This entire farce could end right now if Justin concedes by tendering an apology to the steem community and for the next two months try to build relationships here with major stakeholders. It is really that simple. The narrative will change automatically on twitter and basically everywhere. We can turn this whole media fiasco into something positive only if Justin stops acting crazy.
He bought stake that has a social contract binding it. It might not mean a lot to many of us but to the earlier investors who invested in this blockchain and who have built this blockchain over the years, it is a big deal. Failing to acknowledge that or dismissing it is insensitive because people made financial decisions based on those promises and those promises were made by steemit which unfortunately Justin acquired. For the past 2-3 weeks, many have made excuses for Justin claiming he knew nothing about the social contract (Ned claims otherwise) well now he does know and it really cannot be swept under the carpet. This issue must be addressed and maybe then a form of compromise might be reached by Justin and the community.
However, and this might come as a shock to many but I do not think Justin should forfeit his stake, and he shouldn't be told with to do with it either. Negotiation should be voluntary and not coerced. We can argue all day about the steemit ninja mined stake and what it means to community and earlier investor or the fact that Justin purchased them with his money. We are not in the position to define that, the court/law is and from what I can see no one is willing (yet) to pursue legal actions. As we speak Justin can start powering down and nothing can be done to reverse that. I think he knows that by now, so why isn't he? Maybe he wants more out of this? Maybe he knows it will be a big loss on his part if he dumps 70million tokens in the market with little or no demand for it, maybe there is still room for negotiation but how do we negotiate going forward? As we can all identify at this point that there is a huge mistrust between Justin and the steem community (and witnesses). I want to blame Justin for that but it's past time for blame games.
I've heard many top witnesses and stakeholders speak on this matter. The sentiment is that Justin should take down his witnesses and it makes a lot of sense. However, I strongly feel that's unlikely. Justin wants those stake, Justin wants our community, Justin wants steem. Maybe a little too greedy but if I was in his position I probably would want the same thing too. He has experienced firsthand the power of the steem community, I don't think any good businessman would want to forgo that for some tokens that most certainly will lose value if he dumps them in the market. He is currently buying more to maintain his position. This reflects, to me, his ambition and wants.
I think Justin is trying to buy more time not to fork but to understand the steem blockchain. Tron doesn't have a community and I totally disregard those numbers he keeps mentioning all the time. They are fabricated. The opportunity he has here on steem is massive not just for his steem investment but his tron investment as well. So the ball really is in his court.
So if I am wrong and Justin isn't as smart as I think he should be then maybe the only option here would be to buy back the steemit ninja mined stake and pursue legal actions against steemit and Ned. And maybe Justin can do the same with Ned. Or take the biggest step by forking out and start all over again which doesn't seem like a bad idea. Well a lot of us came into the steem party quite late after a sizable amount of the coin was pre-mined. It may not offer much in terms of equal distribution but in terms of building an infrastructure that reflects the ideals of the majority, this might be a golden opportunity.
In hindsight maybe Justin's outrage is justifiable. It's his money, right? Same way I feel the witnesses had to make a decision about the steemit ninjamined stake. This whole fiasco has prompted important discussions about our governance and the steemit ninja mined stake. It is my belief that important decisions will be made moving forward. Until then keep fighting for your blockchain.
Should Justin be given a second chance?
Yes, if he truly wants to do the right thing.
