From: Tom Cowper (tcowper@capital.net)
Date: Thu May 02 2002 - 05:47:01 MDT
On 1 May 2002 at 19:18, Lee Daniel Crocker wrote:
> In a way, though, that's kind of the goal. I think we need
> an "Earth First" / "ACT UP" / "PETA" kind of extremist presence
> to complement the more moderate, reasonable ones like ExI and
> WTO. Having such a radical wing actually increases the
> credibility of the moderates with the unconverted, and helps
> stimulate discussion among the insiders. The credibility of the
> radicals isn't that important, only their _visibility_. First
> you get the headline, then you get the reporters used to calling
> ExI to comment more rationally.
Another perspective - ExI and WTO are not viewed by the overwhelming
majority of citizens to be moderate or reasonable. Far from it. Explain
extropian views to the average person on the street...or in the supermarket, in
a reasonable and moderate way and they will invariably view you as pretty
radical. I suspect that a blatantly "radical" wing of Transhumanism using
Earth First tactics and methodologies will be viewed as dangerous and
extreme, removing from the minds of most people whatever credibility the
moderate and reasonable transhumanists might have fostered to date and kill
any chance that a significant portion of the population will ever embrace or
tolerate its principles. So I'm not sure what the point of all that would be.
Tom
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