So, they're still up in arms over Psychic Kids, Paranormal State, and Chip Coffey. Going so far as to give links to various people at A&E to contact them with pleas to pull Psychic Kids off the air, since it's nothing less than child abuse, and these kids are mentally ill, if not also their parents, not psychic. How do they know the kids aren't psychic? Because there's no such thing as psychics, silly!
Anyway, someone over there goes on about me: (I'm so giddy with excitement)
More on the Internet front regarding Coffey and Psychic Kids;
I just read a post from Reagan Lee of Snarly Skeptics, a blogger who writes about critical skeptics, like Nye and now, Brian Thompson.
She posted a pretty scathing report about how skeptical people (lumps them together) are basically 'attacking' Coffey. Point in case for her, and she has some good points, is Brian Thompson's blog about Chip Coffey. However, she takes the basic skeptical defenses and arguing points, and twists them around to make her points about Brian's satirical rants on Coffey's show, Psychic Kids.
What bit does make sense on her blog, is often turned and transmuted into illogical points and conclusions about the skeptical uproar developing against Coffey by saying that skeptics allege 'Child Abuse', overly make fun of Coffey and can't prove their allegations against him. Brian, when he tried to argue those points (on her blog), he is simply told by her that (paraprase) 'Chip's making up information about being related to a Native American 'shaman' (and his use of the word in question), did not matter' because all people do it that way in Hollywood'. She also identifies herself as being descended from Native Americans.
No Native American person at this stage, if they have been educated about the New Age problem by their tribe or by those who are serious about their roots, accepts this notion, especially the use of the word 'shaman' - a Siberian term. From the Rainbow Family to Gabriel of Sedona, the greatest problem facing native culture isn't the government right now, but the New Age movement that is trying to co-opt various Native American traditions. This, in this case, also includes Mr. Coffey's story. Brian did good to point this out, as well as a factual error Coffey makes on his own testimonial page - listing this time, a reference with an address that does not exist.
That's part of the reason why I, when dealing with the A&E board, am pretty careful about what I say. I want people to understand there are very real holes in the bridge that is supporting the 'Psychic Kids' phenomenon. One can take a look back to James Randi's first shows in the UK - in my opinion, that's exactly how to handle paranormal claims, with wit, humor but most importantly, with factual truth.
Sigh. Oh well, what can I say? He didn't even get my name right! I didn't say it's okay with me that Coffey misrepresented himself, nor did I say it was okay that he calls himself a shaman in context of being Native American. I said it's splitting hares to go on about it forever and a day. And does this guy speak for every Native in the country? Of course not. Neither do I. What really is loathsome though is his need to support his own agenda and bias by saying that the "greatest threat facing native culture isn't the government right now, but the New Age movement that is trying to co-opt various Native American traditions." That's a reprehensible thing to say.
Okay, I like to think I'm done, we all know they aren't. After all, this is the forum that has, what, 20 separate threads on Bigfoot? They don't let anything go!
It's scary that these people think nothing of going so far as to actually call kids mentally ill and push for the cancellation of programs they don't like.
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