Thread by @DailyGrail

Excellent thread from @ConnerHabib, hits right on a few thoughts I've been musing on for the past couple of days.

https://twitter.com/ConnerHabib/status/1349130038634024965

Since the Capitol riot, there's been a push from a number of skeptics to use the Q-Shaman (and QAnon in general) to proclaim "See, [insert paranormal topic that they dislike] is dangerous, we need to stop people thinking like that.".

But, as Conner says:

https://twitter.com/ConnerHabib/status/1349137506579701760

Skeptics want to draw a straight line of causality from someone getting interested in a Fortean topic, to them overthrowing democracy.

Usually, IMO, it's more a case of them being open to considering strange/heretical ideas - and when too open, the bad stuff can get in.

And for those that want to make interest in these topics verboten, consider that without magical thinking, you have no Blake, you have no Yeats.

Without interest in weird topics like ancient astronauts and magick, you lose a chunk of the work of the likes of Kirby and Moore.

It's an implicit part of culture and society.

So how do we stop it leading to bad things? That's the tough question.

As I've said, the Fortean community itself needs to do better at not accepting straight up nonsense and dehumanisation of other people.

(I'm not singling out Forteans on this - hell, it's been endemic in the skeptical communitiy as well. I'm simply addressing the community that the @DailyGrail is most closely associated with.)

I wrote some more on taking ownership here:

dailygrail.com/2021/01/the-tw…

Given all that:

1) A lot of skeptics need to stop talking nonsense about the 'dangers' of weird thinking.

2) All the same, the Fortean community needs to do better in a lot of ways - most importantly, critique and stop promoting/raising up those who are part of the problem.