posted on March 10, 2001 09:22:56 AM new
Please tell us where the next big earthquake is going to happen so we can evacuate the city. Don't tell me what my grandfather died from, I already know that.
Tell me when the next airplane will crash, so we can cancel the flight. Don't tell me I know "someone named Dave", I already know that.
Tell me exactly where the lost child is, there is no time to lose. Don't tell me you "see water and a shoe".
Psychics please! You're holding out on us! Make this world a better place! Use your powers for the welfare of all!
posted on March 10, 2001 09:34:19 AM new
What bothers me is not the believers but the crooks who prey upon poeple who are in a vulnerable state, i.e., grieving for lost loved ones. If you'll re-read what I wrote it was directed to the psychics not the believers.
posted on March 10, 2001 09:35:18 AM new
{{{{to all}}}
I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO SAY THAT
I do what my Rice Krispies tell me to.
I read that on another post and it cracked
me up...course I knew they were going to say
that!!!
[ edited by zilvy on Mar 10, 2001 09:39 AM ]
posted on March 10, 2001 09:39:17 AM new
Firstover: So your post was directed at psychics posting here on AW and you are asking them to prove they are not crooks preying on vulnerable people?
posted on March 10, 2001 09:42:51 AM newstockticker
I have no knowledge of any posters here who are psychic. The ones I've been exchanging posts with have varying degrees of belief and I have not made any personal attacks on them.
posted on March 10, 2001 10:23:20 AM newFirstover: I don't understand why this subject bothers you so much. Is it fear of the unknown?
You say you hate it when so-called psychics take advantage of people who are grieving. People are taken advantage of every day by car dealers, doctors, lawyers, etc. So why the big deal about psychics? And if a psychic makes a grieving mother or father feel better about their loss, how is that bad?
[ edited by Muriel on Mar 10, 2001 10:29 AM ]
I am not afraid of the unknown. Psychics have nothing to do with the unknown. Their tricks are knowable and understood.
I've explained what bothers me in a post earlier in this thread. By the reactions to my post starting this thread, it seems people think I'm angry. I was just trying to show that if these powers were real, then why not use them for a greater good instead of playing parlour games with people and giving vague prognostications?
To drift off-topic slightly, when I was growing up, I live in an old Victorian house. My mom had a friend who was into Tarot cards and spirits. She said she could feel the presence of past poeple who had lived in the house. We had a cleaning lady who came a couple times a month. She said she saw ghosts there. (One example I remember is she walked up stairs where the family room was and saw an old gentleman sitting on the couch.) None of my family or friends ever saw ghosts or felt the presence of spirits there.
It would appear that spirits and ghosts (and the "abilities" of a psychic) exist only in the minds of the believer. I lived there between the ages of 11-13 and I was hardly a skeptic back then. Actually, I was probably more naive than most
posted on March 10, 2001 11:02:03 AM newI was just trying to show that if these powers were real, then why not use them for a greater good instead of playing parlour games with people and giving vague prognostications?
Maybe psychics don't assert their powers publically because they don't want to expose themselves to reactions such as yours, or have to defend themselves against people who will think they're kooks.
I try to stay away from certain topics of conversation with certain friends because I know that our opinions differ, and that when we discuss certain topics, it always ends up in a fight. And many people, even though they are finally convinced to change their opinion, won't admit it because they need to be right all the time.
For instance, I work for a very small town conservative company, so you won't see me walking around bragging that I'm pro-choice. I know that 99% of the people I work with are anti-abortion, so I just keep my mouth shut on the subject.
Does that make sense? Just some thoughts from a differing opinion. But can we stop making fun of one another's beliefs?
posted on March 10, 2001 11:17:54 AM new
Muriel, I think you are confusing my disdain for psychics as a disdain for believers. I tried to make the distinction earler. As far as other "professions" that have cheats and crooks, this thread isn't about them. I don't like anyone who is dishonest.
Look, if going to a psychic helps you cope, go ahead. I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but I think people are misguided if they believe psychics are in contact with their dead relatives or can forecast the future.
You said: Maybe psychics don't assert their powers publically because they don't want to expose themselves to reactions such as yours, or have to defend themselves against people who will think they're kooks.
But if a psychic were able to foretell events accurately they wouldn't be ridiculed, they'd be right!
But can we stop making fun of one another's beliefs?
I'm not making fun of anyones belief! My sole purpose in involving myself in these discussions was to show that there were perfectly normal reasons why psychics appear to have the powers they proclaim. I don't hate you or think you are an idiot, ok?
About your friends and co-workers: I understand, I'd do the same. Take care.
posted on March 10, 2001 11:39:33 AM new
Firstover:
I knew exactly what you meant when I read your first post and was amused. I too think that some so-called mediums or psychics prey on grieving individuals. In some shows I have seen, the psychic will only state "I see a Mary or Madeleine, wait wait , she is trying to tell me something" and of course someone in that show will end up having like a distant cousin who has a name starting with an "M". They are too ridiculous!!! Now, I don't think Sylvia Browne is fake but maybe someone disagrees with me?
posted on March 10, 2001 11:48:56 AM new
Hi eek2mc, I'm glad you got it! But I'm sorry to say Sylvia Browne is no different. James Randi just posted an article about her appearance on Larry King Live a couple days ago. Please check it out, 'tis an eye opener!
posted on March 10, 2001 12:01:18 PM new
My point is that a fee for service indicates a business... in this
case, run by a con artist.
Belief, as the term is generally used does not apply here, so nobody
is attacking you when we doubt the veracity or ethics of the service
provided by a psychic.
posted on March 10, 2001 12:05:20 PM new
Hi Helen, I think they do. You either pay them (buy tickets) to be a member of the audience (execpt if it's for a TV show, then they are paid by the production company/network) or you pay them personally for the reading. That's how they make their living. (That and the millions they get for writing books).
Belief, as the term is generally used does not apply here, so nobody is attacking you when we doubt the veracity or ethics of the service provided by a psychic.
posted on March 10, 2001 12:34:37 PM new
just finished reading the article, it did open my eyes and showed me that I should question the shows I watched. The reason being and the conclusion I came up with is that it's not my fault that I fell for Sylvia Browne's trap. I had never seen her make a mistake before or get anything wrong with the audience on the Montell Williams show. What I should have question was the fact that all shows have editing and those misses were probably conveniently edited out so that I could be drawn in as a believer. That really sucks but I am the wiser now. Thanks Firstover for that article. I am so happy now!!!
posted on March 10, 2001 12:37:20 PM new
Thanks for the Randi link, firstover. As someone with a lifelong interest in paranormal phenomena I am of course familiar with Mr. Randi and his work, however it never occurred to me to see if he had a website.
I too think that Edwards, Van Praagh, Sylvia Browne and the rest are a bunch of sleazeballs. I won't deny that they have talents, however not of the sort that Charles Fort described as "Wild Talents." They are natural born cold readers and perhaps have far more intuition than the average person. I'm not sure whether the con they perpetuate is intentional or if in fact they believe their own outlandish claims. Either way, it's criminal. Some excuse such fraud by saying, "They give people hope and comfort." But I don't think that mitigates the offensiveness of the lies they feed their vulnerable clients.
At this moment, the one I'd like to see banished from this planet is "Miss Cleo," that hokey "Jamaican" woman (I would bet she was really born in Hoboken or somewhere and the accent is fake) whose infomercials and ad spots have infested every cable station.
Hi spazmodeus, no problem. You're right about that trio. Their talents don't lie in being able to communicate with the other side.
At this moment, the one I'd like to see banished from this planet is "Miss Cleo,"
Uggh, I think I set a record for the fastest channel switch when I saw her commercial. It actually physically hurts to watch psychic commercials, doesn't it?
posted on March 10, 2001 03:18:33 PM new
I don't think that you can truly dismiss the entire idea of psychics. I consider that to be very smallminded. And if I'm not mistaken, there have been times where psychics have helped the police to solve some cases.
Granted, there are self proclaimed psychics that advertise themselves just for the money and give nothing in return. However, I know for a fact that my own mother is psychic, and she is very in tune with her own family and her insights are geared more in that direction. Many times she has had dreams about world events that have come true and even if she told someone about them ahead of time, the only ones that would listen would be those who know her personally and are aware of her psychic abilities.
I have a great deal of personal experience with the paranormal and over the years I've met many people who have a "prove it" attitude and that's okay. I know what my experiences have proven to me and I'm fine with others who just can't believe that anything else exists outside the realm of our little world here.
posted on March 10, 2001 03:34:58 PM new
I'm the worst kind of skeptic because as the poster in Fox Mulder's office says, "I Want to Believe." But as yet I have seen nothing to convince me that the world of the paranormal is anything but mythology and imagination. I tend to get really angry at those who pretend to have the evidence that will put my doubt to rest.
posted on March 10, 2001 03:52:55 PM newspazmodeus - unfortunately proof of the paranormal is not readily available upon demand. There are millions of people who believe, yet have no reason to what-so-ever as they themselves have never had any paranormal experiences. And trust me when I tell you, some paranormal experiences are more fascinating afterwards and not necessarily while they're happening.
It would be wonderful to have paranormal events documented on video, but then, who would really believe them anyway? There's so much that can be done with video to give the appearance that a paranormal event is taking place, when in fact it's not.
Probably the most you will get in the way of truth is speaking with individuals who have had paranormal experiences. And those people may be hard to find. My family has experienced hundreds of paranormal events over the years but we don't broadcast it. We do talk about it with friends and family, but we've never gone public with our stories. Although there is certainly a venue to do so. I wish you luck in your search for the truth. I'd invite you over, but there's no way to say when the next event will take place. That's one thing about the paranormal, it's very unpredictable.
