[extropy-chat] Hubert Mania's comments

[Bryan Moss]

Some comments on this rather surreal happening...

1. Robert is on ExI's board.

2. Robert *does not* make it clear that these are his own views.  In fact,
he has explicitly stated that they directly follow from "extropy."

3. If Hubert's classification of Robert as "neo-fascist" is incorrect, it's
probably only because we don't *have* a word for someone who proposes an
otherwise democratic government perform pre-emptive nuclear strikes on
people who rub him the wrong way.  I wouldn't be shocked, however, if, after
the mushroom clouds had cleared, the international community did, in fact,
settle on "neo-fascist" or similar.

4. Given the above, Hubert's classification of ExI as "a frankly neo-fascist
group" doesn't seem quite as *obviously wacky* as some seem to be
suggesting.  To be sure, I don't think ExI gets to pick and choose the brush
with which it is tarred in quite the manner that ExI might think.
Apparently ExI thinks it more important to distance itself from being called
names than from the repugnant views its board members are airing on its
wholly owned public "ExI chat list."  Note that Natasha chimed in merely to
remind us all that ExI is not libertarian or fascist.  ExI's Vice President
meanwhile tells us that he thinks Robert's view is not only "wrong" (as in
mistaken) but also "morally wrong."  Harsh words indeed.

5. Harsher words are reserved for Hubert, who we're told has always been
quite grumpy and *not just* when an ExI board member is suggesting genocide.
Heck, we probably shouldn't be surprised a hater like Hubert would latch
onto an ExI board member's numerous disgusting suggestions posted to ExI's
wholly owned public "ExI chat list" and use them to "tar" the "community of
common interest."  The man *obviously* has an agenda!

6. Robert apparently doesn't "like making the same mistake twice."  He is,
however, apparently very, very adept at doing just that.  This is the third
time I've seen Robert play "Devil's Advocate" in exactly this (nuclear)
manner and I take frequent, long breaks from this list.  While I myself was
also once quite taken with the "Devil's Advocate" role, I eventually managed
to wise-up and heed the ever sage advice of Damien Broderick: "shut the hell
up."  Alas, I think it has become fairly obvious that Robert isn't playing
"Devil's Advocate" (even in this lame sense) at all: he's serious.

7. I think Robert needs some Robert-time, preferably spent with some good
books on moral philosophy.  Meanwhile, I think ExI should go stand in the
corner and seriously reflect on the absurdly disingenuous, pompous and
ego-stroking manner in which it handles matters of PR.

BM