X-Message-Number: 23610
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 14:52:20 -0500 (EST)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: reply to Mike Read
References: <>

> From: "Michael P. Read" <>
> Subject: RE: Rep. Stump/Government/Politicians
> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 09:57:31 -0700

> How are we supposed to take your advice?  We didn't start this crap.
> Some damn fascist Republican did.

Mike, let's try a little objective detachment here!

First, the original bill was bipartisan. Party affiliations
are not very relevant.

Second, contrary to your statement, we did start this crap.
We started it by inventing procedures which are very
important to preserve the brain, but worry people. It is
axiomatic to just about every legislator that procedures
involving health care or deceased people should be regulated.
Even Rep. Lopez, Alcor's greatest (and perhaps only real)
defender, suggested that regulation was a good idea; she just
didn't like _this_ regulation.

Third, you are not trying to see this from the other side's
point of view. Even if you regard them as your enemies (which
I don't think is productive) you should still try to
understand them. So imagine you are a person in a similar
position to Rep. Stump. Of course I am speculating, but it
might be something like this. You are a sincere fellow who
wants to "make a difference" and push society in a direction
that you think is right and proper, and at the same time this
is your first bill, and you are ambitious to make a name for
yourself in the legislature.

You have seen numerous news stories portraying Alcor as
something out of a horror movie. Severed heads, allegations
of health violations, totally bizarre quotes from an Alcor
director caught on tape by a rogue paramedic, and some kind
of investigation brewing in California. Now, does that sound
like a tempting target for regulation, or WHAT?

You start drafting legislation and rounding up support. But,
you encounter a little snag. It turns out that some of
the news items were a bit ... exaggerated. Moreover the cryo
people actually have a rationale for their work. You don't
quite believe it, but on the other hand, the situation
isn't as clear-cut as it was. And, the cryonoids have
retained a lobbyist. They even have some representatives
leaning in their direction. They're starting to get a little
too friendly, perhaps, with the Funeral Board.

What do you do? From your perspective, the cryonicists
have started playing politics, so, you play politics too.

That's what happened, more or less, so far as I can see. Our
ideas about saving lives are nowhere to be found, because of
course virtually no one in the legislature is going to take
that very seriously. And for this, let us be thankful. we
have enough problems without encouraging people to redefine
legal death.

None of the recent events should be surprising. I had always
hoped that cryonics would remain invisible until it was
better able to defend itself, but, the Williams publicity
changed all that.

One thing that seems clear (from the transcript of the
debate) is that emails from out of state may not be very
useful, especially if they are angry or abusive and they
create a lot of inconvenience by paralyzing the political
machinery. Even Alcor's defender, Ms. Lopez, apologized to
her colleagues for the angry emails directed at Bob Stump.
Abusive emails from non-Arizona voters suggest that maybe
these cryonoids need to learn to behave. They need to be
regulated!

So, what to do?

I believe press relations are important, because every
elected representative is sensitive to the press.

I think grass-roots activities in Arizona are important.
Alcor needs as many friends and allies as possible.

Willingness to litigate is important; it won Alcor its
victory in California, against all odds.

I think an industry group (i.e. a collaborative effort by
Alcor, CI, and SA) should set standards to indicate a
good-faith attempt to police our own field. This has been
obvious for more than ten years.

Pacts are important. Cryonics organizations should be willing
to help defend each other. I don't think CI's attitude, which
basically locked out any assistance, was helpful.

But anyone who wants to go back to the easy days when
cryonics was unobserved, under the radar, is dreaming.

One last thought:

In 1992 (I think) I attended my first cryonics procedure at
the old Alcor facility in Riverside, California. I remember
very clearly walking out of the operating room, into the
California night. Alcor was located in an industrial park
just beside the Riverside Freeway. It was around 6pm and
everyone was driving home from work. I looked at all the
everyday people cruising by in the cars, no doubt thinking
about going to the supermarket, cooking dinner, watching TV,
spending time with their kids, and other totally conventional
preoccupations. Then I walked back into the O.R. where
neuroseparation was taking place prior to cooldown and
immersion in liquid nitrogen. I felt I had moved to and fro
across an invisible line between science fiction and reality.
It was as dramatic as time travel. There was a huge
discontinuity between the world of cryonics procedures and
the conventional world of suburban life. I wondered what
would ever happen if the cryonics world somehow escaped
across that line. I couldn't imagine the consequences.

We are now starting to see them.

--Charles Platt

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