X-Message-Number: 23649
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 12:17:30 -0500 (EST)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: Tryve Bauge
References: <>

Kennita Watson wrote, "Rather, use it as an opportunity to
open a dialogue. If someone says 'What about the dead guy in
the Tuff Shed?', point out that while his heart in the right
place, we don't think Trygve's procedure stands nearly as
much of a chance as the ones that the mainstream cryonics
organizations use and why."

Usually I admire tolerance as a human trait, but not in this
case. The greatest damage to the serious business of trying
to cryopreserve the human brain begins with the acts of
people who represent themselves as our friends. We are judged
by the company we keep.

Bauge himself insists that all publicity is good publicity.
This of course is very convenient for him, since it excuses
and justifies anything he does, no matter how irresponsible
it is. According to his theory the Ted Williams publicity
must have been good for cryonics, even though it
misrepresented procedures and reinforced prejudice among
legislators who have prevented SA from operating out of their
current facility, have imposed severe restrictions on CI, and
would have required Alcor to follow mortuary practice if the
organization hadn't spent money and time defending itself
with a lobbyist. Clearly we are extremely vulnerable, and the
wrong kind of publicity can permanently impair the ability to
provide high-level care--not that Trygve Bauge seeme very
concerned about this.  His own father is "preserved" at a
temperature which allowed damage that I would argue was
irreparable years ago.

I think what he really means is that all publicity is good
publicity *for him,* because he just loves publicity. His own
CryoNet post revels in it. His history of his "noble fight"
to freeze his father is of course self-serving and completely
omits the real personal reasons why so many organizations and
activists refused to help him.

Since I don't want to get into that endless topic, I'll
mention just one indicator. CryoNet's limits on the size and
number of daily posts were imposed as a desperation measure
in response to the persistent and relentless abuse of this
list by one person: Trygve Bauge.

As for the people of Nederland, I have no quarrel with them.
They have embraced Bauge as a kind of lovable crank. Of
course, since he was deported, they haven't had to deal with
him personally.

--Charles Platt

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23649