From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@ricochet.net)
Date: Mon Jun 04 2001 - 23:04:17 MDT
Al Billings writes
>Strange. I found [Norman Spinrad's] criticisms spot on. People
>are in denial here if they don't see that Extropian[ism] looks
>rather odd, cult-like and even new-agey to outsiders. There's
>a lot of groupthink that goes on here.
Typical of the unbelievers who fail to see the truth, and
whose ideas must be rooted out at the source!!!
Okay :-) I better very quickly add that I am joking. Actually,
you're quite right, and that's why Norman is being discussed here
in the way that he is. Evidently, it does look like a cult. But
it does not logically qualify as a cult. Cults have a number of
distinguishing characteristics that are entirely absent here:
1. the usual verbal activity is agreement, not disputation
2. there are one or more central figures whose teachings
or pronouncements are held in awe
3. deviance of belief is not recognized, or if it is,
it is severely criticized as "not getting with the
program"
4. money or lifestyle is almost always a key issue
5. you're either in or you're out
And these are just the first few that come to mind! Some of
my friends who dwell on cult phenomena could add more, as
possibly others here can too.
As for group think, come on. Aren't Democrats guilty of
the same thing? By the above criteria, we're less a cult
than the Democratic Party!
Lee Corbin
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