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Armoured Skeptic
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Gregory Fluhrer (1984–)[note 1][1] better known as Armoured Skeptic[note 2] (also Sir Skeptalot or AJ),[note 3] is an atheist YouTuber who considers himself a critic of religion, conspiracy theories, feminism / "SJWs" and ideological posturing in general. Many "skeptics" like the first two; somewhat fewer like the last two. His channel has supported an increasing amount of anti-SJW content.[2] He has at different points in his YouTube career considered himself to be a centrist, a liberal and a leftist.
As of January 2019, Fluhrer's main YouTube channel had over 492 thousand subscribers and 46 million views.[3] According to Patreon, he makes over $600 per video.[4]
Life
As a child, Fluhrer was a member of a Messianic Jewish cult. Fluhrer describes the members as very nice people, but extremely deluded. After watching videos from thunderf00t, TheAmazingAtheist, and CultOfDusty, he questioned his beliefs and ended up becoming an atheist.[5][6]
The first atheist group that Fluhrer joined was an "Atheism+" group which promoted societal equality. For questioning their ideas, said group doxxed him and told his boss that he was a rapist, which nearly got him fired. Exact words: "I personally was called a rape apologist because I denied there was a rape culture and I was called a rapist because I denied that consensual drunk sex was in any way a form of rape." As a result, he considers Atheism+ to be almost a cult and created the Armoured Skeptic channel to combat Atheism+, but says that he has ultimately gone towards a more generally anti-bullshit channel.[5][6]
Views
“”I'm no political activist. I do not belong to any movements or groups. I merely like to share my opinions on those who do. [....] I am not a conservative. The reason I am so hard on the left is because I'm a member of the left. I like to make fun of the right and creationists, but I take my skepticism of the left very seriously. I'm not Anti-Religion, Anti-Feminist or an Anti-SJW, I am Anti-Authoritarian. It just so happens that religious people and feminists tend to be authoritarian.
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—Fluhrer,[3] anti-ideology ideologue |
Antifeminism
“”Regardless of the organization they have infiltrated, everything regarding female representation is always wrong, no matter what. Every complaint, when met with a fix, is simply just flipped into a complaint about the fix. When trying to appease a feminist, one will find himself/herself in a no-win scenario where everything is problematic because... feelings. If it FEELS wrong to a feminist it is wrong. This is the logic we're up against. There is literally no winning, there is no appeasing, there is only the victim and the oppressor. Is this the world we want to live in?
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—Fluhrer nutpicking feminists[6] |
Fluhrer claims not to mind feminism but thinks it needs "evidence" to support its claims.[6]
- Fluhrer believes that Anita Sarkeesian is a "mouthpiece" for "extreme left nonsense," and that Christina Hoff Sommers is a second wave feminist trying to "reconcile third wave feminists with reality."[7]
- Fluhrer doesn't believe the gender wage gap exists as a result of discrimination and thus isn't worth addressing:[8]
Yes, fuck, Jesus, women as a whole make less then[sic] men as a whole. Everyone knows this.
The part that continues to fly over your head is that less women are in STEM fields... Women aren't allowed to join STEM you say? NO! They're actively encouraged to join, but somehow there are less women then[sic] men. Maybe... and bear with me... maybe they CHOSE not to join. Maybe women are flocking to gender studies and other useless degrees instead of getting into technology and engineering. Women are the reason the wage-gap exists, not the patriarchy. The point is, the fact that the gap exists does not mean something needs to be done about it. That's a non-sequitur and you know it. Feminism is about empowering women to choose. You're witnessing the result of their choice. Let[']s say we DO decide to fix this issue. Why not start at the ground up? Let's ensure there are as many women in sewage jobs as men, let[']s make sure there are as many women in mining jobs as men, let[']s ensure there are as many women driving big-rig trucks as men... then when the foundation is laid we will get more women into CEO positions.
- His reply video to one of Steve Shives' (where Shives argues that "Atheism and feminism are complementary to one another") is titled "Feminism is My God Now" and argues, in part, that "the only people I hear en masse perpetuating the concept that women are not equal to men are third wave feminists".[9] PZ Myers heavily criticized this video,[10] to which Fluhrer released a response arguing against Myers' criticism.[11] In his response, Fluhrer states that Myers didn't properly criticize his work,[11] which is justifiable as Myers neglected to address and debunk Fluhrer's points properly in his criticism.[10] In a tweet, he claimed that Myers "[called] me misogynist and anti-feminist for disagreeing with a feminist".[12] Myers' accusation of anti-feminism, at least, is also justifiable as Fluhrer used the same arguments as many anti-feminists: a prime example being his claim that the gender pay gap should be questioned.[9]
Anti-religion
Fluhrer's main body of work consists of rebuttals to creationist Christian arguments videos by his character (a guy in a modern suit and a knight helmet).
Notable videos:
- Were you there?(link)
- God Not Real(link) (Discusses the cosmological argument.)
- Christian Holocaust Part 1(link) and Christian Holocaust Part 2(link)
- Shock of God-Awful Arguments(link)
- Atheism isn't Proof(link) (On the burden of proof of atheism.)
- Atheists are a Myth(link) (On the burden of proof of atheism.)
Atheism+
Fluhrer believes skeptics fail to apply skepticism towards feminism.[6] Fluhrer heavily opposes "identity politics" in atheism, which here largely means feminism.[13] For example, he writes:[6]
The leaders [of Atheism+] gave voices to only a select few bloggers and celebrities. These bloggers would express opinions about what kind of problems exist in society and when commenters would ask questions about specifics or disagree with a single point in a blog, the commenters would get banned, bashed, berated, attacked, doxed, publicly shamed or called a rapist. It wouldn't matter if one were to agree with the over-all point of the blog, if one disagreed or questioned one small part than that person was basically Hitler to the rest of the community.
Atheism+ was supposed to bring the atheist community together, but instead it ripped it in two. The worst part is that many of the famous atheists, Steve Shives, Matt Dillahunty, Aron Ra and many others who helped me come out of religion and taught me to use logic and reason to come to my decisions had all thrown out basic logic and reason and embraced a feminist mindset. Be skeptical, unless it's about feminism, be logical, unless it's about feminism, be reasonable, unless it's about feminism, debate ideas you disagree with, unless it's feminism. Someone disagree with you? Call them an MRA, misogynist, rapist or a terrible human being that is on the wrong side of history.
Anti-bullshit
Fluhrer also does some generally anti-bullshit videos:
- Evolution is not Philosophy(link) (On evolutionism and evolution and morality.)
- Is the Earth Round? I'm Skeptical(link) and follow-ups The Globe was an Inside Job - Part 1(link), The Globe was an Inside Job - Part 2(link), Skeptic Reacts: Flat Earth Comments(link)
- The Moon is Fake I Guess(link) (Maybe the moon is artificial, as Spirit Science says.[14] Or not.)
Pseudohistory
In 2019, amidst his typical schtick, Fluhrer uploaded a video called "History is a Lie?" where he claims that there was a global flood that was covered up and history prior to about 200 years ago is distorted. He continued this into a series, referring to it briefly as "The Armoured Conspiracy Files", and later "Tinfoil Helmet". There are four videos in this series:
- "History is a Lie?"[15]
- "Free Energy is Real?"[16]
- "Alien Skulls are Real?"[17]
- "History is a Lie - Atlantis"[18]
These videos are almost entirely unsourced and cover a wide range of topics including but not limited to conehead skulls, Nikola Tesla, Tartaria, free energy, geopolymers, the Giza pyramids, Rapa Nui, and, of course, Atlantis.
Fluhrer synthesizes all this into his pseudohistorical theory: in ancient history, humans were ruled over by a race of cone-headed albino giants, the Denisovans. Atlantis was a global society of these giants, and they utilized the advanced technology that can be found in architecture around the world. All this was either forgotten or covered up after a global mud flood in the early 1800s.
It doesn't seem like he's joking, but he is.[citation needed]
General problems
Fluhrer does not post any sources on his videos, which would be quite useful for proving that he's right or wrong on scientific issues. While he does sometimes highlight sections of webpages or videos that he thinks help prove this point, this is vastly less useful than the relevant links. In this way, he all too often relies on snark and assertion to make his points.
Fluhrer has been criticised for his overinflated ego and tendency to act as if he is an expert on many topics, although among entertainers this is a common enough failing. A notable example is when Fluhrer made a video about free speech in Canada.[19] He made numerous factual errors which made it obvious that he was either deliberately lying or had done barely any research. A pair of videos by YouTuber Logicked highlighted the factual inaccuracies,[20][21][22][23][24][25],[26] in Fluhrer's video. Possibly his most egregious error was when he said "C-16 is a Bill that prohibits people from misgendering or using the wrong pronouns when addressing people who identify as trans." The Bill said nothing about misgendering at all, but was instead about adding gender identity to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act.[27] In essence, it makes it illegal to deny services, employment or accommodation to individuals based on their gender identity.
RationalWiki
“”You should never use Rational Wiki as a source for anything... ever...
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—Fluhrer[28] |
Fluhrer is not a fan of RationalWiki and questioned its name.[29][30][31][32] (At the time, RationalWiki's entry on him described him as a Gamergater and conspiracist.[33])
Fluhrer responded to Steve Shives's claim that he (Fluhrer) had cultivated a following "by making content that panders to racists, rape apologists, and misogynists" which Shives backed up with a link to this page. Fluhrer correctly noted that this page doesn't include the words "race, white, black, [or] supremacist" and didn't support any of these claims. He says:[34]
In fact, considering the nature and history of the site, I'm pretty impressed with how nice my page is. Even the criticisms about me are pretty reasonable. Ask June about her RationalWiki though. It is a shit show.
See also
- Shoe0nHead — fellow YouTube antifeminist & atheist. They were previously engaged[35] and have collaborated often in the past.
- Sargon of Akkad — once a close friend
- Chris Ray Gun
- TheAmazingAtheist
- Thunderf00t
External links
- Website Deactivated
- ArmouredSkeptic Channel and ArmouredMedia Channel at YouTube
- Account at Twitter Deactivated
- Account at Facebook Deactivated
- Account at Google+ Deactivated
- Ask.fm Deactivated
Notes
References
- ↑ Contact Us[a w], Armoured Media
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1viRMmJU6gs&list=PLtceUZJedz1n0hp5ow3HbybJu7DHKmcQy
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 About ArmouredSkeptic[a w], YouTube
- ↑ Armoured Skeptic[a w], Patreon
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oKfWapjNCA&feature=youtu.be&t=24s
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 http://armouredmedia.com/blog/identity-and-gender-politics-every-community
- ↑ http://ask.fm/ArmouredSkeptic/answers/127979641691
- ↑ Comment on "Is the Gender Pay Gap Real?" by vlogbrothers
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLMdXzy9gxA
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/12/15/oh-crap-another-youtube-misogynist
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU-RT6kJpZI
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ArmouredSkeptic/status/677082053469425665
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0E1MVwN0Fs
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaDeiBRifm8
- ↑ History is a Lie? Armoured Skeptic on YouTube, 11 June 2019.
- ↑ Free Energy is Real? Armoured Skeptic on YouTube, 1 September 2019.
- ↑ Alien Skulls are Real? Armoured Skeptic on YouTube, 26 November 2019.
- ↑ History is a Lie - Atlantis Armoured Skeptic on YouTube, 20 July 2020.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVVDQnkqh8M
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd95T66YjSQ&t=7m39s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd95T66YjSQ&t=14m20s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd95T66YjSQ&t=17m20s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd95T66YjSQ&t=48m44s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfL5pTVlbIo&t=2m30s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfL5pTVlbIo&t=42m20s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfL5pTVlbIo&t=3m20s
- ↑ http://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Bills/421/Government/C-16/C-16_1/C-16_1.PDF
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ArmouredSkeptic/status/598909079554269184
- ↑ https://m.ask.fm/ArmouredSkeptic/answers/129874504795
- ↑ https://m.ask.fm/ArmouredSkeptic/answers/129872209243
- ↑ https://m.ask.fm/ArmouredSkeptic/answers/129874504795
- ↑ https://m.ask.fm/ArmouredSkeptic/answers/133671909211
- ↑ http://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=RationalWiki:Vlogroll&oldid=1508254#Controversial_secularists
- ↑ SJWs Try to Deplatform Me[a w], YouTube
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ArmouredSkeptic/status/947646412443082753