Fwd: WTA STATEMENT ON RACIALISM, NEO-NAZISM AND UFO CULTS

From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Wed May 29 2002 - 11:33:50 MDT


We are not the only group that has the problem with people trying to
promote racism from within. A half dozen other transhumanist lists on
Yahoo are fighting this same battle. A transhumanist webring was
desolved a few years ago when racist sites kept joining and insisting
that they were extropian or transhumanist. The World Transhumanist
Association is also fighting this perception, and has had to vote
specific disclaimers against racism a few months ago to fend of this
meme. This is not an isolated occurrence. All Transhumanist groups
seem to be under similar meme-attack.

--
Harvey Newstrom, CISSP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com>
Principal Security Consultant <www.Newstaff.com>
____________________________________________________________
> From: "ben_hyink9" <ben_hyink9@yahoo.com>
> Date: Wed May 29, 2002  01:13:01 pm US/Eastern
>
> WTA STATEMENT ON RACIALISM
> "Any and all doctrines of racial or ethnic supremacy/inferiority are
> incompatible with the fundamental tolerance and humanist roots of
> transhumanism. Organizations advocating such doctrines or beliefs are
> not transhumanist, and are unwelcome as affiliates of the WTA."
> Created by james_j_hughes_2000 on 2/21/2002
>
> WTA STATEMENT ON NEO-NAZISM AND UFO CULTS
> "Neo-Nazi eugenic views; the individual "Marcus Eugenicus" and his
> associated group; UFO cults; the Raelian group; shall be designated
> as 'not transhumanist / unacceptable to the transhumanist community'."
> Created by james_j_hughes_2000 on 2/21/2002
>
> I find the doctrines propagated by "politics327" repugnant and
> opposed to the values of transhumanism. The policy-making body of the
> WTA has already adopted statements that oppose doctrines of racial or
> ethnic supremacy/inferiority. This instance provides a peculiar
> problem since it is (supposedly) an individual member who has chosen
> to try to advance his/her beliefs in the forum of a group that has
> already defined its essence as fundamentally incompatible with the
> doctrines s/he is advocating. To post any site related to these
> doctrines in the bookmarks section is clear slander, but is it not
> also slanderous to post links to such organizations on an open
> message board?
>
> Main Entry: slan·der
> : to utter slander against : DEFAME
> synonym see MALIGN
>
> Main Entry: de·fame
> Inflected Form(s): de·famed; de·fam·ing
> 1 archaic : DISGRACE
> 2 : to harm the reputation of by libel or slander
> 3 archaic : ACCUSE
> synonym see MALIGN
> - de·fam·er noun
>
> Main Entry: li·bel
> 2 a : a written or oral defamatory statement or representation that
> conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression b (1) : a statement or
> representation published without just cause and *tending to expose
> another to public contempt*
>
> I am a member of the ACLU and I value the free speech and the free
> exchange of ideas, as a free dialog tends to expose racist notions
> for their own intellectual bankruptcy. However, American's defining
> documents also allow people to form groups that are exclusive. David
> Duke and his fellow white supremacists are allowed to keep the KKK
> closed to blacks, Jews, Catholics, non-whites and anyone else if they
> feel like it and we also have the right to exclude those who hold and
> propagate exclusive doctrines opposed to the very essence of our
> group.
>
> Politics327, it appears that you are steeped in the doctrines of the
> groups whose sites you posted, why else would you post the long rant
> of Thomas Jackson and links to white-supremacy web sites in your
> first post to the group? I try to maintain a site that is open to
> people of all ideologies, who share core transhumanist values, but
> membership in this group site is not a right for anyone and you
> obviously do not agree with our core values.
>
> At this moment in your life you do not belong here, but I hope that
> you will mature someday enough to dispense with the hateful doctrines
> that have now infested our site. If you join again and post more
> messages or links they will continue to be deleted. If you must
> attempt to spread these notions please kindly post elsewhere, any
> pursuits to continue doing so here will be continually frustrated.
>
> Good bye!
> Ben Hijink


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