[extropy-chat] [wta-talk] Fighting mad! (was transhumanist nut jobs &transhumanism going extinct)

[mike99]

Stuart,
Thanks for your concern about the reputation of transhumanism. But I
wouldn't worry too much about WIRED's calumny. At least they spelled
"transhumanist" correctly!

Seriously, speaking for myself as one of the WTA Board of Directors, I would
vote against any proposal to sue WIRED for libel in this case. I have two
reasons, one philosophical and one practical:

1) As a matter of political philosophy, I believe that WIRED should be free,
within rather broad limits, to call us whatever they wish. We are also free
to disagree with them and to make our views known as widely as possible.

2) As a practical matter, we do not have the resources of time and money to
expend on a libel case where we have suffered no major harm. Being called a
"nut job" is more a matter of opinion by the WIRED writer, and is harder to
argue against, than if, for example, they had called us "mass murderers" or
"child molesters" which are serious charges that we could easily disprove.


Regards,

Michael LaTorra

mike99 at lascruces.com
mlatorra at nmsu.edu
English Dept., New Mexico State University

Member:
Board of Directors, World Transhumanist Association: www.transhumanism.org
Board of Directors, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies:
http://ieet.org/
Alcor Life Extension Foundation: www.alcor.org
Society for Universal Immortalism: www.universalimmortalism.org
President, Zen Center of Las Cruces: www.zencenteroflascruces.org

> -----Original Message-----
> From: wta-talk-bounces at transhumanism.org
> [mailto:wta-talk-bounces at transhumanism.org]On Behalf Of The
> Avantguardian
> Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 3:35 PM
> To: ExI chat list; wta-talk at transhumanism.org
> Subject: [wta-talk] Fighting mad! (was transhumanist nut jobs
> &transhumanism going extinct)
>
>
> --- spike <spike66 at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> >
> http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/posts.html?pg=4
>
> They called us nutjobs.
>
> >
> > > bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Samantha
> > Atkins
> > > Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] transhumanist nut jobs
> > >
> > > Using such a phrase is not a compliment.   It
> > implies we are
> > > generally nuts but now and then may be onto
> > something.  It should be
> > > objected to.
> > >
> > > - s
> >
> > >From the general tone of the article, it didn't
> > feel to me like an
> > intentional jab, or rather I didn't feel insulted.
> > Of course, I seldom do,
> > even if an insult is the intended, so perhaps I am
> > not the right one to ask.
> >
> >
> > Recommend we laugh it off.
>
> Again? How many times are we going to turn the other
> cheek while the media insults us left and right. I
> have had enough, it is time for an object lesson. I
> recommend we play tit for tat and retaliate. Not with
> some whiny little letter to the editor, however.
>
> No, I recommend we sue Wired for LIBEL. The transhuman
> orgs could use some cash and Wired Magazine has deep
> pockets. They printed a very negative portrayal about
> transhumanists as a whole in widely distributed
> magazine. This potrayal is simply not true and they
> knew it. Such is called defamation in print or libel.
> It is a tort and suable in court.
>
> I spoke to my attorney about it this morning. He said
> he would need to read the context in which it occurred
> but it sounded as if there are grounds for a lawsuit.
>
> However, I do not serve in any offical capacity on the
> board of any transhuman org so while I may be fighting
> mad, it's not my fight. My recommendation is somebody
> on the WTA BOD sue them. It will be easier to explain
> to the judge why an officer from an organization that
> has "transhumanist" in its offical title would be
> offended at the remark "transhumanist nutjobs".
>
> Not-for-profits can sue and be sued just like any
> other corporation. Rather than worrying about all the
> bad press we have been getting lately, I say we start
> hitting back. Let the media know they won't be able to
> take cheap shots at us with impunity. Instead of
> wallowing in self-pity at our impending extinction, I
> suggest we mobilize. If we transhumanists don't start
> standing up for ourselves, nobody else will!
>
> Justice De Thezier claims that transhumanism "is not
> above politics". If that is the case then it is time
> for the WTA BOD to get down in the mud and start
> wrestling with the pigs because that is what politics
> entails.
>
>
>
>
>
> Stuart LaForge
> alt email: stuart"AT"ucla.edu
>
> "God doesn't play dice with the universe." - Albert Einstein
>
> "Einstein, don't tell God what to do." - Neils Bohr
>
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