Is the @dollarvigilante a scammer? [Answer: I don't really care and neither should you]

Image Credit: KitKat523

The Hive account@dollarvigilante (aka. TDV, Jeff Berwick) has caused a bit of a stir since his arrival to Steemit. TDV has made serious bank becoming one of the top earners in just a matter of weeks, and his instant success combined with what may be questionable behavior in his personal life seems to have rubbed some Steemit users the wrong way. Take a look at these posts:

• Hive account@appleguy wrote "Dollar Vigilante Exposed: A scammer with rape accusations and passport frauds"
• Hive account@moonjelly wrote The Dollar Vigilante EXPOSED - God's Gonna Cut You Down

Now I would like to make clear that this post is not an indictment of either of these users. In fact, Hive account@moonjelly is one of my favorite Steemers and I think he did a valuable public service by being one of the first to address Mr. Berwick's presence on Steemit. These posts are not trolling and are not 'butthurt' - as some commenters elegantly refer to them as. They simply allow us to become better informed voters, which is extremely important given that each vote on a post both pays the author and elevates his/her power and influence within Steemit.

My initial emotional response to these posts was one of disgust toward Mr. Berwick. I even replied to Hive account@moonjelly's post with an insulting and somewhat crude comment. I felt guilty minutes later and removed the comment, mostly because it was not inline with the type of Steemit contributor I wish to be, but also because I don't wish to directly accuse Mr. Berwick of anything. After all, I have never met the guy and I am only dealing with information obtained from the Internet, which we all know is not always the most factual. All I can do is give my personal opinion.

Here is what I think I know about TDV:

1) TDV ran an illegal passport operation which appears to have failed and his clients at the time lost a large sum of money.

My Response: Boo hoo. Why were these clients in need of fraudulent passports anyway and what do I care if one fraudster cons another.

2) TDV "believes" that the world is on the brink of social and economic collapse because the 0.1% of the 1%, guided by a secret historic script, controls everything and is ready to bring destruction upon us all. Fortunately, TDV is privy to their plan and can protect you and your wealth - all for a small subscription fee of course :)

My Response: Fear mongering and preying on people's anxieties for profit. TDV is the Rush Limbaugh of anarcho-capitalists. There is nothing wrong with this of course. I may not agree with him, but he is not breaking any laws and everyone is entitled to their own point of view.

Setting My Opinion Aside:

TDV may be a bit braggadocious; he may hold some views I personally find ridiculous; he may even indeed be a scammer, but the thing is I don't really care.

Why? Because clearly there is a high demand for his content amongst Steemit users and his behavior here on Steemit has been perfectly acceptable. From what I have seen he is not dragging the community down by trolling and he is not scamming Steemit users. Instead he is currently acting as one of the strongest promoters of the platform, actively pushing others to join and contribute. In its current stage of growth Steemit requires this kind of marketing. I wonder how many individuals have joined Steemit just because of Mr. Berwick?

I thank Hive account@appleguy and Hive account@moonjelly for sharing their opinion and for providing us with a chance to see TDV in a different light. That being said, going forward I intend to judge and vote for TDV based solely on his activity here on Steemit. Just as I would for all Steemit users, so long as TDV remains a positive contributer to the Steemit community...

I wish him nothing but luck and future success with all of his posts.

Apologies if I offend Hive account@moonjelly, Hive account@dollarvigilante, Hive account@appleguy, or anyone else with this post.