*oppositional defiant disorder
I just received a lovely email from Kennedy Goodkey, who enjoyed Kylie Sturgess's interview with me on the Skeptic Zone Podcast. The interview was about the different types of activism within the skeptical movement. Kennedy has a blog called "Confessions of An Asshole Skeptic" and has placed me on the Asshole Skeptic Honour Roll. I feel as if I have been training for that placement my whole life :)
The Skeptic movement has so many wonderful, nice, highly intelligent and ever polite people in it (Richard Saunders, DJ Grothe, Daniel Loxton, Derek and Swoopy, Dr. Rachie, Evan Bernstein, The Iwan's, Jeff Wagg, Ginger Campbell, and plenty more that I as an asshole have forgotten). These are the people who need to act as spokespersons for skepticism.
There are also the skeptics that are generally nice and professional, but do not suffer fools lightly (James Randi, Phil Plait, Steve Novella, Kylie Sturgess, Tim Farley, Maria Walters, Ben Radford, Joe Nickell (swoon), Shermer, Dunning, and again, probably a few others). Watching Joe Nickell switch from his uber professional demeanor to his equally professional but clearly righteous tone when calling out the ghost hunters at Dragon Con this year was a highly "stimulating" experience for me. Ben Radford did the same thing last year when he told a priest that "unlike the Bible, at least science updates its books when it learns it is wrong." These are the folk who need to represent us whenever there is any type of public debate with believers, anti-vaxxers, and woo mongers.
Finally, you have your assholes. I am hesitant to place anyone in this category other than myself and the self-described Asshole Skeptic, but I may be willing to make an exception for certain tall magicians, only because he has called himself an asshole as well. The assholes are the ones you need to engage the opposite side's assholes.
In terms of skeptical outreach, I like to imagine that Daniel Loxton, Dr. Rachie, and Richard Saunders will get us in the door, Randi, Nickell, Radford and Novella will lay down the law, and assholes such as myself can be hidden from view until we need to rally the troops with inflammatory remarks or get into ridiculous yet funny screaming matches (real OR online) with the asshole believers.
So why are assholes such assholes?
My son had some difficulty with authority at school last year
(genetics much?) and the school psychologist wanted to label him with
oppositional defiant disorder. Upon hearing this, I went to EVERY therapist/psychologist/psychiatrist friend I had, described his
symptoms, got their opinion, and systematically used the DSM IV (diagnostic guidelines for mental
illness) to completely demolish the school psychologist's report and diagnosis, not to mention her competence. Bottom line, he had adjustment disorder and anxiety, not oppositional defiant disorder. This was later confirmed by a several practitioners at the doctoral level who spent more than two hours on his case.
After the meeting where I presented MY findings to the school psychologist, my son's Nazi
teacher, and the principal, my husband looked over at me and said
"Sweetie, you were right. Hollis does NOT have oppositional defiant
disorder."
I beamed. He was proud of me!! Even after 10 years of marriage, there is no other person in the world whose approval means more to me :)
Then he said "YOU however, sure as hell have it. In fact,your entire family has it."
He was not wrong. But I was still right.
WooT! Assholes Unite!
- Kennedy
You may hesitate to brand anyone else as an asshole skeptic unless they claim it for themselves first, so let me stand up and say “Hooray!” from a fellow asshole skeptic!
WTF? ODD? The whole family? You think!
Love – your sister
All of my life I have struggled to find my place in the world. Who knew there was a club that I would fit into. Now I don’t have to be a lonely asshole.