Today, like most days lately, I saw conversations about NFT’s, Crypto and blockchain – the crowd I interact with is largely against NFT’s and Crypto so the conversations are usually quite short. But one of those conversations caught me off guard.
My Mum was asking if my sister (who’s an artistic individual) could make her an NFT. I immediately jump in and explain how bad NFT’s and Crypto are for the environment and send some links to articles with more information. My Mum says she’ll look into it and that she had no idea. Job done. Planet saved. Return to scrolling, right?
Well not exactly.
Despite knowing how bad crypto and NFT’s are I understand why some people are still using them. And I know that I’m a hypocrite because I do also own a small amount of crypto. Part of my journey of learning about cryptocurrency involved me buying some to see how easy it was to interact with. So can I really be so against something I’m taking part in?
And that’s where I spiralled off into a tangent that made me want to write this blog.
If you follow me then you’ll already know (and likely be sick of hearing me talk about) that I’m a Sex Worker. As part of being a Sex Worker, I’ve had to deal with financial discrimination, find different payment methods and figure out where I can actually make money from the content I make. It’s tricky and it just keeps getting more difficult the more moral panic and SWERF lead campaigns grow in strength.
One of the ways that Sex Workers have found to get around banking discrimination is to use cryptocurrency. Some Sex Workers have had great success selling their content as NFT’s. So on that occasion, I’m glad that NFT’s and crypto exist and are (mostly) accessible to the general public.
But that doesn’t change my mind about them being bad for the planet.
So then I’m faced with a moral quandary. Do I – as a Sex Worker – choose to engage with something that I know is harmful to the planet on the off chance that it will create profit for me?
Something that could easily, in the next 10 years, become the only way I can be paid for my online content is hard to ignore. After all, I’m already in a situation where the only payment method available to me on PornHub is cryptocurrency. Of course, the fact that engaging with it will be directly engaging with something that is extremely harmful to our already damaged planet is also hard to ignore.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had to decide whether I choose morals or profit and I’ll bet there are plenty of self-employed people that have faced similar. Even as a consumer you’re always facing that problem. Just change “morality vs profit” to “morality vs affordability” and boom! Those clothes you bought from a fast-fashion outlet? Made in a sweatshop? Contributing to more material waste? Made from unethically sourced materials? A rip off of a design made by a small creator that can’t fight back against a big name corporation? I’m sure you get my point.
Usually my response – as a consumer – is to say that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. But even then I try to shop local, buy from small shops or independent sellers, buy second hand and do what I can to make informed shopping choices.
I’m constantly learning and doing what I can to improve my personal habits but it’s not easy and not everyone can afford to take that time or spend that extra money. So we’re back to the part where of course we make exceptions for those that need them.
You’ll likely have noticed that we’re going around this thought in a circle. I’m sorry to say I don’t really have an answer or a way to break this loop. My reasoning behind writing and sharing this blog is to remind people to think and to be understanding that other people might be in a situation where they have to choose profits over morals.
There will always be people that genuinely don’t care and would burn the world to make a quick profit. There will always be people that see the hype of something but don’t know the reality of it and maybe don’t have the time to sit and research all the ins and outs of a thing. There will always be people trying to do the “right” thing but unable to afford to do it 100% of the time. At the end of the day, we’re all doing the best we can to keep our heads above water and keep up to date with whatever the latest trend is.
So although there is no ethical consumption under capitalism and most big companies/the 1% will happily make profits at the cost of lives we still have to try and do our part to make things better.
That being said, join a union, support community groups, grassroots organisations, mutual aid groups, don’t cross picket lines and listen to the people that will be affected by policies that are being pushed through by anyone that takes on a “saviour” role.
Sorry, this got a bit heavy and a bit long but I feel like the title gave you a clear idea of what to expect.
Stay Safe & Be Happy x
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