Message #17307
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 01:32:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Charles Platt <cp@panix.com>
Subject: Burnout
Fred Chamberlain's very disturbing post, alleging that the stress of
Alcor administrative problems was a major factor causing Linda's
illness, suggests a particularly grim instance of a general tendency
toward burnout that has recurred throughout the history of cryonics.
Curtis Henderson, cofounder of the Cryonics Society of New York, enjoyed a
comfortable life before he discovered cryonics in the late 1960s. As
Curtis has described many times, he was supported by a trust fund, had an
easy part-time job as an insurance adjuster, was married to a lovely wife,
had a pleasant home in Long Island, and even owned a private airplane. All
these attributes of his life were destroyed or damaged after he started
running a cryonics organization.
Casualties have been piling up ever since, partly because cryonics rouses
intense passions by offering the tantalizing possibility of unlimited
future life. When the stakes are so high, any small dispute can turn into
a major confrontation. Moreover, resolving these differences is difficult
because cryonics attracts people who are not team players and find
compromise unsatisfactory.
In my own limited experience, I have seen many people afflicted by stress,
unhappiness, and depression in cryonics, to the point where they give up,
burn out, drop out, or feel sufficiently rejected that they retreat,
temporarily or permanently. Examples include noted activists such as Mike
Darwin, Brenda Peters, Carlos Mondragon, Paul Wakfer, Steve Harris, Brian
Shock, Ralph Whelan, Tanya Jones, Steve Bridge, and others.
I have escaped relatively unscathed myself, but possibly Fred regards me
as a contributory factor to Linda's stress, because I aired some
discontent about her policies publicly. If I exacerbated a difficult
situation, I do apologize. I hope it is obvious that my primary concern
was the welfare of the organization.
However, I suspect that much or most of the unhappiness that people in
cryonics have inflicted on each other during the past 10 years was
perpetrated in the seemingly worthy desire to enhance or protect the
welfare of organizations.
In the near future, I am told that Alcor seems likely to acquire Jerry
Lemler as its new President. I've met Dr. Lemler and like him a lot. In
fact, I think he's very good at being a likable guy. But I hope he
realizes that being likable won't necessarily provide any protection.
Former Alcor president Steve Bridge was just as likable, and Steve
certainly endured his share of stress.
When Rodney King went on TV during the LA riots and complained, "Why can't
we all just get along?" his statement was seemingly heartfelt, but
meaningless. If people care strongly enough about an issue, and they feel
sufficiently angry or frustrated, they _can't_ all get along.
I like to think that cryonics will be run more like a business,
eventually. Until then, I can only say how glad I am that Dr. Lemler has a
background in psychiatry. This will be a valuable attribute in managing
the factionism of socially dysfunctional people (a category in which I
include myself); but more to the point, it may enable Dr. Lemler to
protect himself more effectively than some of his predecessors.
--Charles Platt
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