August 26, 2022: #FreeAlex 🚔🚨
Top 10 Most Effective Arguments in Favor of Tornado Cash
Livestream at 8:30 AM PT, 11:30 AM ET
The Tornado Cash sanctions have unified the crypto community. We all want to push back against this blatant overreach.
But how? What can we actually do?
To help you out, we’ve compiled a definitive list of all the arguments that have been put forth in support of Tornado Cash. We grouped these into ten topics, and ranked them by the relative amount of engagement they received on Twitter. This provides you a helpful guide to how best to frame your argument.
We encourage everybody to speak out on this issue! We know people prefer to be quiet, particularly Americans who fear reprisal. In fact, it’s a winning issue!
Even if you don’t want to do it because you believe in the cause, you can do it for your own self-interest. As it turns out, discussing Tornado Cash is good for engagement farming. The algorithm actually rewards tagging @TornadoCash in your tweets!
Here goes the full list, from least effective to most effective.
10. Educational
Producing matter-of-fact, raw educational content may never be as exciting as appeals to emotion or fomenting a mob, but some of us are indeed here to learn.
As it turns out, Tornado Cash is a brilliant protocol. The more you study it, the more you favor its existence. Banning the protocol is a ridiculous self-own, as short-sighted as if regulators had banned electricity because it can lead to electrocution.
Every item in this list to follow is more emotional, but at the base level war of facts and ideas, Tornado Cash is also a winner. In contrast, the government has not bothered to supply any facts bolstering its case.
While everything to follow is more persuasive in terms of engagement farming, there’s also plenty of room for the facts to flow freely.
9. Cryptocurrency Values
The crypto community is small, so appeals targeting the crypto community are less persuasive than appeals that break through to the masses. Nevertheless, we are a powerful force when we’re not fighting each other.
The Tornado Cash sanctions had a powerful unifying effect. Bitcoiners recognized the severity and aligned with the broader crypto community. Crypto denizens appealed to the core values that attracted many of us to the space.
Values like decentralization and permissionlessness have too many syllables to appeal to the masses, but play a part in reinforcing the cohesion of our community.
8. Free Speech
The Constitution’s framers had to frontload free speech into the Bill of Rights because they knew it would be unpopular. Defending free speech is always an uphill battle, because its transgressors have usually offended the widest swath of the popular.
Moreover, traditional defenders of speech have turned inverted their beliefs on this cause in recent years. The next generation has not just been raised to think censorship is normal, but many actively embrace it.
Nonetheless, a strong minority of the population are capable of thinking deeply about complex topics and strongly appreciate the strategic benefits of unfettered speech. Even though “free speech” ranks lower on this list than others, it’s useful argument.
7. Funny Examples
The logical implications stemming from sanctioning technology instead of individuals is an assault on reason. Presenting real or hypothetical situations of the absurd repercussions of this action have been winning arguments.
This tactic was particularly effective in the immediate aftermath of the decision. Protocols taking compliance theater to absurd excessed would backpedal in large part due to these examples.
6. JPEGS
A lot of people enjoy art of all kinds. Images, music, and the like appeal to the masses and round out the fight by presenting a softer side of the argument. There’s a reason the NFT community owns outsized mindshare relative to its economic impact.
Artsy types have a great way to contribute to the cause and grab attention. The winners control the culture. Let the creative juices flow!
Shameless plug! We’ve also launched an NFT project for the cause! We’re auctioning off Members of Congress (in JPEG form) to raise funds towards legal defense.
The minting event has been fun to observe how the community values different leaders, as we observe users competing for the handful of rares. Join the movement via web, Substack, Twitter, Discord, OpenSea, Github, or Etherscan.
5. Civil Disobedience
This is a good one, because even our enemies will engage in sharing a good spectacle. A clear-throated announcement of specific legal actions taken in defiance will always command attention.
4. Technology Isn’t a Person
Pointing out that technology is not actually a person happens to be the line most organizations have adopted.
It makes sense why this works. Issues that resonate outside our silly cult are bound to get more traction than issues within in our bubble.
You know who is addicted to the internet? Everybody on the internet!
Everybody you’ll bump into on the internet also cares deeply about its fate.
Appeals to technology can speak to even the huge majority of people who hate crypto. Being pro-technology turns out to be a deeply unifying issue.
3. Fight For Privacy
Several writers tiptoe around the word “privacy,” as if it somehow carries negative connotations.
Be realistic though.
Our entire society is shaped by the so-called “silent majority.” Do you expect the swaths of people who seldom speak up or rock the boat actually dislike their privacy? Do you think the overwhelming population of NPCs want to do anything but disguise themselves and recede into the anonymity of the crowd?
Despite clunky attempts to tar privacy as somehow nefarious, privacy is actually a winning argument. Appeals to privacy also do very well in terms of engagement.
2. Arrest Do Kwon!
The second most effective technique? Sic the prosecutors upon other worse actors, usually Do Kwon.
We always need somebody to persecute, so blame-shifting is effective.
We do have a problem with this strategy though… although this form of Tweet is undeniably effective at going viral, it’s not the most persuasive tactic.
Does any politician actually care about being hypocritical? Nope.
Are our problems fixed if we detain both Alex Pertsev and Do Kwon? Nope.
Our preferred outcome should be fewer detentions within cryptocurrency, not more. If you want to invoke this tactic, please mix it with something else (or is mixing itself new taboo)?
1. Fight Against Police Overreach
The argument that tends to break through the most: arguments against police overreach.
A non-violent developer detained indefinitely without charges is undeniably offensive. This argument also persuasively penetrates outside our bubble. Look at the popularity of #truecrime and you can note that a cops and robbers story always has appeal.
It perhaps escapes outside of crypto because both sides of trad-politics have concerns about a police state these days. To avoid offending the people who like a hard line on crime, you can combine this with #2 and suggest the police focus on a better scapegoat. Preferably one outside crypto… cops should be arresting (local criminals | bankers | corrupt politicians)
This argument by far drove the most engagement. It helps that the government has been particularly sloppy and has no particular basis to back up their actions. We shouldn’t try to hide this story for any reason.
Help us keep the spotlight on this unjust arrest. #FreeAlex!