JAMES Randi, who has spent a large part his life exposing quackery and humbuggery in all its various guises, said that believers in the occult and paranormal – in his words, the “woo woos” – may try and detract from his work now that they know he’s gay.
'Grandfather of sceptics' James Randi
The founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation, which exists to expose as “bullshit” the paranormal, the pseudoscientific and the supernatural, this week came out of the closet, declaring:
I’m gay.
In a statement published on the Foundation website on Sunday, Randi, an atheist described as “the grandfather of sceptics”, said:
From some 70 years of personal experience, I can tell you that there’s not much “gay” about being homosexual. For the first 20 years of my life, I had to live in the shadows, in a culture that was – at least outwardly – totally hostile to any hint of that variation of life-style. At no time did I choose to adopt any protective coloration, though; my cultivation of an abundant beard was not at all a deception, but part of my costume as a conjuror.
He added:
Gradually, the general attitude that I’d perceived around me began to change, and presently I find that there has emerged a distinctly healthy acceptance of different social styles of living – except, of course, in cultures that live in constant and abject fear of divine retribution for infractions found in the various Holy Books… In another two decades, I’m confident that young people will find themselves in a vastly improved atmosphere of acceptance.
He went on:
I’m prepared to receive the inevitable barrage of jeers and insults from the “grubbies” out there who will jump to their keyboards in glee to notify others of their kind about this statement, which to them will be yet further proof of the perfidy of the rationalist mode of life that I have chosen. Those titters of joy will be unheard over the murmur of acceptance that I confidently expect from my friends.
In a subsequent interview on the For Good Reason radio programme, he describes the possible impact his coming out may have on his tireless work advancing skepticism and critical thinking.
He talks about gay rights issues such as marriage equality, and he explores the relevance of gay rights to the skeptical movement.
Here is the link to the broadcast.
Hat tip: Peter Brietbart
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Interestingly enough Mr. Randi came across my radar as I was researching the False Memory Syndrome Foundation and whether or not it was created for the sole purpose of creating a fraudulent defense for people accused of child molestation. Interesting that someone that fights pseudoscience was on the board of a foundation that advocates for a “syndrome” that is not acknowledged by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or any professional organizations. Maybe you should do a little google search for the FMSF and James Randi and see what other interesting things you find.
March 23rd, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Self-styled therapists who have manipulated patients into concocting false memories of childhood sexual abuse have been ordered to pay millions of dollars in punitive damages to the victims of their scam/delusion. Sexual abuse does happen. But it is either irretrievably forgotten, as 99 percent of all childhood experiences are forgotten, or it is never forgotten. “suppressed memory” does not exist. Allegedly “recovered memories” are false memories. Anyone who suggests otherwise either has a hidden agenda or is unteachable.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders has no function except to preserve the bread and butter of psychoquacks who “diagnose” disorders that exist only in their own imaginations. The only difference between a psychiatrist and a bartender is that the bartender knows that sympathetic listening is not a branch of medicine, and that his guesses are as likely to be wrong as right. Dr Thomas Szasz has been trying to expose this form of pseudo-medicine as a hoax for a half-century, and might have already succeeded if he had not made the appalling blunder of allying himself with Scientology.
March 23rd, 2010 at 1:28 pm
I agree with Dr Harwood. The psycho-babble industry is huge and wealthy – just like the religions – so will use any underhand method to tarnish those who expose their frauds; they have a lot of gullible people still to fleece. James Randi has done excellent work, being a constant thorn in the side of charlatans; he has many enemies who are no doubt orchestrating a campaign against him just because he is gay. The work of Alan Turing is not less significant because he was gay, neither is Tchaikovsky’s music the less beautiful – the woo woos are too dim to realise this.
March 23rd, 2010 at 2:13 pm
If we’re not careful people are going to realise that getting people to be sceptical is part of our Gay Agenda. It’s the first step to having people rebel against God.
We’ve been doing so well so far, what with getting straight men to moisturise and wear pink.
Oops, I’ve said too much.
March 23rd, 2010 at 2:19 pm
William Harwood
You’ve just reminded me of something a “Psychoquack” friend told me some years ago. The jist of it was that he spent all those years learning what he’d have gleaned from spending just one night in a pub.
He’s a policeman now.
March 23rd, 2010 at 3:24 pm
James Randi once gave a presentation at my college when I was an undergrad; the experience was enlightening, and I have been a fan of his ever since. I am happy for him, though I hope he realizes that the “woo woos†have been trying to detract from his work even when they thought that he was straight, and thus far they have failed.
March 23rd, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Great man. I don’t see how his detractors can effectively use this against him. The kind of people who would be influenced by the “he’s wrong because he’s a fag” line of argument will already be beyond hope.
March 23rd, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Regarding False Memory Syndrome, just read this. I’m lost for words!
http://www.erichufschmid.net/Pedophile-trick.html
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:27 pm
I have just read this on Wikipedia (there are references) and felt I must share it with those who may not have read it before!
Randi was once accused of actually using “psychic powers” to perform acts such as spoon bending. James Alcock relates this incident, which occurred at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller: A professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said, “Yes indeed, I’m a trickster, I’m a cheat, I’m a charlatan, that’s what I do for a living. Everything I’ve done here was by trickery.” The professor shouted back: “That’s not what I mean. You’re a fraud because you’re pretending to do these things through trickery, but you’re actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it.” The famous author and believer in spiritualism Arthur Conan Doyle had years earlier made a similar accusation against the magician Harry Houdini.
Will they ever learn?
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:48 pm
I read the Hufschmid site. The big difference between Eric Hufschmid and most other reality deniers is that no amount of evidence that he is serious will ever overcome the suspicion that NOBODY can be that insane. As many have suggested about Ann Coulter, there is a distinct possibility that such a self-parodying moron is really a liberal posing as a raving psychopath in order to discredit the school of thought he pretends to espouse.
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:55 pm
I searched Amazon for Hufschmid’s name, with the intention of reviewing the printed version of his verbal diarrhea. His only listed book is devoted to 9/11 denial, claiming that the real perpetrators were the US government and “Zionist” collaborators. I would look like less of an idiot if I treated a book endorsing a flat earth as worth reviewing.
March 24th, 2010 at 1:22 am
Oh, the discovery that a freethinker is gay? Well, Sir Elton John was way out of the closet before was finally acknowledged for being one of the greatest musicians who has ever lived. I guess David Bowie considers himself bisexual, but, who doubts that he will be in someone’s hall of fame someday, if not already?
I guess, as you get older, and as you sit on your throne of your accomplishments, it is easier to conquer the fear of reprisal and come out in favor of those who share your social oppression. It’s still a brave thing to do. Best of luck to him.
NeoWolfe
March 24th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Thanks for the link to hufschmid after considering the case of francis collins who was turned on to religion by “mere christianity” I was feeling a little down; but not anymore! Barrie you have revived my faith in the invincibility of stupidity and given me a link that promises to be wonderfully entertaining. thanks
March 24th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
@sailor1031: The wonderful thing about the internet is that, just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes someone else to trump everything that’s gone before with their sheer idiocy!
(PS The worrying thing is that there seem to be plenty of people willing to swallow all this twaddle as “gospel”, so to speak. And as for C S Lewis: even when I was a Christian I didn’t rate him, other than as a writer of fiction!)
March 26th, 2010 at 10:44 am
The amazing Randi is now the fabulous Randi?
Randi was probably the person who introduced me first to skepticism..this through a program which was shown on the Discovery Channel. I’ll forever be grateful for that..
March 28th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
First for Randi, he’s just made of awesome and win. Nuff said.
For the tangent: Why the hate to psychologists? If you guys read our history you’ll notice a lot of significant changes sense the early 1900s, back when intuition was trying to assess mental/emotional/behavioral issues of people.
Let me take you back to a time where the Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy era of psychology began. It is considered the third revolution in psychology, which created a stronger scientific foundation of psychology. Those advocates for it were described by Dr. Kevin Freeman as: “the barbarians at the gates;” cause they demanded (quite loudly) more scientific basis of mental disorders and treatment. That means that all information accumulated on mental disorders had to be reliable (consistent) and valid (actual).
And before you know it, the DSM 4th Edition came out with A LOT more scientific basis than the DSM 3rd Edition (which was already created to establish stronger scientific foundation). And now the 5th edition is coming out. We are in the middle of “Culture world-view” as our fourth revolution where now we are taking the culture or world-view of the client(s) as another prime factor in understanding them. The 5th is predicted to be merging with neurological studies.
Logical criticisms to psychology is not “its a fake science.” If you read our journals you might notice we apply the scientific method rigorously, if not religiously, and teach future researchers how to do it right. Second, to acknowledge and note all weaknesses in published studies so they can be evaluated or reevaluated when follow-up studies are conducted. Cause after all, a study maybe wrong down the road.
To Dr. Harwood: I always respect the position of legitimate and intelligent critics (excluding the CCHR) and am thankful we have outspoken ones (excluding the CCHR). For Thomas Szasz, his other major blunder was he seemed more of a cage-rattler. I think he had spent too much time just trying to shake up the psychiatric foundations, but his passion overrode his vision. He was right on many things (to only name a few of several I agree with him on):
-Mental abnormalities are defined by culture and society
-The rights of people should be respected and not denied if they show signs of what society defines as a mental disorder
-Institutionalization of people who show signs of what society defines as a mental disorder should be decided in a court of law (which it is now), NOT automatic upon arrest or detainment
I believe Szasz was criticized by his colleagues if had concentrated on psychiatry adopting a moral imperative and recognizing the rights of people, he would have accomplished a lot more.
You are right about him allying with Scientology. I don’t think it helped his reputation making friends with a criminal organization disguised as a religion. (uh oh, they’re going to come after me now)
As for the DSM: The biggest problem with the book is that its updated behind closed doors, though not as much as it used to be. They’re now releasing info on the APA’s DSM site to what changes are being made BEFORE releasing the 5th edition. But that still leaves the second problem: We are not shown what research is used by the DSM task force. I’m not sure what the logic is of my colleagues at the APA for deciding this but I find it unsettling.