PZ Myers is an intelligent man who has said some profound things; however, one must wade through all his prate and twaddle in order to find it. For me, it was no longer worth the effort. I realized that there are many other intelligent writers representing skepticism who share thoughts just as profound (if not more so) than anything Myers has said, without delving into all the sharp-tongued polarizing drivel that PZ uses in an attempt to maintain his popularity, so I stopped reading his blog a while back, and have been better for it.
The problem with PZ's popularity is that he doesn't represent freethought. At all. Sure, he started "Freethought" Blogs, but don't let the name fool you. Freethought Blogs is PZ's attempt to herd the cats. There are a few decent folks who blog there, so keep in mind that I'm not trying to put down everybody at FtB, although one has reason to not trust FtB as a whole. But PZ Myers represents what PZ Myers believes, and if you disagree, then you are no longer in the club. PZ did it with his whole "definition of an atheist" nonsense too. That is what bothers me the most about PZ. What's worse is that other well-intentioned bloggers have followed suit, drawing battle lines and demonizing those with whom they disagree.
This was (and is) the damage caused by Elevatorgate. One of the biggest problems with Elevatorgate was the polarizing effect it had. It turned the skeptic community into Hatfields and McCoys. Rebecca Watson herself had such hubris that she thought she could vilify Richard Dawkins and lead the non-theistic community in a revolt against him because of what he said about her. She drew a battle line, and pushed Dawkins over it and onto the other side, and demanded that everyone else follow suit.
David Futrelle, aka "ManBoobz," did the same thing to me not too long ago, labeling me and drawing his battle lines, turning me into the enemy, causing the most devoted and mindless of his devotees to drive the monster out of their village. All because I had an opinion he didn't care for. Instead of advocating freethought, they're just the McCoys looking for some Hatfields to fight, and if they can't find any, they'll make some up.
The fact is, if we are indeed freethinkers, then there will be times when we disagree with each other. And that's okay. I don't write on this blog to get everyone to agree with me, but to get people to think. Agree with me or not, I don't care. Allow me to challenge your thinking and force you to apply logic and reason in an attempt to overcome your cognitive biases, and I've done my job. I won't demonize anyone for simply having a difference of opinion. We can disagree on this or that and still be on the same side when it comes to the issues we all hold dear: critical thinking, science advocacy, human rights, justice, freedom, compassion, and equality. There are way too many battle lines being drawn currently in the skeptical community. In fact, if you disagree with something I think, then your presence and participation here challenges me to think critically as well. And isn't that the point of all this?
PZ, you have the power to influence so many people. Stop using that power so irresponsibly.
— Dead-Logic
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PZ McCoy
PZ McCoy
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