There's nothing wrong with difference and eccentricity at all. The only reason I object to, say, someone like David Icke (and I suspect that the earlier discussion about him has in some part inspired this thread) is that they aren't necessarily harmless eccentrics - they are trying to take gullible souls along with them.

Again, no big deal - until you get yourself an actual cult, and possibly a Jonestown situation. Then you get loads of desperately sad family members kicking themselves for not having raised the alarm when they first sensed something was very wrong.

David Icke is clearly bonkers, and has set himself up as a sort of guru. He also has two small children in his care. It is not his essential eccentricity I object to; it's the fact that too many people like him have ended up as cult leaders, and with very nasty outcomes.

If you're looking for sheep, don't look at the people who raise the alarm about people like Icke - look at the scores of gormless types who end up following him.