X-Message-Number: 20200 Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 10:36:39 -0700 From: James Swayze <> Subject: Damn my eyes--Empathy for John Henry References: <> > Message #20190 > Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 06:11:31 -0700 > From: James Swayze <> > Subject: cCotact info to rebut Tim Sullivan, well sort of Damn, looks like I need a spell checker for my title bar or new eyes. LOL! Should have read Contact info not 'cCotact'. > Message #20191 > Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 10:26:18 -0500 > From: Trent <> > Subject: Ted Williams - Shouldn't we do something? > > Hello, > > I am watching all the negative publicity from this, and it is quite obvious > that this is a dysfunctional family that is grasping at straws to sue each > other. It wouldn't matter how he had been buried. This sick woman is trying > to whip up anti-Cryonics bigotry in the same way that a nazi would to > "prove" their point about racial inferiority to obtain political power. > > Why don't we (hint: we means ALL of us - Alcor, CI, etc.) have a web site > set up with a rebuttal, just for this purpose? Between us someone should be > able to set up a nice site. I agree. This is a good idea and I'd be glad to contribute perhaps artwork or articles--facts to be proof checked by cryonics experts of course. I'm tired of the peanut gallery getting all the say, let's have some balance. It's simply incredible how short sighted and I'd even say stupid the so called science experts are that these so called journalists (insert propagandists) drag out to pooh pooh cryonics. With all that is going on in the nanotechnology field, how in the world can they lack vision enough to extrapolate it's use for the freezing damage issue? The ones that harbor latent superstitions about the soul, in other words comments like "once your dead there's nothing to bring back" and statements like this, are in my opinion not scientists at all... at least not practicing scientific method. > I'll even spring for the $30 to register and host the domain. > > We need to portray this woman (AND her brother?) for what they are - both > greedy, ungrateful spoiled children who will do, or say, anything for a > dollar. This I disagree with. DFTP is right John Henry is a hero. I do not believe the stories about him. I've paid close attention and it seems to me in every case the people bad mouthing him had monetary or other motives of their own strong enough to make them lie or exaggerate greatly. Point in fact both of the caregivers fired by him obviously resented his action and had cause to lie. The fact that the girlfriend of one of them, described as "statuesque" and as "having loved Ted very much" declined to talk even to back up the boyfriend's claims. The preponderance of evidence to me points to him lying. If she did love Ted so then why not back up her boyfriend's tales of abuse? If those tales were true then backing up those claims would be in Ted's best interest and in line with said love and care for his well being. It's obvious to me they were lies or at best gross exaggerations or plain misunderstandings. In the case of John Henry's business dealings with the autograph and memorabilia community they resent his strict efforts to control his fathers name. Sometimes he was wrong about some or a few accusations of fraud but how could he know? If it were my father I'd have done the same thing to protect his interests especially if he'd been taken advantage of before, as I believe was the case before JH came on the scene. Who cares if a couple accusations out of many were wrong, he stopped many that were using his father's name wrongly. So he's not the keenest business minded person on the planet that doesn't justify accusing him of the ridiculous claims that he meant to clone his father or sell his DNA. Those claims don't even pass the simple logic test. As his father declined it is said that John Henry began to restrict access to Ted much to the consternation of Ted's friends and the press. Was this sinister? No way! It was made to look so but it was the right thing to do. I can imagine his friends and acquaintances and hangers on as maybe being a rowdy crowd. Maybe not but someone in such decline is tired by even quite visits. I know from personal experience that sometimes when I'm not at my best the last thing I want to see is a friend. I have to put up a front and not look so bad or smile when I'd rather be crying. This is so the friend doesn't worry too much or ask impossible to answer questions. One wishes not to leave a friend with a bad impression. Sometimes, most times, people don't deal well with sickly people. They sometimes don't understand the sick person's coping techniques... may even accuse family members and caregivers of not doing their best when actually they are doing what they can. Some things are beyond human ability but people that just visit sporadically don't see everything and make certain assumptions out of ignorance. Twenty three years of quadriplegia has made me an expert in this area. John Henry was right to restrict access to his father and let's be plain about it, his dying father. When judging John Henry one must be careful to pay close attention to what the motives of the naysayers are. Is this or that statement motivated by jealousy, resent, profit, seeking notoriety, seeking fame, 15 more minutes in the spotlight (especially for long forgotten once famous and in the spotlight no longer sports notables), a Pulitzer prize even? How about wheedling oneself back into a last will and testament that they were cut out of? James > Message #20192 > Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 08:48:32 -0700 (PDT) > From: Driven FromThePack <> > Subject: reply to Trent > > trent wrote: > > >>>> > Why don't we (hint: we means ALL of us - Alcor, CI, > etc.) have a web site > set up with a rebuttal, just for this purpose? Between > us someone should be > able to set up a nice site. > >>>> > > Probably a good idea for cryonicists in general to > whip up a press release for the media and counter all > the, ahem, misinformation put out by certain parties > with respect to the Williams affair. > I'll take it one further. Going on Trent's idea for a website, we could counter the TedWilliamslastwish.org website with TedWilliamsreallastwish.org and solicit donations for Alcor's legal fees should there be any over this. Or better yet saveTedWilliams.org. Then people logging on thinking it's to rescue him from the "evil cryonicists" get confronted by a well reasoned and short and convincing statement defending his suspension and remaining so. James -- Cryonics Institute of Michigan Member! The Immortalist Society Member! The Society for Venturism Member! MY WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/~davidpascal/swayze/ While there follow the links to photos of me and some of my artwork and a radio interview on Dr. J's ChangeSurfer Radio program with me and the father of cryonics Prof. Robert Ettinger, author of "The Prospect of Immortality". A RELIGION I actually recommend: http://uk.geocities.com/venturist2001/index.html A FAVORITE quote: Last lines of the first Star Trek the Next Generation movie. Capt. Picard: "What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived, after all Number One, we're only mortal." Will Ryker: "Speak for yourself captain, I intend to live forever!" 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