Newsweek's Irresponsible Article On James Randi And The Skeptic Movement

Newsweek just published a story on James Randi and the skeptic movement surrounding him. The author describes himself as "largely on board with Randi’s worldview". Too bad Newsweek doesn't get more people "largely on board with a traditional Christian worldview" to write its stories on Easter, Christmas, and other such issues.

The story about the skeptic movement says nothing about how Randi and his colleagues have been debunked on so many occasions. Here's the closing line:

"And it occurs to me that Randi’s [same-sex] marriage, long prevented by a legal adherence to religious dogma and superstition, is something of a victory for skepticism."

Search the Triablogue archives for our posts about Randi's homosexual partner and his legal troubles. Newsweek says nothing about the subject. And you can search our archives for many arguments against same-sex marriage that aren't "religious dogma and superstition".

Here's a recent post by a critic of Randi who was interviewed by the Newsweek reporter. As far as I can tell, nothing significant that was said by the critic made it into the story.

Something else that stood out to me was how the skeptic movement comes across as so angry, disrespectful, and overconfident. The story is laced with profanity, including from the author himself. At the same time, some skeptics are cited expressing their concern that the movement needs to be more friendly, that it needs to watch its tone. And they use profanity in the process of expressing that concern.