It’s All Related
It was with some trepidation that I accepted the invitation to blog for Atlanta Skeptics. It’s not that I have nothing to say on skeptical matters; it’s that directive to make it local. Let’s face it, Sonny doesn’t call for rain prayers every day.
However, I was able to relax once I saw an article today that made me realize that I could cover nearly any subject that raises my skeptical hackles, because it’s all related. Perhaps I can take you through my thought processes that led to that conclusion.
The article was on Holocaust denial. Eric Hunt filed a lawsuit in Florida that called an Auschwitz survivor’s memories “vicious lies”. Now, Holocaust denial is not really a subject that interests me; I like looking into alternative medicine. Holocaust denial is like belief in a flat earth – most people dismiss it out of hand, and there’s really no reason to “come out” against Holocaust denial. But a quote at the end of the article caught my eye.
Hunt had earlier been convicted of assault against Elie Wiesel, a famous Holocaust survivor. He made a statement after the trial: “’I had been sucked into anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on the Internet,’ Hunt said in August 2008. ‘I don’t believe any of that garbage now that I’m taking my medication.’”
Well, he’s off his meds now, obviously, and that sparked a connection in my mind with a group that’s in the news in Atlanta lately – Scientologists. This group does not give any credence to psychiatry or to medicines prescribed for mental health. If it were up to them, there would be thousands more Eric Hunts roaming around, a hair away from physical assault on those who don’t agree with them.
Now, this is not to say that all Holocaust deniers should be on psychoactive drugs, or that all Scientologists are anti-semitic. It also doesn’t mean, in this specific case, that Hunt is a Scientologist and is off his meds for that reason. However, it does show that unexamined beliefs which are innocuous on the surface, like Scientology, can lead to dangerous consequences. In Eric Hunt, the denial of the evidence of the usefulness of his medication is directly related to his denial of the Holocaust.
As skeptics, we are (or should be) willing to go wherever the evidence leads. And I would opine that denial of evidence is part of most of the subjects we’ll be discussing here.
Tags: denial, Holocaust, Scientology
October 24th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I think that you bring up a key point,”wherever the evidence leads.” This I think is the central tenet of a skeptic. As I cruise my favorite blogs it surprises me the people who calls themselves “skeptics” and how they support vaccination but then go on to say that they have “serious questions” about the collapse of building 7. It’s ridiculous.
Bill Maher is a great example of this type of thinking, skepticism should be based on finding the truth based on evidence, and not fitting evidence to your truth.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:20 am
That’s all very well and good but you’ll be sorry when the lizard people come for you…
October 29th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Lizard people. Ha. (Hiss…) There’s no such thing.
(fades into background)
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I missed this last week James. I have to assume you mean that Bill Maher is a good example of NOT basing his skepticism on evidence. He is a contrarian who seems to pick whichever side will make the most noise and the funnies jokes, and which one he can get the most spittle-flecking people on his side. I see no evidence of critical thinking from him. He doesn’t weigh evidence, he weighs who gets the points in a debate or shouting match. I haven’t seen him much in a few years, but the bits I’ve seen (and the reviews of Religulous) confirm this impression. Offhand, after seeing how he approaches religion, medicine, and evolution, I couldn’t guess which side he would be on with the 9/11 Truthers.
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:16 am
@ BubbaRich
As I understand it your characterization of Bill Maher is spot on, while he derides 9/11 “truthers” as nuts and has been awarded the “Richard Dawkins Award” for his movie “Religulous”, he continues to bash Western Medicine. He was spouting Anti-vax nonsense on his program, and this leads to the confusion of Bill Maher. How can he be critical of 9/11 “truthers” and religion, and then totally uncritical of vaccines and medicine in general.
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:17 am
@Maria
Was that a “V” reference??
November 20th, 2009 at 9:14 am
[...] Jerry referenced in his last post, the Scientologists have been eyeing an old office building at Glenridge and Roswell Road. They [...]