Skeptics in the News

[corplinx]

http://gawker.com/5818993/richard-dawki ... y-atheists

It appears the "hangers on" now run the show.

[Mentat]

Skepticism is not a personal attribute . . .

Somebody great once wrote this. I am glad that now some may be seeing the light.

[sparks]

Here:

They're big on the physical sciences, on atheism/agnosticism, on social libertarianism, and pretty dim on things like homeopathy, faith healing, psychics, and hell.

We're not dim on things like homeopathy, faith healing, psychics, and hell. We've checked them out rather thoroughly and found the ideas wanting.

And here:

Blah blah blah.......as male skeptics are not known for their suavity.

Perhaps not. Doesn't mean we don't have any.....(well, I don't but let's ignore that for the moment).

Finally

At the popular skeptical blog Blaghag, Jen McCreight wrote:

[It] makes me want to cry a little when you live up to the stereotype of a well-off, 70 year old, white, British, ivory tower academic.

Now who's being a chauvinist, rascist, etc...etc? It's perfectly simple: If it makes your pussy hurt,then don't do it.

ETA--Opinions are like assholes in that everybody has one. I don't agree with how Dawkins handled this but on the other hand, it's hardly worth his career and boycotting his books, which is tantamount to proclaiming: "Since you had one bad idea Mr. Dawkins, then it follows that all your ideas suck ass."

And ya know what? That just ain't so.

[specious_reasons]

This article was published back in July....

What amazes me about this article is that it reads like it was written by some snarky journalist taking the piss on atheists, but it's written by a JREF staffer. Thanks for the accommodationist rhetoric, Brandon K Thorpe.

[sparks]

This article was published back in July....

What amazes me about this article is that it reads like it was written by some snarky journalist taking the piss on atheists, but it's written by a JREF staffer. Thanks for the accommodationist rhetoric, Brandon K Thorpe.

No shit.

[Pyrrho]

Hey...nobody's running around flaunting certitudes, are they? Because I've been sternly lectured about that.

[corplinx]

Woman leaving a party gets awkwardly propositioned by a dude. She shoots him down. He doesn't press it. This is how human courtship works. There is a proposition, and an accept/reject.

On the flipside, if she'd gone back to his room and banged him, there wouldn't be any wacko-psycho babble. The crime is that he didn't meet the criteria needed to get accepted.

It often seems like people like Rebecca Watson are trying to refine feminism to mean "the ability to villianize unwanted/failed suitors".

And it fails so many basic tests of skepticism.
a. what if the guy really just wanted to talk? she claims psychic knowledge here (i know its a long shot, but she spoke in certainties)

So what happened here? Dawson put her in her place and her fanbois (do i have to say "and fanwomen") turned on him? And some JREF douchebag decided to sensationalize it?

[Abdul Alhazred]

Hey robinson! One of yours?

http://encyclopediadramatica.se/Rebecca_Watson (site NSFW)

[corplinx]

Sorry for this necro/retro issue. A friend linked me the story today and I didn't check the date. I also don't keep up with terrible podcasts like SGU where this was discussed, pay attention to twitter drama, or go to blogs/podcasts with the name "chick" in them.

[Nyarlathotep]

This was the third or fourth thread on this subject on this forum alone. How you could have missed it is beyond me.

[corplinx]

This was the third or fourth thread on this subject on this forum alone. How you could have missed it is beyond me.

I've been pretty busy working this summer.

[Nyarlathotep]

This was the third or fourth thread on this subject on this forum alone. How you could have missed it is beyond me.

I've been pretty busy working this summer.

Ah. I'll put it this way, it even became a mini-meme for a while. For a couple of weeks, you can be sure that any reference to elevators around here would lead to a reference to cofee and vice versa.

[EvilYeti]

Ah. I'll put it this way, it even became a mini-meme for a while. For a couple of weeks, you can be sure that any reference to elevators around here would lead to a reference to coffee and vice versa.

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/skeptical-girl

Unfortunately the quickmeme page is gone, I'm assuming due to epic butthurt from teh SkepFags.

Apparently making fun of people on the Internet is a privilege reserved for the Church of Randi only.

And if makes you feel better Corpse, I missed it the first time around as well. Somewhat interesting to me in that the same incestuous behavior that drove me from the Jref years ago has spread to the highest ranks.

Anyways, I support Mr. Dawkins. For someone that I'm assuming gets death threats on a pretty consistent basis I can imagine Rebecca's attention-whoring would seem trite.

Lots of great comments here:

http://www.inmalafide.com/blog/2011/07/ ... girl-meme/

[corplinx]

Dear blogospherians, Don't fuck with Dawkins. You internet bloggers who are known for .... blogging. Really, you fucking hangers-on who contribute nothing but noise should shut your fucking mouths. Am I silencing free speech? No. You will continue to have diarrhea of the mouth and keyboard because that is what you do. You couldn't become famous for looking pretty or doing... actual work, so you try to become famous for being popular on the internet with a few thousand people who wouldn't pay you a dollar to hear what you say.

PZ Myers? What? Who the fuck are you? You tend fish at a university and act like a dickhole on the internet. Sometimes for reasons I like. But seriously, go fuck yourself. Yeah, I used to read talk origins. Yeah Thanks. Staying relevant through trolling ain't gonna work bro.

The worst thing to happen to free thought is it becoming a "movement" because you now you have all these asshats jockeying to be deacons in the church of skepticism and fuckwits like Rebecca Watson trying to piggyback their own vendettas and non-skeptical pursuits onto it.

[EvilYeti]

The worst thing to happen to free thought is it becoming a "movement" because you now you have all these asshats jockeying to be deacons in the church of skepticism and fuckwits like Rebecca Watson trying to piggyback their own vendettas and non-skeptical pursuits onto it.

Libertarians that live in glass houses...

[corplinx]

The worst thing to happen to free thought is it becoming a "movement" because you now you have all these asshats jockeying to be deacons in the church of skepticism and fuckwits like Rebecca Watson trying to piggyback their own vendettas and non-skeptical pursuits onto it.

Libertarians that live in glass houses...

Are the first to ask for FEMA dollars after a hurricane?

[specious_reasons]

Dear blogospherians, Don't fuck with Dawkins.

Sorry, Dawkins was acting like a douchey old man who doesn't get it. He deserved all the shit he got.

[gnome]

Woman leaving a party gets awkwardly propositioned by a dude. She shoots him down. He doesn't press it. This is how human courtship works. There is a proposition, and an accept/reject.

On the flipside, if she'd gone back to his room and banged him, there wouldn't be any wacko-psycho babble. The crime is that he didn't meet the criteria needed to get accepted.

It often seems like people like Rebecca Watson are trying to refine feminism to mean "the ability to villianize unwanted/failed suitors".

This is the supposition that keeps me jumping back in, because of how full of straw it is. It is quite possible to disagree on what is / is not appropriate when it comes to "courtship". The fact that some people are appealing enough to get away with pushing someone's usual boundaries is a facet of human nature, not a flaw in feminist ideology.

[corplinx]

Sorry, Dawkins was acting like a douchey old man who doesn't get it. He deserved all the shit he got.

No, he put her in her place. Plain and simple.

[youtube]r25alb0_xUk[/youtube]

vs

Chick who made a cause out of a guy who had the audacity to ask her over for coffee.

[Mentat]

Dear blogospherians, Don't fuck with Dawkins. You internet bloggers who are known for .... blogging. Really, you fucking hangers-on who contribute nothing but noise should shut your fucking mouths. Am I silencing free speech? No. You will continue to have diarrhea of the mouth and keyboard because that is what you do. You couldn't become famous for looking pretty or doing... actual work, so you try to become famous for being popular on the internet with a few thousand people who wouldn't pay you a dollar to hear what you say.

PZ Myers? What? Who the fuck are you? You tend fish at a university and act like a dickhole on the internet. Sometimes for reasons I like. But seriously, go fuck yourself. Yeah, I used to read talk origins. Yeah Thanks. Staying relevant through trolling ain't gonna work bro.

The worst thing to happen to free thought is it becoming a "movement" because you now you have all these asshats jockeying to be deacons in the church of skepticism and fuckwits like Rebecca Watson trying to piggyback their own vendettas and non-skeptical pursuits onto it.

Heh, Cry some more

You internet bloggers who are known for .... blogging. Really, you fucking hangers-on who contribute nothing but noise should shut your fucking mouths.

Kinda like half of a specific person's random ranting and video postings in a specific forum that I will not mention? Do you have a fear of mirrors or something?

The worst thing to happen to free thought is it becoming a "movement"

The best thing for "free thought" to apply is first to yourself. Then worry about bitching about movements and what not. And sorry to disappoint you, but "free thought" doesn't mean "my way or the highway".