X-Message-Number: 1890 From: (Thomas Donaldson) Subject: Re: cryonics: #1873-#1880 Date: Wed, 3 Mar 93 21:56:52 PST To Steve Harris and Mike Darwin: I believe you have both read my previous posting to Clarissa. Steve's recent piece got me thinking a bit more about how to handle the moral problem. Perhaps the thing to do is to recognize that someday we may really find a member who isn't just unpleasant but actually threatens the organization by being a member--- but rather than try to work out detailed criteria, it may be better to simply leave the matter at that point. The trouble with detailed criteria is that when the actual case comes up, it may well not fit them at all. It is hard to encompass reality, with all its unpredictability, especially the reality that consists of human conduct, with a small number of rules. How do we tell just who should be excluded? (Remember, I'm coming from a position in which refusing to suspend a member is an awful thing to do; when I said I sympathized with Clarissa's position I meant it). We tell who should be excluded because when and if such an event ever happens, WE WILL ALL KNOW THAT IT HAS HAPPENED, and WE WILL ALL KNOW THE CHOICE WE ARE FACING. As I said before, it is the nature of the real world that it constantly presents us with hard choices. But cryonicists least of all should not say they will never do this: never is a very long time, and how long do we want to live, anyway? The longer we live the more hard choices we'll someday discover, right there in front of us blocking our way. Best, and long life, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1890