From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Thu Mar 20 2003 - 15:39:08 MST
Ron H noted:
<<Alex,
I think you have just sat yourself upon a pedestal without
justification.
First, let me dispose of a minor personal matter. You dare ask me
what I think of the American Indian Movement. If you listened at all you
would know I am a part blood Cherokee. The other questions you asked are
almost as insulting.
Second, if you were really interested in dealing with trolls you would
ask Natasha or her designee to check the various threads you object to see
who initiates them. I don't think any of the people that I ordinarily agree
with ever initiate a single political or off topic thread -- I know I don't.>>
Yah! Mr. Bokov was the fellow, I believe, who initiated the Bulldozer-Israel
thread, last weekend. Its rhetorical to ask whom is the polemicist here. As
far as Extropian v stealth conservative, (another polemical thread here) he
seems to be attempting to run a litmus-test for the ideologically correct. Is
there now an Ideologically correct hoop to jump through?
Lets go to some of the inspiring minds behind the Extropian technological
philosophy. Would Marvin Minsky, Hans Moravec, K. Eric Drexler, Kurzweil,
Vinge, Tipler, as well as so many others who are, at least transhumanist in
outlook. Do they now have to pass muster for approval amongst the "holy"? My
guess is such people will be all over the place politically. The great salad
bar of politics and the choices we make are available for our choosing.
Furthermore, the more one attempts to convert this mailing list into an
exclusionary group, the more it will seem unattractive to those not in it
yet. Especially, if one has to pass the initiation rites, and swear
alliegence to the high mucky muck of such a stated group. Such a philosophy
will surely exclude most engineers of all stripes, who, sorry to warn you,
are generally very politically conservative. As far as physicists go, even
when, for example, the Nuclear Winter scenario was touted by Kosta Tsipis,
Garwin, and Carl Sagan; it was Freeman Dyson ( no slouch in the pro govt
support of the poor viewpoint) who suggested: well surely not a Nuke winter,
perhaps a nuke autimn? We cannot relegate people to ideological
correctness--ain't gonna happen.
-Mitch (happilly un-stealthed)
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