X-Message-Number: 11398 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: Celebrities as puppets, and the merits of working for membership Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 23:43:24 +1100 (EST) Hi everyone! For Bob Ettinger: One of the worst examples of what happens with celebrities is the story of Timothy Leary. After much effort on the part of some Alcor members, Timothy Leary became a member of Alcor. However he did not stay a member of Alcor long enough to be suspended; his head was turned by others and other ideas. And Timothy Leary may simply provide an interesting example. Here's how I came to look at him: some people (just whom and how many I cannot say) become quite literally puppets of their audience. As such puppets, they may easily attain fame and celebrity. Leary provides a good example. This does not say anything at all about just what the celebrity does or has done. Consider, say, an artist. He/she develops a striking style, and gains a large following both of imitators and critics, and lots of paintings sold (for large sums) and in museums. But his/her audience does not want further experimentation, changes of style, or any further exploration of the possibilities in painting. And so this celebrity spends the rest of their life putting out paintings in the style which made them famous. (I just might be talking about Picasso, here). As for other kinds of celebrities, I'd suspect that politicians provide the best example of such puppetry, but doubt that it's limited only to politicians. It may even hold for scientists: getting a Nobel prize is fine, but not all scientists have been able to study other subjects or take up other issues after getting that prize. There are intellectual and emotional COSTS to celebrity. And celebrity, even among scientists, does not require a Nobel prize: once gained, it can cement you into a particular set of views. You have become a puppet of your audience. As for allowing applicants to perform services rather than pay money, that is a valuable point for ANY applicant. As I explained in my message in this issue of Cryonet, there are some people who, through no moral fault but only through bad luck, have suffered and overcome various often fatal diseases. And once someone has done that, they cannot get life insurance at any reasonable price. (I was either lucky or wise --- take your pick --- I took out lots of life insurance while I was healthy, and so I am not included among these people). Such persons have a problem funding their membership in a cryonics society, and we should think more about how they can do so. But it should be real work for any such person, not just make-work because they are celebrities. If such an offer is made to a celebrity, it should not simply say that he/she must make public statements. It should ask that they actually caused some others to join (words sound nice, and many associations are content with words, but for cryonics we want MEMBERS, not just words). Yes, that is a hard requirement, whether or not you are a celebrity. (I'm not saying that those who are not celebrities must do this, merely discussing celebrities here. If you AREN'T a celebrity, your statements about cryonics are unlikely to be heard --- but you can do other useful things instead). We live in a society which creates celebrities for many reasons, often close to pure chance. And morally we should try to suspend anyone who wants suspension, whether celebrity or not. But celebrities not only have advantages, they also have problems: much more than most they can become puppets of their audience. And since that audience does not consist of cryonicists, they have almost died already once that has happened to them. Best and long long life to all, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=11398