Re: virus: The other

Marie Foster (mfos@ieway.com)
Tue, 11 Nov 1997 10:16:34 -0800


David McFadzean wrote:
>
> At 08:37 AM 11/11/97 -0800, Marie Foster wrote:
>
> >Having recently joined this list I found the same thing here. Since
> >this group has less cohesion than a 'real' society I am pretty sure that
> >I still remain in each of the categories mentioned above with the other
> >people on the list.
>
> I wouldn't worry about that; I'm sure every one of us is in one of
> those categories with respect to someone else on the list. :)
>
> --
> David McFadzean david@lucifer.com
> Memetic Engineer http://www.lucifer.com/~david/
> Church of Virus http://www.lucifer.com/virus/

Not worried... But I see this issue of 'the other' at work in much of
our discussion here. There is the issue of each of us as 'others' on
the list. But even more discussion about all the other 'others' out
there. We tend to generalize but when we refer to these folk, but it is
obvious that we mean 'not like me' in particular ways depending on our
own core values.

We seem to feel that any idea that suggests that we are all the same is
a threat to autonomy. I see this as very wrong thinking but am having a
good deal of trouble getting the idea across.

While I can joke about being "Brett", part of me is very serious. It is
not just to say that I have thought "Brett" thoughts or done "Brett"
things... It is to state emphatically that my connection to others is
the most critical aspect of who I am. How we treat other humans (and
other species as well) on this earth is what memetics should be about in
my opinion.