X-Message-Number: 727 Date: 12 Apr 92 04:36:59 EDT From: STEVE BRIDGE <> Subject: ACS President Problem TO: KEVIN In reply to: Message: #722 - Re: Unanswered ACS Policy Questions (Edgar W. Swank) ***Steven Harris asked: >>Wouldn't it be even neater if Dr. Ben-Abraham, Smartest Man in the >>World and President of ACS, signed up for cryonics himself? ***Edgar Swank replied: >>Without Avi's permission, I can't either confirm or deny his >>suspension membership status (was that a trick question?). I will >>forward your question to the ACS office where Avi can, if he wishes, >>offer his own comments. I am astounded! Is this a joke, Edgar? Steve's question was hardly a "trick! Avi Ben-Abraham is not some private member; he is the PRESIDENT of the American Cryonics Society. His participation in cryonics is public by legal definition, as well as by choice. He has been interviewed dozens of times in the press and on television. He has constantly promoted cryonics. Are you seriously trying to persuade us that you can't state whether or not he is SIGNED UP HIMSELF? If he IS signed up, it would be silly for him to deny it or refuse to comment. How much privacy could he lose in being signed up that does not already occur by being President? If he is NOT signed up, he is a hypocrite (or worse) and the members of ACS appear to be very foolish. How can he promote something he does not believe in himself? Is the President of American Airlines afraid to fly? Does Lee Iacocca drive a Toyota? If he is the "Smartest Man in the World" (as has been claimed in ACS publications) but is not signed up, how smart can he really be? Are the other 500 or so signed up cryonicists in the world really less intelligent than Dr. Ben-Abraham? Edgar, you have been around cryonics for at least 15 years. Do you really not see how naive and paradoxical your reply appears to be? Is it not a reasonable assumption that anyone who is President of a major cryonics organization surely must be signed up; how else to be believed by the members and the public? A President is a public figure, with the credibility of his organization depending on his actions and statements. He does not have the luxury of keeping his suspension membership private. How could a cryonics group elect such a President? If Dr. Ben-Abraham is NOT signed up, should we assume that ACS is merely using him for his title and demeanor? If he IS signed up, how could he not be open about it? In any case, you refuse to confirm or deny the very membership of your PRESIDENT in one message, yet casually drop the name of a celebrity who MIGHT sign up someday in an earlier message. This is not the same understanding of "privacy" that I have. Are the other members of the ACS Board signed up? They are also public figures and in positions of trust. Steve Bridge (an Alcor member, but not speaking for Alcor). Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=727