James Randi admits being homosexual

[eion]

First thoughts: good for him and what took him so long? (Entirely rhetorical)

Yeah, but there have been Senators and other high ranking politicians who came out of the closet. Have there been any players in the NFL, NBA or MBA?

Sports apparently is a much worse bastion of homophobia than politics.

John Amaechi (NBA)
Orlando Jordan (Bi, pro-wrestler)
Roy Simmons, David Kopay, Esera Tuaolo (NFL)

Most of these folks came out after their careers were over, which does show how homophobic Pro-sports can be, but they came out nonetheless. They still likely sacrificed potential coaching and commentating opportunities to be true to themselves.

My big worry is how few figure skaters (figure-skaters for fuck-sakes) come out during their careers. All this bullshit Johnny Weir spouts about how, "Nobody knows what's in my heart and head," fine whatever, it's not like you're one of the most visible role-models for young figure skaters or anything. God forbid you be proud of yourself.

We are nowhere near mature enough as a society to do away with the “coming out” ritual. It is painful, it can by patronizing, but it is still necessary.

[frogcurry]

Was this even worth mentioning by him in a public forum like this? Next he'll be announcing his preferences on sock colours.

[eion]

Was this even worth mentioning by him in a public forum like this? Next he'll be announcing his preferences on sock colours.

He may well have already expressed a certain attraction to argyle in a previous posting for all we know. But so long as society assumes everyone is innately heterosexual and cissexual, a public declaration is still required for any self-respecting "non-conformer".

He used the most public forum he had access to. Speaking from personal experience, you really only want to go through the awkwardness of a mass coming-out once. The sooner you can live your life entirely in the open the better.

[Solauren]

John Amaechi (NBA)
Orlando Jordan (Bi, pro-wrestler)
Roy Simmons, David Kopay, Esera Tuaolo (NFL)

Actually, several wrestlers have come out of the closet in some way or form during their careers.

Chris Kanyon comes to mind. Unforunately, he picked up to many of Scott 'Raven' Levi's habits and was booted from WWE
Pat Pattern is openly gay, and still active in Pro Wrestling in a Company Management capacity.

[loomer]

Was this even worth mentioning by him in a public forum like this? Next he'll be announcing his preferences on sock colours.

Does it do any harm? Nope. If anything, it might let a couple more people who are in the closet accept that they are, in fact, gay. So why NOT do it in a public forum?

(I believe Master Randi has expressed an admiration for the classic black sock.)

[Plekhanov]

Was this even worth mentioning by him in a public forum like this? Next he'll be announcing his preferences on sock colours.

In a world still as riven with homophobia as ours the more thoroughly admirable people who happen to be homosexual that make it known the better.

[Superman]

Randi is one of my heroes; I've seen him speak three times now. When I was 16 or 17, I read "The Truth About Uri Geller" and realized I didn't have to be afraid of shit like going to Hell when I die. I spent most of my childhood with a fundie preacher dad, so that book was like a dose of sanity that I desperately needed.

[wolveraptor]

Man, to me, it's weird even thinking of him as a sexual being at all. I mean, he's James fucking Randi, he doesn't get boners he has to hide by flipping them up into his waistband. That kind of shit just doesn't happen to him.

I suppose an analogous situation would be me seeing one of my elementary school teachers at a grocery store back when i was in 5th grade. It's like "you're not supposed to be seen outside the classroom".

[Simon_Jester]

I can see very easily why so many gay people are atheist, would you want to join a religion that at very best will ask you to deny your very nature and character by never having sex with someone of the same sex? It's actually religious gay people, and I know more than a few, that makes me scratch my head most.

Some of them just find a church that does not ask that they not be gay. They exist. Religious people who don't like the doctrines of a given church are often totally OK with saying "Fuck you, church A, I'm going to go find a better church!" It's a common part of the mindset.

[The Cooler King]

Randi is one of my heroes; I've seen him speak three times now. When I was 16 or 17, I read "The Truth About Uri Geller" and realized I didn't have to be afraid of shit like going to Hell when I die. I spent most of my childhood with a fundie preacher dad, so that book was like a dose of sanity that I desperately needed.

He's long been one of my heroes, too. Like you, I've seen him speak three times, and thankfully have several of his books autographed. I was even able to tell him once (at the insistence of my friends) that he was one of my heroes, and he seemed genuinely moved by that. He's an amazing (heh) man, and more power to him. Never would have guessed he was gay, though.

[Vastatosaurus Rex]

Man, to me, it's weird even thinking of him as a sexual being at all. I mean, he's James fucking Randi, he doesn't get boners he has to hide by flipping them up into his waistband. That kind of shit just doesn't happen to him.

I suppose an analogous situation would be me seeing one of my elementary school teachers at a grocery store back when i was in 5th grade. It's like "you're not supposed to be seen outside the classroom".

For me, it's hard to imagine elderly people in general as being sexual.

[eion]

Man, to me, it's weird even thinking of him as a sexual being at all. I mean, he's James fucking Randi, he doesn't get boners he has to hide by flipping them up into his waistband. That kind of shit just doesn't happen to him.

I suppose an analogous situation would be me seeing one of my elementary school teachers at a grocery store back when i was in 5th grade. It's like "you're not supposed to be seen outside the classroom".

For me, it's hard to imagine elderly people in general as being sexual.

Try harder. Viagra is popular for a reason, "If the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, reach for a little blue pill."

Randi reminds me of some of the sexier daddies at my local.

[Wicked Pilot]

My first reaction was 'that sucks.' Not that he's gay, but the fact that he's had to hide in the closet for eighty fucking years. Even a life that long is too damn short.


To add, recently I saw an old episode of Oprah, where Randi was on as the guest skeptic with like four or five women who claimed to be psychic. A few where 'Christian' psychics, of which one out right accused Randi of pedophilia due to the fact that some of his magician apprentices where young men. It was totally baseless, and the audience for the most part didn't take the bait, but imagine if it where well known at the time that he was gay. That's the kind of shit he'd have to put up with, and he's not even Catholic.

[Admiral Valdemar]

My first reaction was 'that sucks.' Not that he's gay, but the fact that he's had to hide in the closet for eighty fucking years. Even a life that long is too damn short.


To add, recently I saw an old episode of Oprah, where Randi was on as the guest skeptic with like four or five women who claimed to be psychic. A few where 'Christian' psychics, of which one out right accused Randi of pedophilia due to the fact that some of his magician apprentices where young men. It was totally baseless, and the audience for the most part didn't take the bait, but imagine if it where well known at the time that he was gay. That's the kind of shit he'd have to put up with, and he's not even Catholic.

I'm amazed he'd even agree to appear on such a programme. They always have a token atheist sceptic/scientist/expert bullshit seer througher amongst the half dozen loonies who are apparently part of balancing the debate (protip: there isn't one. Guardian angels and psychic detectives are real).

I'm always reminded of a chat show in the Dilbert cartoon series where Dogbert masterfully cons a load of people into believing some bull by using highly reviewed anecdotal evidence, and dismissing anyone who came up with rational, empirical counter-points. I bet a lot of those people on Oprah believed in the stuff Randi would dismiss as woo, or at least wanted to believe it true.

On topic, good for Randi, though what shocked me more was that he was an octogenarian. I had no idea he was that old.

[Vendetta]

I'm amazed he'd even agree to appear on such a programme. They always have a token atheist sceptic/scientist/expert bullshit seer througher amongst the half dozen loonies who are apparently part of balancing the debate (protip: there isn't one. Guardian angels and psychic detectives are real).

Depends how old it was. Randi used to do loads on the chat show circuit, either public debunkings of individuals (way back when his cheque was a paltry $10,000) or part of his crusade against Uri Gellar (which, I feel is one part based on his public charlatanism and just a tiny bit on just how sloppy a magician he really is).

As he got older (and had a few health problems) he cut down on that a little.

[sketerpot]

Randi is remarkably good at being the token skeptic. I can't find the video, but a few years ago he was on a show with a spokeswoman for Sylvia Brown who was constantly interrupting him. After he had been interrupted one time too many, he turned and shouted "WOULD YOU MIND!?" and got almost a minute of shocked silence. It was beautiful.

[Vastatosaurus Rex]

To add, recently I saw an old episode of Oprah, where Randi was on as the guest skeptic with like four or five women who claimed to be psychic.

Didn't Oprah once have on her show some mother who promoted the idea that vaccines cause autism?

It's sad that one of the world's most successful female celebrities endorses woo.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Didn't Oprah once have on her show some mother who promoted the idea that vaccines cause autism?

It's sad that one of the world's most successful female celebrities endorses woo.

Hardly unprecedented. Look at how many celebs are Scientologists or following some other stupid cult. When you're that popular, wealthy and not all that pushed for time, you end up finding some fun hobbies. Some of them may just be perpetuating ignorance, wilful or otherwise.

[Raw Shark]

Known for years. Friend of a friend allegedly slept with him

...so, is he Amazing?

[sketerpot]

Didn't Oprah once have on her show some mother who promoted the idea that vaccines cause autism?

You mean frequent Oprah guest and anti-vaccine idiot extraordinaire, Jenny McCarthy? Oprah likes her so much that she gave her a talk show.

[Vastatosaurus Rex]

Didn't Oprah once have on her show some mother who promoted the idea that vaccines cause autism?

It's sad that one of the world's most successful female celebrities endorses woo.

Hardly unprecedented. Look at how many celebs are Scientologists or following some other stupid cult. When you're that popular, wealthy and not all that pushed for time, you end up finding some fun hobbies. Some of them may just be perpetuating ignorance, wilful or otherwise.

The scary thing is that Oprah is a very popular and influential person. She has the potential to wreak utter devastation on the public's understanding of science by endorsing woo.

Jenny McCarthy, Oprah's new friend, also pisses me off, not only because she is spreading bullshit about something that has greatly benefited humankind, but also because as an autistic person, I don't want my condition to be seen as nothing more than a negative side effect.

[Wicked Pilot]

About the Oprah episode, it was probably sometime in the 80s. Randi was allowed to show his famous Carson video of Popoff, which can never be shown enough. Of course all the Christian psychics acted all outraged that there where 'imposters' out there. Anyway, Randi was not given the names of the other guest beforehand so his lack of preparation kinda blunted his attack. Towards the end of the episode Oprah chose a woman from the audience and asked one of the psychics to say what she did for a living. It was an elderly black woman, so seeing how she probably grew up in the 40s or 50s there would have only been a few vocations realistically available to her. The psychics guessed teacher but she was a nurse. Randi was all over that like stink on shit. By the time the episode was over the physics had fallen out of favor with the audience, not necessarily because of any skepticism imparted by Randi, but due mostly to them claiming that their info was coming direct from God, which many considered blasphemous.

About Jenny McCarthy, not only has Oprah allowed here to come onto her show to spew her unscientific bullshit on multiple occasions, she's now giving her her own show on the new Oprah network.

[Darth Wong]

The scary thing is that Oprah is a very popular and influential person. She has the potential to wreak utter devastation on the public's understanding of science by endorsing woo.

This may be a cart-before-the-horse misunderstanding. How do you know that Oprah is generating public antipathy for mainstream science, rather than merely tapping into a pre-existing public antipathy for mainstream science?

Around half the American public has rejected evolution for as long as I've been alive. I don't see why we should assume that the popularity of pseudoscientific bullshit is significantly increased by Oprah, as opposed to her audience merely being predisposed to believe this crap in the first place.

[Simon_Jester]

By serving as part of the echo chamber, she boosts public anti-scientism. Yes, her audience is already predisposed to believe it, so she's mostly preaching to the choir. But the thing about preaching to the choir is that you have to do it now and then, or people start migrating out of your choir.

People aren't born indoctrinated to trust astrologers and distrust clinical study results. It's a learned skill, or rather a learned idiocy. Reinforcing a learned response tends to make it stronger.

This has a limited effect, of course; Oprah's not going to be changing the minds of millions of people all by herself. But by promoting pseudoscience, she encourages her core audience to follow it. To think of scientists as "insensitive," to tell themselves "well, science doesn't know everything, so I shouldn't vaccinate my child because I don't want her to be autistic!"

We expect exposure to well-publicized science to improve public awareness of science. Why shouldn't exposure to well-publicized pseudoscience do the opposite?

[Shroom Man 777]

When a publicly accepted figure says something, particularly if that publicly accepted figure has a good reputation, then what he or she says or espouses might end up making some fence-sitters or know-nothings nod their heads in agreement. We all know what effects charisma and reputation has, in influencing people to make decisions regarding issues.