It's easy to see why skeptics are so misunderstood since we don't make a claim to all knowledge, and we are suspicious of those that do make that claim. Many people don't want to question. They want to close their eyes, hold out their hands, and hope that what's being put into them is good. In a perfect world, this would be fine. But it's not a perfect world.
Skeptics are the first line of defense against bad science, fraud, and quackery.
Before we accept any claim, we need the compelling evidence. Yes, evidence is the key word here, and this does not mean paltry anecdotal evidence. A skeptic, being a skeptic, needs to know where the facts came from when evaluating a claim. Using the scientic method rigorously does pay off in the long run.