210 – The Toxic Culture of Debunkers

The Culture of Debunkers

I’ve come across my fair share of those who do not believe in psychic phenomenon. I have no issues with that, but what does irritate me is the way they belittle and attack others who do believe.

These are not just simple debates where the parties agree to disagree. They are full on attempts to demean people. Generally, what is said is hateful, full of malice, with the intent to hurt someone. 

If a person asks a question about the paranormal, there is almost always someone stating, in no uncertain terms, that such things do not exist. 

If someone says they have seen a ghost, believe they are being attacked by demons, or have had experiences that are extremely unsettling, there will most likely be someone telling them to go to a psych ward or that they are delusional. 

Toxic Behavior

This is not only unhelpful but can psychologically damage those who might take such words to heart. It has the potential to make someone suicidal. 

To me, it’s disgusting behavior. 

What I can’t work out is why they do this?

It’s one thing to disagree, but there is absolutely no attempt to discuss the subject matter, ask questions about what someone has experienced, or have an intelligent, reasoned dialogue where both parties may learn something new. 

Attacking Strangers

It seems people are toxic for the sake of it. For instance, upon answering a question on a forum, someone decided to try attack and demean me. When I suggested they do a little research on who I am and what I have experienced, they claimed they didn’t need to. 

It’s just incredibly hateful, toxic, and destructive. The attackers seem so proud of their malice, as though it’s a badge of honor. 

The put down culture for psychic phenomenon has been around for a long time now. The intent appears to be proving, beyond any doubt, that there are no such things as psychics, ghost, spirits, souls, the astral levels, psychic healing, and so on. 

Why some are so intent on doing this is beyond me. Is it because they simply don’t have the capacity to comprehend things outside their personal experiences?

Genuine Debunkers

While it seems the world is teeming with those who think it’s fine to attack strangers, there is also a large culture of debunkers, whom I do respect. They do good work and bring clarity to many of the faked or misinterpreted things that are out there. 

Things such as faked videos and photos. Such things really annoy me. They bring the genuine stuff into disrepute. 

On this level, I applaud the work many have done But I also notice that such people go after low hanging fruit. The obvious frauds. The ones who are clearly faking things. 

What I do find disturbing is that they tar everyone and everything with the same brush. If one psychic is fake, then all of them must be.

Some set up tests to prove, or rather disprove psychic abilities. They fail because they never had a chance to succeed in the first place.

Omen On James Randi

It’s easy to attack and cherry pick things that can readily be dismissed, explained away or really do have a rational 3D explanation. I notice a tendency to avoid the more serious side of things.

I recall in 2014, when I was working with Omen, and he wanted to be interviewed, no one wanted to touch it. So called ghost hunters, paranormal investigators and even debunkers simply were not interested. You’d think they’d have asked questions, at the very least. 

Speaking of Omen, he once said something to me that I found very interesting. He brought up the late James Randi. (AKA The Amazing Randi) who spent a good part of his life debunking frauds.

“You ever see this magician guy that dispels psychic fakers? His name is James Randi. He’s fucking awesome!” Omen wrote.

I replied that I loved his work.

“Same,” said Omen. “I just stumbled across him and was like THIS MAN IS REAL WOOOOOW. I just like him because he’s actually no bullshit.

I mean, he is one of the few that will look at things even if he doesn’t want to know the truth himself, simply because he’s set on living in reality.

He doesn’t care what others think as long as the truth is out there.

Reasons For Not Providing Proof

Omen spent a few more minutes watching some of Randi’s videos. 

He then wrote:

<Listens to James Randi lecture a classroom of freshmen on how all we want is to find some control and power in our lives and we will believe anything in order to gain the illusion of such a thing, to the point of ignoring common sense entirely.>

Yep. Respect to that man. He understands the human mind.”

I said, “Of course, he would never entertain that you and I exist. You probably couldn’t even prove it to him.”

“To be honest I don’t think I’d want to,” he replied. “He’s too good at what he does, and I’d ruin that. I like him all skeptical and rational. Sounds like a cop out, but who am I to impose something on him that would shake his certainty about other things? It’d make him a hypocrite and I hate hypocrites.”

I thought this was both a shame and very interesting. I can’t say if this is the typical attitude of demonics. They certainly seem to have their own code of doing things. 

I also asked the same question of Ecclasia. Would she be willing to prove she existed? That she had psychic abilities? Her fear was more about being experimented on. I think that’s a valid fear. It would surprise me if genuine psychics were not under some scrutiny. If they could be weaponized, I’m sure they will try to find a way.

Proof On Their Terms

It seems that it’s very rare for a genuine entity to want to draw attention to themselves. Omen was an exception and I suppose after twenty thousand years of tedium you would want to do something different, especially now that it’s easier than ever to do things from the comfort of your own home thanks to the internet.

When people ask for proof, they most likely won’t get it. 

What I find curious is they act like they not only have a right to it, but if it’s not provided to their terms, then it must be all fake, a scam, or everyone but them (and their fellow believers) are deluded. (What amazing luck they happen to be in that niche group!)

There are good reasons why many psychic experiments fail. It’s something I plan to cover in a future entry.