Roger Ver, Bitcoin multimillionaire and peace advocate, is no stranger to violence.
He called out the state organization of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) for being murderers (à la Waco), and then he found himself the target of ATF-backed persecution. He spent ten months in a cage in California. Ver moved to Japan the day his parole ended and has lived there ever since.
Ver is a well-known donor and angel investor, and he’s currently offering to match up to US$20,000 in donated bitcoins to Antiwar.com. Cointelegraph saw this as the perfect occasion to ask him more about his beliefs on Bitcoin and peace.
Cointelegraph: Why do you think war happens?
Roger Ver: The military industrial complex makes a fortune by brainwashing people from a young age in government-run schools. They are indoctrinated to believe that it is okay to kill strangers in a far off land, if strangers in a closer area tell you to.
In reality, killing strangers is wrong, regardless of what other strangers tell you to do, or what kind of fancy uniforms they are wearing, or what kind of flags are in front of their buildings.
“It’s so simple and indisputable when you actually hear it. Don’t kill people you haven’t met.”
CT: What would you say to those who point out that wars were waged long before fiat currency existed?
RV: This is true, but the wars before central banking were short-lived and the soldiers quickly returned home as soon as the governments of the time ran out of the money to pay them.
CT: What do you believe is the single most important change that would lead to a more peaceful world?
RV: The Internet is doing an amazing job of spreading the ideas and cultures of people around the world. With the information available via the Internet, and the ability to use Bitcoin to prevent governments from funding their wars on a mass scale, I think we are quickly headed towards a more peaceful world.
CT: How can Bitcoiners spread peace within their own circles of influence?
RV: Use Bitcoin every chance you have, even with those who don’t share our philosophy of peace.
“Every time you use Bitcoin, you are helping to undermine the war machines around the world, and the power of those who would use violence to control others.”
CT: What do you see as AntiWar.com's greatest contribution?
RV: Antiwar.com has been a consistent voice for peace for over a decade. They don’t make exceptions depending on which political party happens to be in power.
CT: What other peace-promoting organizations do you consider to be effective like AntiWar.com?
RV: I’m a big fan of using YouTube to bring philosophical concepts to the public. The "George Ought to Help” and “Who Will Pick the Cotton?” videos are fantastic examples of this.
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