Ok... welcome to the site but please hold your assumptions at bey... this IS NOT an "Anti-Skeptic" site and from what I can tell, never has been... not in the way I had hoped it would be when I first joined and I'm certain we're not alone with this disappointment. In fact, I find myself siding with the Skeptics that belong to this forum more than not.
Why?
Because I loathe fanaticism of all types, but most especially those that are in love with paranoia -- conspiracy theories and the exaggerated "Orwellian" sense of panic... the whole "Big Brother" delusion that (if we are being honest) we're actually powerless over
IF it is a genuine reality. Understand, I'm not saying that the whole Illuminati thing is bogus, only that some (the greater majority of those that buy into it) take it a bit further than things actually go, finding the devil beneath every stone they find in much the same way various Evangelic types tend to do --
evil is in all things but our way of seeing it all and if you don't accept that truth, you're apart of it...The Skeptics here get a bit bent over me because I do believe in certain aspects of the paranormal/psychic type abilities, hauntings, UFOs, etc. BUT, I also approach such things from a far more analytical and logic-based path than the majority of "believers" -- I don't accept such things "blindly" but based on decades of personal study, practice and of course, research into each area. My desire being to understand it as well as how it becomes a matter of sensation, high drama, and debate; my primary position being that a middle-ground exists in which both, the believer's views and that of the legit skeptic (not to be confused with the ego-driven cynics that are so common now days) comes together in a way that is amicable and even supportive... at least in general theory and perhaps a bit of metaphysical perspective. The thing is, I leave the door cracked vs. nailing it closed such as many "skeptics" tend to do. My inspirations, when it comes to my skeptical side, being some of the 19th and early 20th century investigators, most of whom were magicians (and believe it or not, several such folk were doing such studies long before the world even heard of Houdini)... people that had faith that were seeking confirmation of that faith but, in many an instant, found that the majority of healers, psychics, seers, etc. were simply money grabbers... kind of like the majority of those trades & groups that sell false hope i.e. religion, insurance companies, politicians, and so forth...
Our host is a peculiar gent, to say the least. I believe that he has a very peculiar sense of perspective/perception and is unwittingly sucked into a wide range of "cult" type ways of thought, such as what can be found in the various contributions of David Icke and other fringe pseudo-science elements found on YouTube and other
less than credible sources. I like Winston but feel a bit sorry for him when it comes to some of the questionable material he enjoys putting on the table, seemingly for us to cuss & discuss while he moves on to the next controversial issue. I still hold out hope that he'll some day discover actual research pools like the public library and even that handful of media groups yet infected by Rupert Murdoch's personal mode of social-political opinion & apparent agenda.
So again, welcome to the insanity that is SCEPCOP Forum, just recognize that it probably won't be what you're hoping for (though it could, if more of us start pushing to shift things as such, get there).