RE: State orders Cryonics Institute to stop freezing bodies

From: Rafal Smigrodzki (rafal@smigrodzki.org)
Date: Thu Aug 28 2003 - 10:00:08 MDT

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    Anders wrote:
    > Hmm, is it just my swedishness, or are the tone of these letters a bit
    > aggressive? Also, pointing out that cryonicists are technologically
    > sophisticated and using the Galileo card sounds downright cultish.
    > Especially in the US I have the distinct feeling that suggesting that
    > religion is a superstition is not on average going to predispose
    > people kindly. Could it be that we are reacting a bit too reflexively?
    >
    > Maybe the core issue should be stated more calmly: yes, this is a
    > practice some people see as pseudoscience or yukky, but almost any
    > practice, be it cremation, the use of antibiotics for appendicitis or
    > acupuncture is viewed as pseudoscience or yukky by *someone* (or even
    > most people). That still does not mean it should be hindered unless it
    > actually hurts somebody. A society which cannot tolerate diversity and
    > unusual ideas is going to end up impoverished and intolerant.
    >
    > I wonder if one could get some of Richard Florida's ideas about how
    > the creative class moves in here. Essentially, if a place like
    > Michigan shows that it does not tolerate the unusual (by banning
    > cryonics and tounge splitting) it sends a signal to many of the
    > cultural creatives that increasingly form the core of economic growth
    > that this is not the place to be. It does not matter that most never
    > would even consider getting a suspension or split tounge, they know
    > that their own particular interests or views might be circumscribed
    > and that the area is less likely to attract other interesting people
    > - so they go elsewhere. Is that a desired signal?

    ### I fully agree with the above (maybe it's my Polishness). There is no
    need to antagonize an official who may not be totally an enemy, and even if
    he is, sounding too strident is in bad taste. By all means, those who wish
    to contact Hollister on CI's behalf should try for a reasoned if firm tone,
    along exactly the lines of Ander's thinking.

    Rafal

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