X-Message-Number: 25823
From: "David Pascal" <>
Subject: Reply to Kennita
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 01:05:48 -0500

Hi everyone,

To reply to Kennita's post the other day:

>> I don't know who's involved in the Cryonics Society -- I'll see if 
>> anyone deigns to respond.<<

The Society was founded by businessman, publisher, and publishing consultant
Nick Pavlica, who belongs to Alcor, CI, and the Cryonics Society of Canada. 
David Pascal is a former director of CI, a CI member, and a professional
writer and marketing consultant. Other people are involved as well, and we
hope to announce an additional officer shortly.  Member names are held in
confidence, of course, though if members want to mention their affiliation,
they should feel free to do so.

>> I feel concerned that messages I have seen about the Cryonics Society 
>> seem to assume an adversarial posture -- that we in cryonics need to 
>> devote significant resources to countering negative publicity.  My 
>> own view is that what we most need to do is to get the word out -- to 
>> counter not negative publicity but complete lack of publicity.<<

I wouldn't really say that cryonics suffers from a complete lack of
publicity. Cryonics has been featured in films from Sleeper to Vanilla Sky. 
It's gotten major news coverage from the very first publication of Robert
Ettinger's The Prospect of Immortality to the Ted Williams incident, it's
been mentioned in the New York Times, Scientific American, novels,
magazines.  Cryonics has been publicized.  The question is: why has all this
publicity not turned into memberships and support?

I think the answer is that the messages the media are putting out are
messages that don't produce support.  Consider the recent (and unusually
favorable) New York Times article, for instance. It was about thirty
paragraphs long, but twelve of those paragraphs went out of their way to
dwell on neurosuspension, and not in terms likely to appeal to the public,
ie, "taking 15 minutes or so to saw off a head - technically a 'cephalic
isolation.'"  To those in the cryonics movement who understand the rationale
behind cephalic isolation, that mention raises no eyebrows.  But to people
with no background in cryonics, what can the effect be except to push people
away?

The fact is, if people want to research full and positive information about
cryonics, they can do it -- but it's work, and often hard work.  They have
to make a deliberate active effort to do it.  And sadly, most people don't
make that kind of effort.  All they know about cryonics is what's presented
to them in the paper and on TV.  And nearly all the messages they receive
that way are messages that strike a negative note.

I think we in cryonics DO have to devote significant resources to counter
negative publicity. Controversial media fallout over various incidents
through the years clearly show civil authorities are ready to restrict and
even threaten to shut down the operations of cryonics organizations entirely
as a direct result of negative publicity.

But the Cryonics Society certainly doesn't regard journalists as
adversaries.  If properly informed and assisted, we view them as potentially
our best allies.

We can send a positive message about cryonics to the public two ways:  we
can speak to the public directly, or we can provide accurate information
about cryonics to those journalists and media people who speak to the public
directly, and let such media people know that a pro-cryonics message is as
exciting and attention-getting as a negative one.

The Cryonics Society is actively doing both:  getting pro-cryonics messages
to the public directly via direct mail and email and the Internet, and also
contacting and speaking to journalists and providing them with useful and
accurate information.

>> I see the goals of the Cryonics Society and the Cryonics Advocacy 
>> Group as being complementary rather than redundant. <<

I agree.  More than that, I would say that every cryonics group, from the
major provider organizations to smaller private meeting or support groups
should make more of an effort to reach out to the public.  We live among
people and we have to be able to take our views to them and, ideally, get
their respect for what we're trying to achieve.

The value of the Cryonics Society, however, is that a single group focused
on gaining a tolerant hearing for cryonics can do more than many separate
small efforts, worthy though they are.  The Cryonics Society's recent
mailing effort, for instance, got a positive presentation of cryonics before
over ten thousand people.

We're currently set to mail another twenty-five thousand people next month,
and more after that, if we receive enough funding and support from members
of the cryonics community.  Smaller groups can't necessarily undertake such
efforts, and aren't in the position to deploy professional copywriters and
designers to do the most effective job.  That's not to say smaller group
efforts aren't valuable.  Simply that Society efforts can reach further, and
do so more effectively.

The best way is to support both efforts -- to make personal and local
efforts to get the word out and to support larger Cryonics Society outreach
programs as well, through membership and contributions.  That's why I think
the Cryonics Advocacy Group is a good idea and support it -- but also why
I've joined, donated to, and work with the Cryonics Society.  We should act,
whether separately or together.  But we can do more together.

- David Pascal
  Public Relations Director
  The Cryonics Society
  www.CryonicsSociety.org

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