There's lot of hate in both camps, but I'm glad to see some people don't partake in it.
Indeed.
It cannot be controlled by governments, but will be controlled by someone. Or at least accumulated beyond measure. I'm pretty sure most of the crypto money out there is already in the hands of a very few people. Either way, this will lead to a despotic system sooner or later where money dictates what you can and cannot do, which isn't so different from the system we have now. Total freedom doesn't work unless people let go of their greed - which will never happen.
That's the beauty. The genie is out of the bottle. BTC becomes centralized? Start using something else. Democratized money. Things are the way they are right now because we're in an awkward transition period. In order to reach the goal of democratized money, we have to let BTC become the giant, bloated, sacrificial lamb on the altar of publicity.
(note for those political junkies who might be reading, I'm not a fan of democracy in government either, as it's just tyranny by majority. But considering trade is inherently collective in nature, it is the best way forward. As long as nobody is forcing me to trade with a specific coin, and it is my prerogative to use something else if I so wish, pending agreement with the other party, then democracy in money is workable.)
How free do you feel in a system where some people operate mining farms to get enormously rich while you don't even have access to a single graphics card? Technically, you're free to buy graphics cards that aren't even there. If this extremely unfair situation (chaos) is what you call freedom, then thanks, but I'd rather choose the lesser evil.
I say more power to them. They are powering the eventual revolution. It isn't chaos at all. In fact, I feel great right now, because I just bought a 3080. Granted, I had to buy an entire computer to get it, but it was free so I don't care. Free because it's paid for with, you guessed it... mining profits.
So I get my free 3080, and they're even gonna throw in a 10-core intel CPU, motherboard, case, and ssd. I don't have it in hands yet, but it's on its way. I also paid for the closing costs on my house during the last boom, and I've bought all sorts of toys with crypto profits in the past. Graphics cards, guitars, VR headsets, servers, you name it. So yea, I feel pretty good. You seem to have an idea that there is some shadowy cabal who is taking all the pie, and that simply isn't the case.
Don't get me wrong, I just as much despise of governments around the world as you do. But I also despise of a system where some people have access to unlimited wealth (mining) while others are free to exercise their right to shut up. The idea of freedom isn't scary, but the idea of people getting rich with zero work while others are being called narrow-minded and old-school just for disagreeing with them has nothing to do with freedom - it's only oppression by someone else than your government, wrapped into a nice coating of BS.
Other people in here, I can't speak for. But I've never told anybody to shut up. I have a vested interest in educating others about what crypto is about. Yes, as I said above, we are in an awkward transition period that will probably last decades if not longer, where things are fairly centralized and "unfair." We haven't yet reached the point where enough people are on board to take over the money system, and we haven't yet tested whether people have the stones to do so when governments start pushing back. Part of the beauty of it is that it can be a slow burn without a violent revolution involved, unlike many others.