X-Message-Number: 7512
Date: 16 Jan 97 04:27:27 EST
From: Paul Wakfer <>
Subject: Re: Research/Public relations "Debate?"

Steve, you're way of the mark with your "debate" versus "discussion" idea.
I have always hated debates and thought them to be puerile exercises. I
*never* take part in them! And my purpose certainly hasn't been to win any
arguments (a concept which I believe to be self contradictory) or cause any
destruction or to attack anyone. All that I have done is to make some
statements which I believe to be logical and true. Yes, some of them were
related to or contrary with some of the things which you stated. I made
them not to "debate" you or to win points, but because I thought that your
statements were are wrong or misleading. I am not after
"capitulation"itulation"; I
am after communication and understanding. However, and this may be foreign
to your thinking, I believe that major advances in communication and
understanding are rarely made by "gentle shifting of both positions". More
often it requires some hard mental slugging and sometimes emotional
upheaval before opinions are changed and headway to true understanding is
achieved. 

     If anything, when you state something like the following:

>Paul Wakfer said in reply to me:
>
>>>1.  Adding more members increases the number of people willing to
>>>donation funds and energy.
>
>>Adding more members who *believe* that cryonics will work doesn't help us
>>at all; it just gives us all a false sense of security.
>
>True, but that's not what I said.  Adding more members who want to
>do the work of research and suspensions or who want to invest in the
>research WILL help us all.  PR helps us find some of each.

it is *you* who are trying to debate. Yes, I was not attempting to debate
and refute exactly what you said; in not doing so, I was *discussing*!

     Furthermore, far from believing that you are "against" research, I
don't even believe that there is a single cryonicist who is against
research. What I do see however, are many, many people who for years and
years have been "saying" they want to see research get done, but never seem
to actually do the work and planning to see that it gets done. While these
same people also seem to have time, funds, thoughts and energy for
promotion and execution of other non-research aspects of cryonics. In my
book it is *actions* which count, not words!


-- Paul --

Paul Wakfer
email:  phone:909-481-9620  pager:800-805-2870

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