Politically correct name calling in Ufology, skeptoid, skepti-bunkie, Skepti-bunkie, New Thug??

I'm not at all sure if this belongs here but I think it is interesting all the same. It's basically an article about Political correctness when posting on forums such as this one.

I didn't even realise there were actually nicknames for UFO skeptics, like the ones in the title there. The writer is also bringing this to light:

"I recently came across a few sites with the same message; so-called ‘name calling’ is just as bad as using racial slurs. Labeling the anti-UFOists, skeptics and or debunkers as any of the following: skeptoid, skepti-bunkie, Skepti-bunkie, New Thug, etc. is on the same level as being called any of the heinous names for an ethnic, cultural or racial group."

LINK

In my time here I haven't come across this issue i think due to the good work of the moderators here but how far should you go with the name calling??

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Added link



[edit on 12-10-2006 by masqua]

This isn't a "politically correct" issue. By and large, irrespective of the "group" you're trying to label, DON'T. No one likes to be called a "name" that some how tries to blanket all who some one else deems falls under it.

Why don't you try just talking to the PERSON, and forget the labels and classifications?

[edit on 10-12-2006 by Valhall]

Originally posted by October
"I recently came across a few sites with the same message; so-called ‘name calling’ is just as bad as using racial slurs. Labeling the anti-UFOists, skeptics and or debunkers as any of the following: skeptoid, skepti-bunkie, Skepti-bunkie, New Thug, etc. is on the same level as being called any of the heinous names for an ethnic, cultural or racial group."

Isn't it nice of the author to tell us what names we're supposed to be offended by?

And I had no idea that being called a skeptoid was as offensive as calling a black person the n-bomb, or a woman the c-bomb, etc... Who knew? Does this mean I can now file harassment charges if someone in the office tells me they talk to aliens, I ask for proof, and they call me a skeptoid? That'd be sweet cause I could really use the money!

(/sarcasm)

Good find, October. I personally wear the skeptic badge with pride, because it is the duty of people with an ounce of education, rational thought, and logic skills, to request some form of evidence or proof when it comes to unconventional claims. It doesn't make me any less open-minded, it just makes me less naive to the mountains of bullsh-t we're surrounded by on a constant basis.

If someone says "I am in communication with the Illuminated Light Beings of Alpha Centauri who are representatives of the Galactic Council of Reptillian Atlantoids from the Crab Nebula", then I will be inclined to say "Really? Got any proof or evidence?" If they respond by calling me a "Skeptoid" I will wear that name like a badge of honor.

And "New Thug" just sounds cool. I think I'll add that to my title. Boo-yah!

Oh Valhall,

I am not in the habit of calling anybody a name and your post there seems to be directed at me for some reason. I am merely bringing to the forefront an article that was of interest to me and i thought i would share it with everybody else. Like i said in my post i had not even heard of any of the names mentioned and i didn't set up this post to insult anybody. I have been called a number of things in my life so i know how hurtful and degrading it is so please don't make my post a personal attack on me thank you.

Originally posted by October
Oh Valhall,

I am not in the habit of calling anybody a name and your post there seems to be directed at me for some reason. I am merely bringing to the forefront an article that was of interest to me and i thought i would share it with everybody else. Like i said in my post i had not even heard of any of the names mentioned and i didn't set up this post to insult anybody. I have been called a number of things in my life so i know how hurtful and degrading it is so please don't make my post a personal attack on me thank you.

What a truly odd reaction to my post. lmao I was speaking to the concept of using blanketing labels to classify people. It was a response to the acidic opinion piece linked in your post.

Did you intend to post a link to it, reference it, and not have responses in regard to the link's content? If so - apparently you were wrong.

Either that or you had a severe moment of egocentricity, because I don't even know you.

I'm sorry but wait a minute, all i'm saying is that I thought your original post was in some way directed at me personally, i didn't know that your post was referring to the article, to me it was worded at me that's all. There is really no need to start typing in bold and i am in no way trying to be egocentric. You may not know me Valhall but i have been with you from the start. You see it was actually you that made me join up to ATS in the first place because I found your posts very interesting and I felt like i wanted to reply to them, so that's what made me come here a few months ago. I hold you you with the utmost respect and i'm just a bit gobsmacked.

Please accept my apologies for misinterpreting your post, and if the moderators could kindly close this thread it would be much appreciated.

Okay, October, but don't take my posts personal, okay? I try to talk to the issue of the thread - sometimes I fail, but not this time. I was just giving my viewpoint on it.

Anyway, back to the label issue. I rarely see a label used positively. About the only time I do see it is when the person talking uses a label on themselves (i.e. "we liberals", etc). It seems labels are an easy way to take one facet of a person (say their belief that ufos are from another planet) and then place them within a stereotypical SET of traits (usually negative or characature-like) of the class/category the label refers to. And it's usually for the purpose of denigration. Like "you ufo nuts are all the same....

Maybe the only group label we should use is "you's guys"...but we have to say it like we're from Jersey..."yoose guys". It would probably quickly reduce to "Yoose guys are all alike!" lol

Originally posted by thelibra

Originally posted by October
"I recently came across a few sites with the same message; so-called ‘name calling’ is just as bad as using racial slurs. Labeling the anti-UFOists, skeptics and or debunkers as any of the following: skeptoid, skepti-bunkie, Skepti-bunkie, New Thug, etc. is on the same level as being called any of the heinous names for an ethnic, cultural or racial group."

Isn't it nice of the author to tell us what names we're supposed to be offended by?

And I had no idea that being called a skeptoid was as offensive as calling a black person the n-bomb, or a woman the c-bomb, etc... Who knew? Does this mean I can now file harassment charges if someone in the office tells me they talk to aliens, I ask for proof, and they call me a skeptoid? That'd be sweet cause I could really use the money!

(/sarcasm)

Good find, October. I personally wear the skeptic badge with pride, because it is the duty of people with an ounce of education, rational thought, and logic skills, to request some form of evidence or proof when it comes to unconventional claims. It doesn't make me any less open-minded, it just makes me less naive to the mountains of bullsh-t we're surrounded by on a constant basis.

A skeptie-bunkie who admits that only unconventional clams should be questioned. It's about time.

If someone says "I am in communication with the Illuminated Light Beings of Alpha Centauri who are representatives of the Galactic Council of Reptillian Atlantoids from the Crab Nebula", then I will be inclined to say "Really? Got any proof or evidence?" If they respond by calling me a "Skeptoid" I will wear that name like a badge of honor.

No one has a problem with genuine skepticism, and I am willing to bet you know you this, it is pseudo skepticism they detest. Hijacking the definition of a word isn't going to change the way people perceive you.


Critical thinking my ass...

People can call me whatever they want. I know excactly who and what I am, and other peoples labels don't change that at all.

And my experience here on ATS is that those who turn to namecalling and poorly disguised insults, very often are those who are losing ground in a discussion. They are simply running out of arguments.

Originally posted by CallMeBlu
A skeptie-bunkie who admits that only unconventional clams should be questioned. It's about time.

Not quite true, but there's a grain in there. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, by definition. What this means is that all claims require the same amount of evidence, but we already have an extraordinary amount of evidence for mundane claims, and more unconventional claims - sorry, and all - have to live up to the same standard. It's only fair.

For example, if someone claims there's a dog in my garden, I already have a lot of evidence that dogs exist. If someone claims an alien is in my garden, they're starting with a handicap. Therefore, it's an extraordinary claim.

But the idea these terms are as offensive as racist words is absurd. "Skeptic" is a badge of common sense. Even "pseudo-skeptic", while perhaps lacking intellectual rigour, does not necessarily mean "wrong".