X-Message-Number: 23734 Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:12:53 -0500 (EST) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: Kennita's risk coercion References: <> > Alcor's PR is far less than perfect -- enough less that I > feel I have significant value to add by going to FDGD. If you want to do PR (which I consider an eminently sensible suggestion) why pick an unrewarding opportunity which creates a risk of legislative backlash? In a very small organization which has not yet achieved much market penetration, the most productive use of your time is to go after the easiest options, not the hardest. You want to do PR, go talk to libertarian groups or computer nerds, the two largest constituencies of Alcor members. This also has the advantage that it does not entail the risk of associating cryonics with do-it-yourself flakes. > It does no good for us to preach to the choir. Nonsense. We have signed up less than 1 percent of the choir. Therefore this is exactly where we should be preaching. > Actually, to the extent that the comment was meant > seriously at all, it was presenting the choice between > taking a risk of having Ted-williams-type jokes about > "Alcor at FDGD" on Jay Leno or not. The "go for it!" was > an assessment that going is worth that risk. This is what really makes me quite angry, because, it is NOT YOUR RISK. It is OUR risk. You do not have the right to create that risk for other people. We have not given our consent for you to endanger our freedom of choice. Even if you are raising the risk of hostile legislation by a very small amount, still you have no right to do this. But, you are giving yourself that right. I see this as a form of coercion. You are forcing me to take your risk. Do you believe in coercion, Kennita? Do you see any flaw in my logic, here? Also I think it might be productive for you to examine your personal motives for seeking out environments where you are likely to find hostility--e.g. your story about the gay pride parade, and your apparent insistence on alienating people in the libertarian party, in exactly the same way that you are alienating people here. This is not a good pattern. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23734