From: Technotranscendence (neptune@mars.superlink.net)
Date: Tue Jun 22 1999 - 21:53:53 MDT
On Tuesday, June 22, 1999 4:13 PM Hal <hal@finney.org> wrote
>Now a gay activist claims to have found diaries of Lincoln's old
[snip]
>about whether this diary really exists.
Not sure of the veracity of this, but see below.
>I would expect that a considerable number of extropians and proto-
>extropians would be homosexual. Gay men and lesbian women already have to
>have the mental flexibility to escape the mindset of the majority culture,
>and this might make them more open to the novelty of extropian ideas.
>
>It would be interesting to know whether any of the various writers
>who have influenced our beliefs are thought to have been homosexual.
>Homosexuals have played a disproportionate part in creating modern
>culture, both popular and "serious", over the course of this century.
>I wonder whether they have also influenced extropian ideas, or whether
>on the other hand there is something about the particular flavor of our
>beliefs which makes them less attractive to homosexuals?
On Lincoln, I'm hoping no one here sees him as a proto-Extropian. I see him
as a proto-fascist, and, at the very least, a champion of strong central
government, militarism, and stamping out freedom.
On the issue of homosexuality, should a person's orientation matter that
much? I imagine that being in a minority -- even a sexual one -- does make
for one to become more independent minded. (Has anyone actually done a
study of this?) Other than that, I guess non-heterosexuals would be more
open on average to experimentation outside of traditional gender and sexual
roles.
However, my own perceptions of the non-heterosexual community has led me to
believe that the impulse to belong has led more to collectivism and
conformity. For instance, there is a great deal of political correctness --
at least, in the US -- among gays. Naturally, there are instances which go
against this, but I'm talking about overall tendencies.
I'd be curious to hear from others on this AND also to see what people have
to say about sexaulity's impact on thinking. (My first impulse above was to
say it shouldn't matter, but since sexuality has such a huge effect on life,
I wonder if my gut feeling is wrong.)
Any takers?
Daniel Ust
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/4612/ust/ust.html
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