“I’ve just heard that he misbehaved himself with the women”


What was it that James Randi said about Michael Shermer? Oh yes…

Shermer’s reputation really does precede him, and it predates the recent wave of attention given to sex crimes and sexual harassment. I reached the movement’s grand old man, 86-year-old James Randi, by telephone, at his house in Florida. Randi is no longer involved in his foundation’s daily operations, but he remains its chair, and he is a legend of the movement, famously not fooled by anybody. He seems not to be naïve about Shermer — although he’s not so troubled by him, either.

“Shermer has been a bad boy on occasion — I do know that,” Randi told me. “I have told him that if I get many more complaints from people I have reason to believe, that I am going to have to limit his attendance at the conference.

“His reply,” Randi continued, “is he had a bit too much to drink and he doesn’t remember. I don’t know — I’ve never been drunk in my life. It’s an unfortunate thing … I haven’t seen him doing that. But I get the word from people in the organization that he has to be under better control. If he had gotten violent, I’d have him out of there immediately. I’ve just heard that he misbehaved himself with the women, which I guess is what men do when they are drunk.”

Shermer has just been added to the lineup at this year’s TAM.

I have friends who bought non-refundable plane tickets and booked hotel rooms on the understanding that Shermer was not on the roster at this year’s TAM. They are not happy.

But hey, no biggy. He never got violent.

Comments

  1. moarscienceplz says

    I have friends who bought non-refundable plane tickets and booked hotel rooms on the understanding that Shermer was not on the roster at this year’s TAM. They are not happy.

    I have never been to a TAM, but the impression I receive from reading about it is that it is chock full of people who think Shermer’s “bad boyness” is not that big a deal, so I kind of feel your friends sort of set themselves up for this disappointment.

  2. iknklast says

    No bruises? No rape. Therefore, Shermer didn’t rape anyone. Besides, they were drunk, and if you get drunk, you’re just asking for trouble. Unless you’re male, then you can get drunk because you can handle your booze, but if you do get drunk and do terrible things to women, which “I guess is what men do when they get drunk”. (My head is spinning)

    I have known men who were drunk. They acted many different ways, but it isn’t necessary for men to “misbehave” themselves with women because they are drunk. Besides, was he drunk? Or was he just getting other people drunk?

    The entire message, boiled down: It was just women. What do they matter in the face of a big-name personality? These women aren’t the ones bringing in the attendees (money).

  3. A Hermit says

    Now now, we’ve no time to talk about the sexual predators in our midst; we’re too busy pointing fingers at the Duggars…

  4. says

    I haven’t seen him doing that

    To be fair, I’m sure Randi assumes every spoon-bender and faith healer is not a scammer until he sees it for himself.

  5. latsot says

    There are some otherwise great people talking at TAM. People we *know* get it. So why are they fucking talking at TAM? I don’t know. They won’t tell me. I keep asking and they won’t tell me.

    e.g. Simon Singh and Zach Wienersmith.

    We *know* these guys get it, don’t we? What the fuck are they *doing*?

    I don’t know. They won’t tell me.

  6. UnknownEric the Apostate says

    We *know* these guys get it, don’t we? What the fuck are they *doing*?

    I don’t know. They won’t tell me.

    Cash is one hell of a drug.

  7. says

    I’ve got a friend who once got so drunk he actually lit himself on fire and it took him several minutes to notice.

    And yet, in none of his drunken moments did he ever assault, or do anything that the women he interacted with while drunk considered to be harassment. To the best of my knowledge, the worst he ever did was open a bathroom door and immediately shut it again while stammering an apology to the woman he’d almost walked in on. And he was completely sober for that incident.

    It’s almost like ‘oh, he was drunk’ is just an enabling excuse.

  8. says

    Mariusz Butrykowski (#11) –

    Well, maybe if more people at TAM ostracized Shermer, someone would get a hint?

    Something tells me that anyone who dares ask him questons about the accusations will be forcefully (violently?) removed from the premises under false premises.

    And that any organized protest will be treated as harassment and those involved asked/forced to leave the event and barred from future events (re: the mohammed/pineapple t-shirts).

  9. maddog1129 says

    Maybe MS was a late addition precisely because some of the others may not have agreed to come if they had known he would be invited. Of the other speakers that DO *get it,* maybe they will withdraw.

  10. tecolata says

    He was a bad boy? You mean like when the dog pees on the rug? When your 3 year old spits out his food?

    Bullshit. He IS a grown man.

  11. johnthedrunkard says

    Trouble is: Shermer’s behavior is disturbingly close to ‘normal’ dating.

    Shermer’s drinking can’t excuse his actions. Ted Bundy’s survivors ALL commented that he reeked of alcohol. John Wayne Gacey committed his murders in a cloud of fumes.

    Alcohol is all over this, both in Shermer’s unhinged aggression and assaultive behavior, AND in his grooming and choosing victims.

    The announcement implies that Shermer was added after the others had signed on. This would be a good moment for some withdrawals.

  12. Hj Hornbeck says

    I have friends who bought non-refundable plane tickets and booked hotel rooms on the understanding that Shermer was not on the roster at this year’s TAM. They are not happy.

    I suspect that’s an understatement.

    I left the JREF in 2010, after TAM 8, the last one I was involved with. In 2011, I went to TAM 9 (I couldn’t attend the conference itself, but I was in the hotel), and found myself constantly pulled in to little bits of drama. It was not a good experience, and I haven’t been back since. […]

    I am putting aside my differences, my disappointments, and my bias to go to TAM this year. I’m asking you to do the same.

    For one time, let’s get together and remember that we used to be one big happy family. It may have been a dysfunctional family in the end, but it was still family and we grew and learned a lot. I think we still can, and I think that starts with dropping swords and shields and gathering around the fire for a few more stories.

    That was written by Jeff Wagg two weeks ago. Never heard of him? He’s this guy:

    Alison’s timeline is correct. Approximately 30 minutes after I took her back to her room, she asked to be taken to the condo. She was having trouble walking to the car which was in the back valet area. Security noticed this, and stopped us, and then offered a wheelchair to help her get to the car. We accepted. I took her to the condo, stayed for a while and then returned to the Flamingo to get ready for the next day of TAM.

    I have no way of knowing what went on behind closed doors, but I do know that Alison was very upset, and very drunk. And what she told me that night matches what she’s saying now.

    Wagg was a key witness to Smith’s alleged sexual assault, and probably wrote that blog post thinking Shermer hadn’t been invited back. Now, he finds himself in the same room as the man, surrounded by a skeptic community that’s even more polarized.

    “Not happy,” indeed.

  13. Lady Mondegreen says

    James Randi:

    “His reply,” Randi continued, “is he had a bit too much to drink and he doesn’t remember.

    That’s one of Shermer’s versions of the story. Another:

    Later, he said, after they had stopped drinking, they “ended up walking and talking for a couple hours out on the Las Vegas strip … She was sober. I was sober. I invited her back to my room and she willingly accepted my invitation.” There, they had sex.

    (Emphasis added.)

    Assuming Randi was alluding to what happened to Allison Smith–and he probably was–Shermer has told three different stories about what happened that night, and not one of them is compatible with any other one.

  14. theonandonlymike says

    You know it’s funny because I was JUST chatting with the commenters on friendly atheist about how we are happy to point at the Duggars while ignoring abuse and harassment in our own house. I pointed out Schermer as an example. And I was told that he doesn’t have any position of authority in the community any more. I was also told we don’t have any leaders and that there is no community..that these aren’t the leaders we don’t have of the community that doesn’t exist…that without conviction there is no problem…and well all the same shit I’ve been hearing for years now.what the fuck is wrong with these people?

  15. kellym says

    Last year, the president of the James Randi Educational foundation tried to blackmail Dr. Pamela Gay into lying to protect Michael Shermer, who attempted to sexually assault her. The JREF immediately permanently blacklisted Dr. Gay when she vaguely referenced the attempted assault in a talk. In contrast, Shermer remains an honored speaker after raping a woman at TAM 2008.

    I have as much respect and gratitude for James Randi as I do for Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. Interesting that Jeff Wagg has decided to side with the pro-harassment, rape-enabling JREF.

  16. deepak shetty says

    I’ve just heard that he misbehaved himself with the women, which I guess is what men do when they are drunk.
    I’ve found it curious how the Hyper Skeptics treat Randi’s statement differently than Allison’s. For Allison they ask – What was her BAC level? Was she really too drunk too consent? How do you know?
    But I don’t see Randi’s statement being subject to the same level of scrutiny.

  17. says

    mike @ 18 – oh really? Oh really? They said he doesn’t have any position of authority in the community any more? They should take a look at the website of the “Secular Policy Institute” then – Shermer’s face is all over it.

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