I don’t know about a rifle, but there was at least one video of his recently where he draws a pistol to help drive a point home. Maybe it’s only because I’m from California, but even as an American that bit was jarring. I said it elsewhere in a comment for this post, but in sum I know to give his work a skeptical lens before I decide to take it in.

Ironically his videos ultimately helped me to become less paranoid about government and corporate data collection. His work help shows that no countermeasures taken will be absolutely bulletproof in protecting from data collection, and that the kind of work and changes needed to get somewhere closer to absolute feels like a mountain. Personally I have my respect for people with the resolve to see that through, but for the kind of experiences and tech I want in my life, there’s no way I could get close to that kind of dedication to privacy.

I really miss that brief moment around the start when it seemed thought of as an alternate currency with its own benefits and drawbacks rather than an outright investment. I’d like to think that with crypto gradually exiting the light as popular grifting vehicle of the time, we’ll gradually return to that more grounded outlook of it.

Hopefully at least, but admittedly I’m not holding my breath 🫠.

There was another comment somewhere in this thread that did a pretty good job at summarizing where I think it comes from. From what I can tell of the videos I hunt and peck from him, his general outlook can be summed up to be libertarian in the traditional sense of the term. On one end of that, he consistently criticizes the reach and practices of US intelligence agencies, which is something I’d think a lot of the country’s politically left would agree with. On the other end, he’s a passionate advocate for firearms, something more in line with the country’s right leaning libertarians. The consistent trend seems to be a view that government ought to have less authority. I don’t think that’s inherently a politically right or left attitude, but in the US at least, I think that it’s more embraced by the country’s right rather than the left, so that’s the kind of audience that builds up a sizable chunk of his own.

There’s also the aesthetic. I think it’s reasonable to say that his demeanor styling appeals to that kind of bend, so that’s another pull for people who get into that kind of culture. I wouldn’t have any examples that come to mind, so take it as hearsay, but I’d wager it would be in theme of him to throw in the likes of a 4chan derived slur if it were relevant to the content. Which is a shame, because I like the kind of internet grit that comes with the vibe, I hate the discrimination it tends to attract and even have baked in it if you’re not careful.

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It’s all to say I can see him leaning libertarian. Not necessarily in the politically right sense, but in the general “let people govern themselves” sense. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t mean to have an intolerant fan base, but his political stances end up letting him have that intolerant fan base. Goes back to that paradox of tolerance, I suppose. I keep my distance from his comments.

Still, the man and the content itself seems textbook and divisive, at least around here. I’ll keep future material of his to myself and continue having him in the kinda arms-length distance I have. He has occasional takes that strike me as informative and balanced, but he also has occasional takes that I plainly don’t care for. Seems like a creator to look at critically and not to take their word as gospel, which come to mention it, is likely a kinda perspective to have of creators by default.