X-Message-Number: 958
Date: 06 Jul 92 12:04:04 EDT
From: Charles Platt <>
 
For cryonet, re Michael Paulle: 
 
It may have seemed odd that I would post a message about a 
member named "Don" and then, in the very next message, talk 
openly about Michael Paulle, no longer bothering to hide his 
identity. In fact, my postings were made almost 24 hours 
apart, and when I wrote the first one I believed that Michael 
Paulle had stopped doing what he was doing. Thus, I was 
willing to protect his identity and present the situation in 
hypothetical terms. The next day, however, I learned he had 
not reined himself in, and I decided that enough was enough. 
 
I'm not defending Michael Paulle. I believe that what he did 
was indefensible. But it is foolish for us, here, to make him 
into a demagague. Caricaturing people is a way to dismiss 
them without trying to understand them. 
 
ONLY BY PROPERLY UNDERSTANDING A SITUATION CAN WE HOPE TO 
RECOGNIZE IT AND AVOID IT IN FUTURE. 
 
Bearing that in mind, the following is my attempt to 
understand Michael Paulle, based on a reasonable amount of 
personal knowledge. I think he may have wanted to attract 
attention, and he may have wanted Alcor to look bad--partly 
because he was mad at them for proposing to expel him, and 
partly because he believes Alcor is not doing enough to 
promote cryonics. He sees himself leading a glorious crusade 
which others are not willing to do because they are too 
cautious and conservative. For whatever reason, he wants to 
charge out there and sell cryonics to every man, woman, and 
child. 
 
Remember, he makes a living by selling things. A sales person 
may speak a little carelessly and downplay some unpleasant 
facts in order to snare a prospect. He isn't interested in 
the details; he lets other people take care of them. He has a 
bolder mission: to put his product in every home in the land. 
 
This is very dangerous to cryonics, because in cryonics, 
"details" make the difference between truth and fraud, or 
life and death. I suspect that Paulle was so wrapped up in 
his empire-building, he didn't even stop to think whether one 
patient might be adversely affected. This behavior disturbs 
me greatly, and I would like to think that it is absolutely 
contrary to the ethics of cryonicists in general, who would 
never risk one life for the theoretical chance to save many. 
                                  
Please note that some people in New York (I was not among 
them) trusted Michael Paulle totally because he said the 
right things (he quoted the party line, if you will) and he 
seemed so willing to work hard for cryonics and donate his 
money and time. I wonder if these people might have been just 
as likely to trust Bob Nelson in the early 1970s. There is no 
stigma attached to this; many people trusted Nelson, and they 
weren't stupid people. On the contrary, cryonicists tend to 
be highly intelligent--but they also tend to be idealists, 
and idealists are notoriously prone to make this kind of 
mistake. (In the 1930s, many smart idealists trusted Stalin.) 
 
My conclusion: in cryonics, we should always be cautious of 
bold people who see the big picture and get impatient with 
details. It was a "detail" (liquid nitrogen deliveries not 
scheduled or monitored) that allowed patients to thaw out in 
Chatsworth. Thankfully, this time around, the consequences 
seem to have been far less damaging. 
 
We should also try to assess each other's ethics on a 
fundamental, instinctive level. This is harder, but there are 
pragmatic tests. Does an individual do exactly what he says 
he will do? Does he have long-term relationships with 
friends/family/lovers? Are his moods moderate and stable? 
Does he return things that he borrows? Is he careful with 
facts? It's worth noting that Michael Paulle didn't do well 
on any of these tests, even though he presented himself in 
person as a very charming, trustworthy guy. 
 
--Charles Platt 
 
PS. Let's not hear any more talk about court orders. The mere 
threat of expulsion from Alcor seems to have triggered 
something in Michael Paulle; obviously, if Alcor pushes him 
harder, he will in some sense react. 
 
Also, I am tired of hearing that Michael Paulle single-handedly
persuaded a prominent businessman not to invest in Alcor's 
proposed building in Phoenix.  Anyone who is a self-made man 
worth about $100 million I imagine is a shrewd judge of 
character (certainly better than most cryonicists!) and is 
selective about whose advice he takes. I also imagine he is 
able to make up his own mind, just as everyone else did in 
this matter. 

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