X-Message-Number: 17412
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 12:40:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: Re: CryoNet #17405 - #17409

Joseph Morgan wrote a message which I half expected but didn't really
think I would see in such a bare-faced form:

> Message #17405
> From: "Joseph W. Morgan" <>
> Subject: Credibility of Alcor
> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 06:59:26 -0700

> What does it do for the credibility of Alcor when they pick a president
> who thinks he has been on Noah's Ark?  I can't think of a faster way to
> characterize cryonics as pseudo-science.

Did Dr. Lemler say he "has been on Noah's Ark"? No, this is just Mr.
Morgan's pejorative version, designed to be as damaging as possible. (One
wonders, incidentally, if Mr. Morgan has a hidden agenda here. Under
another name, might he be a friend of a candidate for the Alcor board?)

As I understand it. Dr. Lemler went in search of a legend. He might just
as well have gone to Egypt looking at pyramids. Whatever. Personally I
have no interest in what he does in his spare time. All I care about is
what he does at Alcor. Thus far, he has shown exemplary use of his
knowledge and experience, gained from his professional activities in an
emergency room and as a psychiatrist. He has also shown a very refreshing
desire to be INCLUSIONARY.

This is a key point, which has induced me to want to rejoin Alcor. Many
times in the past, Alcor has rejected the opinions of people, even though
those people may have had professional expertise. For instance, in more
than one case, the advice of Steve Harris, an experienced physician, was
ignored, sometimes with unfortunate results. Mike Darwin, who is not
always easy to deal with, nevertheless has more experience in cryonics
cases than anyone else, but was "let go" (which is the kindest way to
describe it). Bob Krueger has been a consultant for Fortune 500
companies, yet I have seen his advice totally ignored in Alcor board
meetings a decade ago. And so on.

If Jerry Lemler has the rare ability to tap the diverse talents of people
who have felt excluded in the past, and if he can quell the factionism
that has been endemic in cryonics, he will strengthen Alcor immensely. I
think he has a chance to achieve this. Having spoken to Dr. Lemler, not
only I but others are contemplating rejoining the organization.

One problem with the Web is that any idiot can dig up something
embarrassing about anyone. It has become a trivial exercise, for instance,
for someone to discover that I used to write erotic novels for Olympia
Press, 30 years ago. Is this relevant to anything I am doing today? No, it
was just something I did when I was desperate for money in my first days
in New York City.

If Jerry Lemler wants to spend his next vacation looking for the Holy
Grail, that's fine by me--just so long as he keeps achieving good results
in cryopreservations at Alcor.

--CP

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