen again here, I would be surprised. To avoid that fate, the bulls need to form a pivot above $30k and ideally above $36.5k. Below $36.5k and the doors to more bearish pressure are opened. All-in-all, after such a massive push, I anticipate a longer consolidation and pullback before continuing to see the price appreciate again.
Bitcoin Q & A
Q: Can Bitcoin be confiscated?
A: Not without a private key.
Bitcoin is stored in a wallet, also known as an address. In order to move Bitcoin, it takes signing a transaction with the private key associated with the wallet. Think of it like a bank check that can only be cashed with a valid signature. Working backward from an address to determine the private key is a nearly impossible task that would, mathematically and conservatively, take billions of years. That means the only way someone’s Bitcoin can be confiscated is if the person taking the Bitcoin acquired it from the wallet owner. Not your keys, not your coins!
Thanks for reading,
Kent
Do you have questions or a “Favorite Thing on the Interwebs”? Comment below or reply to the newsletter to reach me.
Do you want to receive Kent’s Corner each weekday?
Me? I offer personal and corporate Bitcoin Implementation Strategies: custody, investing strategy, security, tax management, and inheritance. Contact me for a free initial consultation.
Check out Thorstein Veblen's "Theory of the Leisure Class".