Speculative Realms: Banning, Badge Checking, Sociopathy and the Mass-Hypnotic Herd Mentality of the Paranormal World

Gary Haden at Speculative Realms does it again. Another great post. And a bit of synchronicity, as I've been thinking the same kinds of thoughts these past few days; about labels, and little feuds, and ideas. Rejecting some because they're "wrong" -- as if any of us know what's right. All we can do, is be honest, and continue our search in our own ways.

Speculative Realms: Banning, Badge Checking, Sociopathy and the Mass-Hypnotic Herd Mentality of the Paranormal World: "I write as a flawed human being struggling to make his way in the world, not as some esoteric guru weaving a hypnotic web, trapping vulnerable people in a cocoon, and getting a kick out of watching them squirm and die in my ridiculous, life-draining ideas. The paranormal community zombifies its citizens."

But most of all, this:

I don’t need an advanced degree, or a degree of any kind, or even a grade school education, to give me PERMISSION TO THINK. The FREEDOM TO THINK is a right every human being has. I don’t need the permission of a paranormal celebrity to write what I write, to cite the sources I cite, or to speak about an offense that damages people and to adequately warn the public about a hazard to be avoided.

And neither do ANY OF YOU.

Many people who are bloggers or reporters don’t have advanced degrees in the subject matter they write about. Most reporters have Bachelors Degrees in Journalism. They’re taught how to make inquiry. They’re not taught to be experts in every field they cover, but they’re provided with investigative skills to allow them to deliver an informed report. Their bachelor’s degrees don’t defraud their research or render their scholarship invalid or deprive them of the ability, as free individuals, to THINK FOR THEMSELVES.

It seems so obvious, but as we know, so many spend a gross amount of time telling others what to think, how to think, why they should think it, and if they even get to think at all, dependent on arbitrary ideas of Who Gets To.

But those points just touch the surface of Haden's post, which is much deeper than what might appear as simply venting about the crap that goes on in paranormal studies.