Connie calls them Secretrons. I think I prefer Secretoids. Who am I talking about? Why the blind robotic followers of The Secret and its idiot child The Law of Attraction (LOA).
Maybe there is an even better name. I’m writing up a new article specifically about the blind followers of this new cult/scam – the ones who are beyond rational discussion and examination of evidence (or lack of it) - and wondered what name you think I should use to describe them. A kind of "The Secret" equivalent of "Altie". Ideas in the comments please by Thursday night.
Secretards?
Posted by: factician | April 04, 2007 at 05:13 PM
I like it.
Posted by: Tom Foss | April 04, 2007 at 05:30 PM
LoAsers.
Posted by: Infophile | April 04, 2007 at 05:35 PM
@factician: Secretards FTW!
Posted by: t3knomanser | April 04, 2007 at 05:54 PM
Secretins?
Incidentally, if you're in eastern Minnesota or western Wisconsin on April 14th, there's a free showing of the movie in my town. I'm planning to go.
Posted by: Nes | April 04, 2007 at 06:03 PM
Secretins?
Incidentally, if you're in eastern Minnesota or western Wisconsin on April 14th, there's a free showing of the movie in my town. I'm planning to go.
Posted by: Nes | April 04, 2007 at 06:05 PM
Secretions!
Posted by: barry | April 04, 2007 at 06:06 PM
Secretions
Posted by: James | April 04, 2007 at 06:09 PM
Liars
Posted by: Paul | April 04, 2007 at 07:08 PM
I'm quite a fan of "Secretards", as long as it's pronounced like "secretary".
Posted by: BigHeathenMike | April 04, 2007 at 08:21 PM
First level believers: Suckers.
Second level believers: Idiots.
Top level believers: Scammers.
Posted by: EoR | April 04, 2007 at 09:18 PM
"Secretards" gets my vote! :)
Posted by: Big Al | April 05, 2007 at 01:38 AM
How about untrustworthies? They are, after all, blabbing secrets to the whole world.
Posted by: Bourgeois_Rage | April 05, 2007 at 05:23 AM
secretins
secretagogues
secrets de Polichinelle
faux-secretists
secret agents
secretaries
Posted by: Sadie | April 05, 2007 at 06:05 AM
I just can't be bothered to take enough notice of them to call them anything at all.
Posted by: Stargeezer | April 05, 2007 at 07:56 AM
Scientific name secretardus moronicus.
Posted by: Rockstar Ryan | April 05, 2007 at 08:49 AM
I actually like "secretrons," but "secretoids" is a close second. "Secretards" is accurate but just too childishly insulting to be worth using, in my opinion. I have to admit that I laughed at "secretions"; it's silly, but it made me giggle. "Secret agents" has a certain validity to it; it might be confusing because of the other meaning of the term, but it's darned clever.
Of course, "fools" works pretty well, too. What else could adequately describe people, nominally adults no less, who actually seem to think that "wishing makes it so"?
~David D.G.
Posted by: David D.G. | April 05, 2007 at 08:58 AM
*wish**wish**wish*
Dang it, the right name didn't just automatically appear!
Posted by: viggen | April 05, 2007 at 09:36 AM
"Secretards" is the most appropriate, even without the 'retard' reference. This comment by a James Bradley was in a 2001 mailing from the A Word A Day list (this isn't a plug for them, and I don't want to look like I'm spamming for them when all I'm doing is citing a reference, so if you're interested, you'll have to look it up yourself):
"Espèce de Secretard" is it for me from now on!
Posted by: Wilson F | April 05, 2007 at 10:37 AM
Further to the 'espèce de chauffard' comment, some may be interested to know that Captain Haddock (the character from the Tintin books) used the phrase at least once.
(Google for the phrase and see the entry that comes up for KingChili's blog. The Google translation software gives 'espèce de chauffard' as 'species of roadhog'. Some of its other translations are a little more ... suspect.)
Posted by: Wilson | April 05, 2007 at 10:49 AM
Fabulous book review - re Oprah and her shallow secretness:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=190207
(I vote for Secretins, but all the ideas are great, nice job you guys)
madaha
Posted by: madaha | April 05, 2007 at 11:35 AM
I'm voting for "secretins." Laugh-out-loud funny, and slightly more compassionate than "secretards" (har).
Posted by: Algernon | April 05, 2007 at 02:21 PM
I make that:
Secretards - 5
Secretins - 4
Secretions - 2
Secretrons and Secretoids - 1 each.
I think I'm going with Secretards. It had the highest number and I think it describes them pretty well - their arguments are certainly retarded. Thanks for the input.
Posted by: Skeptico | April 05, 2007 at 06:28 PM
Hey, Skep, sorry I didn't get in on the vote here -- I was busy fighting other battles -- but besides my own "Secretron" I really like "Secretard" and "Secretoid." And my partner RevRon has been calling 'em "Secretions" for months now, though a couple of Secret fans got after him on my blog for name-calling. My sense is that there's room in this big ol' Universe for all those names.
However, I'm "secretly" glad that "Secretard" won out because quite frankly, that's how I feel about many of these people. And I really enjoyed your subsequent post too, which I'll comment on shortly.
I've also been calling Law Of Attraction zealots in general LOA-noids (pr. low-uh-noids). Some allies of mine who have "inside" info tell me there are some REAL zealots in the Abraham-Hicks community -- folks who would put mere Secret zealots to shame. As y'all probably know by now, Abraham is the group of imaginary friends that catapulted Esther and Jerry Hicks to fame. They are truly "the secret behind The Secret," though they don't appear in the "new and improved" version of the DVD. No matter, they have a new DVD of their own out.
Posted by: Cosmic Connie | April 09, 2007 at 07:49 AM