From: Damien Broderick (damienb@unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Mon Jul 21 2003 - 22:10:52 MDT
At 07:52 PM 7/21/03 -0700, Robert Bradbury wrote:
> I trust the opinions of others on the list enough
>(even though I have not been able to go through Bryan's comments
>in detail because I've been dealing with other problems) to
>believe that most of Bryan's recent posts may be extremely useful
>but the above citation (which of course may be taken out of
>context) does raise an eyebrow or two.
As one of the few who instantly shouted angrily at Robert's even-handed,
open-minded, Strangelovian discussion of the usefulness of nuclear
genocide, I probably also need to clarify my stated enthusiasm for Bryan
Moss's meditation. I called his views adult and worthwhile, despite having
some reservations. Those with long memories might have wondered at this,
since Mr Moss has previously presented us with opinions not entirely
different from Robert's post. For example, I still recall squirming in
revulsion at these posts of his from 1999:
<Yes, I'm seriously advocating slavery.>
<What's wrong with a little white male Eurocentric cultural
hegemony? It's done wonders in the past.>
< What matters to me is
mind. Actually, what matters to me is value, monetary value in the current
situation, perhaps a more elaborate scheme in the future. And that's where
the next suggestion, the one that makes people leave the room, comes in.
Allow abortion until the child is financial self-supporting. Obviously I
wouldn't suggest such a thing in the current social agenda, we live in a
world that doesn't value (and I mean in the sense of monetary value) human
life, education, individual welfare, health care, justice, et cetera. But
my own political agenda can justify, say, human experimentation on an
individiual because of his or her inability to support him- or herself and
can justify it to a greater degree than the current system can justify not
doing it. I believe this is the first time I've mentioned my own political,
ethical, and moral opinions on this list. I've avoided discussing them in
the past, I hope you can appreciate why. >
Black jokes? A provocation? Probably just another extropian ubermensch
feeling his oats.
Damien Broderick
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