You're making some big assumptions about blinders, nor do I see the world as black and white. You are making assumptions based on stereotypes which, I have been arguing on this site, are largely unfounded. There is a characature of the "evil skeptic" presented on this site (and by many proponents) which is as unjustified as most stereotypesBut what about the negative assumptions skeptics make towards believers or supporters of the paranormal?
We can't have it both ways, which is what most humans want...
you can't put me in this niche but I can put you in this one over here... Honestly, "public opinion" as to what niche folks go into is
always based on the antics of the minority -- the negative type-cast. I have many friends, several of note, that are part of the Skeptic's Community and I can honestly say that I have a healthier and far closer rapport with them than I do most of those involved with the shut-eye world of the paranormal or New Age life (I just don't do airheads and stupid really well no matter the source).
Now when it comes to "Evil Skeptics" you guys need to thank churchianity and it's various cousins, they are the source by which your obvious alliance with Satan comes from... at least in part. The small fragment that does not come from this arena comes from within your own world via the various assholes out there that, like their christian counterparts, try cramming their own gospel down everyone's throat with no exception. So, as the say, get your own house in order before casting stones...
granted, this is what all groups need to do but it's so much easier to deal with the splinter in the eye of others vs. the beam in our own, isn't it?
Now when it comes to some of the responses you make in my previous post... I agree with 95% of it... if you can "challenge" a person to "think" and mull over "possibilities" then there is a chance of actually helping them. But you must be able to "speak their language" as it were, and I think we are both in agreement as to what that means. When I talk about working WITH people based on their customs and beliefs I'm not saying to cosign or even help perpetuate a delusional circumstance, only pointing out that sometimes you do need to prescribe the proper placebo in order to get affirmative results. The more you inner-act with such individuals and generate trust (by way of honoring their beliefs) the more they will open up to you and how you see things, which is the "chink in their armor" so to speak, that allows "me" to challenge them at the critical thought level.
Yes, it's a slower boat but it is likewise a method of approach that allows the transformation to happen based on the person's own course of decision making rather than feelings of persecution, which is how most people feel after an encounter with the Shermer & Randi type personalities. For that matter, you can see how the modified and "softened' approach being used by Banachek and even Derren Brown in the UK, seems to come with far less resistance or public challenge; most folks like these guys where you can't say that for Randi, Joe Nichols, etc. (hell, there are skeptics out there that avoid these clowns).
I always encourage HEALTHY Skepticism be it through my shows or when I'm doing classes in Psychic Development; this includes the idea of "clarity", challenging our perceptions so to speak. In simple terms I manifest something the average person would perceive as "miraculous" and then challenge my students to find answers.
NO, I'm not "exposing" magic secrets per ce but I am encouraging the eager believer to look beyond the manifestations they may encounter, so as to see what the real cause might be around an effect... and life is filled with such scenarios. But in order to honestly help these people to THINK, I must speak their language and appeal to their fantasy in order to avoid resistance. One of my tools for doing this is revealing how many of the explanations offered by the skeptics are 100% correct and then I show them why, using "logic" in the process of evolution so to speak, and thus showing how ALL magic has its very simple, carnal truths. In using this approach I'm able to reveal why real Psychics exist to the skeptical while likewise helping the believer better understand what that idea (being Psychic) actually means... removing the boogieman factor.
In other words, we're speaking the same language just approaching things in a very different way.