Silk Road: Drugs, Death and the Dark Web

I have listened to podcasts and read books on this subject matter and the documentary misses out so much. It also seemed a documentary solely based on showing that Ross is innocent as opposed to giving the viewer the option to make their own mind by offering evidence.

I blame Carol Baskin.

It's a light overview biased completely to the side of the US government. They don't cover Mark Karpeles, former CEO of the embattled bitcoin exchange Mt Gox as the more like runner of the site and how after years of investigation an IRS agent found posts in the 1st few days that had been missed by other agencies. Ross created SR, Karpales turned it into a real criminal organization with violence and the like when Ross gave it to him. Then Karpales went back onto the BTC boards and played posts exposing Ross identity so he could be the patsy when Karpales asked him for some help. DPR is many people. They also left out the arrest and prosecution of DEA agents for stealing millions in BTC. This was a big piece of government propaganda. Google Free Ross. Watch the Videos. Google Karpales Mt Gox Silk Road. This story is incomplete.

I was hoping this documentary would have been a little more in depth to the actual story instead of the biased journalism that we're all used to these days. This documentary leaves out a LOT of important details about the final outcome/verdict. This documentary leads you to believe that it was an open and shut case. Good guy vs bad guy and the good guy wins. It also leads you to believe the "good guys" are the cops, Fbi, & the bad guy being Ross & Silk Road!

In my opinion they should've had Martin Scorsese direct this. Then this sick excuse for a documentary would have had the proper ending, where it completely ends in the opposite direction that the movie lead you to believe. Like the important details that make the story protagonist and antagonist switch. First off there was def more than just Ross playing the Roll of dread pirate Roberts, there were several people typing under that alias on the site. Secondly how the government obtained the IP address illegally from Iceland... it also leaves out the point that the defense team never got a fair trial and all of their evidence (which if our court system wasn't so corrupt and dirty would have been enough to by law over turn the conviction) was dismissed and they were unable to have a proper closing argument. They try to paint an image in your head that the reason the Silk Road was bad was because "drugs are bad mmkkayy". Buuuuuuut we all know the truth. The silk road was intended for a good cause... But that good cause would negatively impact our government. Think about it... The silk road was a way for drug dealers to sell their product without conducting meetings at night in dark alleys, or face-to-face interactions. It would simply be delivered in broad daylight by a mail carrier. All while the buyer is in the safety of his/her own home. It would cut back on murders From drug deals going wrong. The dealer would want to sell only the best product because there would be reviews and competition. Just like anything else if they had bad reviews they wouldn't be able to sell anything. If they were only selling top of the line clean drugs then there wouldn't be as many overdoses because of all the crap that gets mixed in. Let's be honest... drugs have had and always have found their way... the Silk Road was just a safer, more private way of doing it. So why not make it legal?!?! Well that question is why the COPS, Fbi, and gov't are really the bad guys... because if it was legal, our government would be broke. Think about it... The DEA, the FBI, most of the police force, the judges, the magistrate, the public defenders, the jail system, prison, prison guards none of that would be needed. Think about all the money involved.

I watched this immediately after finishing the exceptional book "American Kingpin" by Nick Bilton, which details the creation of the Silk Road as well as the investigation. This documentary was a great way to see the faces of the those involved. I had pictured Ross and others differently in my mind.

If you are interested in the Silk Road, I would not start here. Start with the book, it's the best of nonfiction, in that it reads like a novel, a real page-turner. Then, check out this documentary. The story of the Silk Road is compelling and well worth your time.