Vitriol against Bitcoin

[francisp]

I've been following Bitcoin for a while now, but only recently got directly involved. One thing I don't understand is the level of vitriol against Bitcoin in some circles. When I read an article about Bitcoin, there seems to be a sizable segment hell-bent on trashing Bitcoin and all its users. And these comments are usually on tech sites, where you would think that the readers would be more open to an alt-currency.

Now I am fully aware that Bitcoin could crash to zero at some point in the future, and I also understand why certain segments of the population would lobby against it (i.e. banks), but why are some people so against it on a philosophical level? If it fails, then they were right, but if it doesn't, what does it harm them?

[David Rabahy]

Can you point at an example?

[francisp]

Here is one example:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2081560/bitcoin-the-virtual-currency-built-on-math-hope-and-hype.html

First comment:

"So you make up money, and someone else will give you real cash in return? It's a wonderful world -- hard to believe. How is this worth a penny? Monopoly game paper worth actual cash now? Seems rather silly.

Got a really neat snipe hunt to go on tonight. They gave me a bag to use, and everything - will let ya know how it works out......"

I'll admit, I thought this while reading another article today that had more harsh comments, but I forgot where I saw that...

[DieJohnny]

They use Vitriol because the success of Bitcoin threatens their basis of truth, power, and eventually will impact their own personal success.

Their altruistic view is that they make the internal mental leap that they truly believe it is a scam and in their hearts must preach out against the evils of Bitcoin. This view is really only the dressing they put on their current opinions because 1) they haven't bought bitcoin and likely never will 2) Bitcoin success is a threat to everything they own and know

Their biggest intellectual flaw? That they do not perceive that their own derivatives, class b stocks, commodity trades, and forex exchanges are themselves based on nothing more than fictional financial instruments and methods that take money from one person and give it to another.

These fantasy inventions of man are used to invent asset classes that can be traded and manipulated. How then does Bitcoin require more faith and more scamming than the guy that buys into any of his traditional investments, it doesn't

The faith required for Bitcoin to succeed is actually far less than is required when you buy a share of BIDU, look up what a share of BIDU is actually based on, it is a joke.

Bitcoin will survive, it will be here in 10 years. The notion of what it might become shakes traditionalists to their very core.

[francisp]

Bitcoin will survive, it will be here in 10 years. The notion of what it might become shakes traditionalists to their very core.

Of course, I would argue that bitcoin is more "traditionalist" than most modern currencies and financial instruments. Until recent times, currency was usually a scarce resource (most often gold) that didn't have to be propped up by government to have value, so a true "traditionalist" would support Bitcoin as a return to tradition.

[Adventuer]

dollar is just a piece of paper too, currencies are worth nothing, like bitcoin. But we live in a different world where we use currency to trade or buy other goods, apple for orange times are long gone, dollar is worthless the same as bitcoin, but they have their value in trading, so I don't see how bitcoin cant work as currency.hhuh

[SlidingHorn]

First comment:

"So you make up money, and someone else will give you real cash in return? It's a wonderful world -- hard to believe. How is this worth a penny? Monopoly game paper worth actual cash now? Seems rather silly.

Got a really neat snipe hunt to go on tonight. They gave me a bag to use, and everything - will let ya know how it works out......"

This commenter obviously doesn't understand that it's essentially how "normal" currency is created anyway...

No doubt, an American

Signed,
Another (ashamed) American

[francisp]

Just as a follow-up, look at the vitriolic comments to this story:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/overstock-com-start-taking-bitcoin-191550579.html

You would think Overstock announced they were stealing everyone's puppies and feeding them to the lions.