[extropy-chat] The next steps for individuals (was: Aw Nuts! Bush Wins...)

[Al Brooks]

 I can't think of anything do-able, except maybe
finding someone interested in communicating with
select persons in the 'Middle East' to attempt to
interest them in transhumanism/extropianism. The
communicator would have to be someone who knows
science, who is diplomatic & empathetic.
A one in a million sort of person.


> Natasha:
> >>  What can our organizations, such as Extropy
> Institute, do to promote good
> >>  relations between ourselves and others
> throughout the world?  That is a
> >>  first step.
> 
> Given the strong individualist personalities here, I
> think that one can
> add to the above: "What can *individuals* do to
> promote good relations
> between ourselves and others throughout the world?"
> 
> Hal Finney:
> >I think that's a great question.  Of course, ExI is
> not a major player on
> >the world stage and can't by itself rehabilitate
> America's international
> >image.
> 
> After Bush is out, then I think that ten or twenty
> years will be needed
> to recover its reputation (America's international
> image). It will be a
> long road.
> 
> >But just by asking it, we are reminded that we are
> not our country.
> 
> Or rather, we are not our government.
> 
> I would like to say something about linking people
> to particular places
> and governments.
> 
> During human interactions with those in our
> environments, many people
> seem to need to fix a person to a place ("Where are
> you from?"), perhaps
> in order to categorize that person in their mind.
> Because once they've
> categorized that person, their interactions becomes
> easier: they can use
> a mental lookup table to form hypotheses,
> conclusions, 'facts' or
> prejudices, in order to know what behavior to use in
> order to proceed in
> that interaction. It's natural, because it can be
> scary (unconsciously)
> to interact with strangers, so then categorizing
> another person helps to
> overcome a person's fears.
> 
> You know that I don't like categorization and 'group
> thinking', but to
> some extent, all of us use it in our daily lives. I
> think a worthwhile
> goal for improving one's inner state is to catch it
> and try to break it,
> in ourselves, or if we have energy, in others,  when
> it happens. Starting
> with stereotypes.
> 
> Stereotypes are all around us.  Individuals initiate
> them, media and
> governments amplify them, and a feedback loop is in
> motion. It's hard work
> to filter what is possibly real and what is probably
> fiction. I try very
> hard, in the places where I live, to gather alot of
> data, treat people as
> individuals, and in my most critical mindset, I
> expect people to treat
> me the same (that is, with no stereotypes). I knew
> some of the
> stereotypes that the U.S. media/culture/government
> presented about other
> countries outside before I moved away from the U.S.
> I've learned, since
> I moved out, of some of the U.S. stereotypes that
> nonU.S.
> media/culture/government give. So then what can
> individuals in this
> extropian/transhuman community do? Try to break the
> stereotypes.
> Put this thought in the back of your mind and bring
> to the forefront
> when you feel ready to tackle it.
> 
> Perhaps you will be lucky (because this is the best
> way) to be in a
> foreign place and such an opportunity will be placed
> in your forefront
> without any effort. For example:
> 
> [one conversation with an old Italian man 8 months
> ago on the
> train between Frascati and Rome]
> 
> him: "Where are you from?"
> 
> me: "I was born in Hawaii."
> 
> him: "Nice life there isn't it? But do they have
> good food there?
> You Americans like McDonalds for your food."
> 
> me: "I don't remember when I ate McDonalds food
> last. Perhaps
> five years ago I ate something from McDonalds."
> 
> him: "Then what do you eat?"
> 
> me: "I like fresh fruit and vegetables and fresh
> seafood."
> 
> him: "Oh! Italians like that too."
> 
> ------
> 
> [one conversation with a medium age Turkish man
> several years ago
> at the dentist office in Heidelberg]
> 
> him: "Where are you from?"
> 
> me: "I am from California"
> 
> him: "Oh! I've never visited there. I _do_ want to
> visit but I don't
> like your president, so I don't want to visit
> California for very long."
> 
> me: "I didn't vote for the U.S. president."
> 
> him: "But why did other Americans?"
> 
> me: "I don't know. I think that September 11
> triggered a huge
> fear in some Americans, and they feel safer with
> that man."
> 
> him: "Well, I don't like him. Do you know what I
> want to do
> in California?"
> 
> me: "No, tell me."
> 
> him: "I want to see the Pacific Ocean, and feel it.
> Run from the sand on
> the beach and tip my toes in the wonderful ocean,
> and then leave
> California. That is enough for me."
> 
> me: "It is a nice image. A dream you can work for."
> 
> 
> When I lived in the U.S. (38 years), I was annoyed
> that 'my society',
> that is, culture, media, etc. in the U.S. places
> where I lived gave such
> stereotypical or else little attention to the world
> outside of its
> borders. I wanted more data, so then with a PhD
> potential, I moved to
> Germany. Immediately, I stepped outside of the
> stereotypes, and I played
> around for a while with the idea of assuming
> different identities. I was
> 'free'  to try on different personnas, perspectives,
> viewpoints, and it
> was a liberating feeling to discover that I could be
> whatever I wanted
> without the U.S. baggage. At the end of this
> discovery, I found that I was
> most comfortable with no masks, no assumed baggage,
> at all. I liked (and
> still like) this maskless way of living a great
> deal.
> 
> However, the question: "Where are you from?" is
> something from which I
> could not escape. What do I answer? I don't like
> governments, and after
> Bush was elected, his administration become
> something I especially
> didn't agree with, so saying "United States" was out
> of the question for
> me. If I answered with particular states like
> Hawaii, California, then I
> could see in the other person's eyes, the
> stereotypes attached with those
> places (Hawaii: "paradise", California: "wacky"),
> but for a while:
> California was a good working answer. Then I moved
> to Italy, and it no
> longer worked either.
> 
> [Accidently I brought my language class to
> hysterical laughter when I
> 
=== message truncated ===

=====
Nixon in '08 - he's tanned rested and ready


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. 
www.yahoo.com