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It is my opinion that psychics, and particularly faith healers, should be banned. If this goes too far, then I propose that they should be subjected to some form of licensing, which places upon them a minimum burden of proof, or at the very least, real evidence to substantiate their bogus claims, qualifications and especially previous track record.
After watching with incredulity a documentary on the BBC last night about the self-styled 'psychic healer' Robyn Welch (http://www.robynwelch.com), my patience with these quacks finally snapped. She charges £150 per 8 minute session, sessions that she conducts over the phone... (http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1979262005) She claims to be able to heal every sort of physical ailment merely by 'looking inside a person's body' and then 'zapping' the affected area. She claims to have a 90% success rate. But when questioned about what records she keeps to substantiate this claim, she suddenly goes all coy on us. Asked about how she knows people have been cured at all, she merely replied "I'd know". One cancer patient (who was, in reality, close to death and desperate), was paying her sums of over $2000 for blocks of treatment, which involved her advising the man to refrain from using pain relief. He did, of course, die some time later.
Many people argue that psychics and in particular faith healers do serve a purpose by giving people hope where there was none before. But to that I'd say this... why do you need to pay someone for it? Surely you'd get the same comfort/hope by simply visiting a church or through prayer? My point being, that these charlatans who do nothing more than sell the sound of their voices, in reality do not do anything to help anyone, except lighten the load of their wallets. They sell no tangible product, and in many many cases (especially those that involve the most desperate and most vunerable), the lasting impact of their irresponsible actions is to cause more grief and much anger to the relatives of those who have been duped.
Of course, Ms. Welch is not the only one who does this sort of thing (despite her claim to be unique), although she is an example of the 'worst-case scenario'. Other forms of psychics are less intrusive and damaging, but at the same time, are no less fraudulent. John Edward (host of TV series 'Crossing Over') is a prime example. He has built a lucrative career around being able to communicate with the dead, and can even do so on 'live TV'* (infront of a live studio audience, but not broadcast live, of course...) But although he cannot be accused of grossly negligent activities like advising sick people to disregard legitimate treatment in favour of a 'psychic' remedy, he is still guilty of preying on the sick and vunerable. I don't know about you, but the last time you spoke to a loved one who has since passed away, is a pretty cherished memory...? Of course it is.... so why pay John Edwards $300 for him to make something up and leave you believing that it came from the lips of your dearly departed?? I could go on all day about Edward, but I'll leave that for the discussion....
Anyway, do psychics deserve to remain unchallenged and unregulated, allowed to charge whatever they want to say whatever they want, even if it means great distress and even suffering being inflicted on those they target? Or should they be brought to book, forced to provide a certain level of proof before they are allowed to operate under license, or should they be banned altogether?
After watching with incredulity a documentary on the BBC last night about the self-styled 'psychic healer' Robyn Welch (http://www.robynwelch.com), my patience with these quacks finally snapped. She charges £150 per 8 minute session, sessions that she conducts over the phone... (http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1979262005) She claims to be able to heal every sort of physical ailment merely by 'looking inside a person's body' and then 'zapping' the affected area. She claims to have a 90% success rate. But when questioned about what records she keeps to substantiate this claim, she suddenly goes all coy on us. Asked about how she knows people have been cured at all, she merely replied "I'd know". One cancer patient (who was, in reality, close to death and desperate), was paying her sums of over $2000 for blocks of treatment, which involved her advising the man to refrain from using pain relief. He did, of course, die some time later.
Many people argue that psychics and in particular faith healers do serve a purpose by giving people hope where there was none before. But to that I'd say this... why do you need to pay someone for it? Surely you'd get the same comfort/hope by simply visiting a church or through prayer? My point being, that these charlatans who do nothing more than sell the sound of their voices, in reality do not do anything to help anyone, except lighten the load of their wallets. They sell no tangible product, and in many many cases (especially those that involve the most desperate and most vunerable), the lasting impact of their irresponsible actions is to cause more grief and much anger to the relatives of those who have been duped.
Of course, Ms. Welch is not the only one who does this sort of thing (despite her claim to be unique), although she is an example of the 'worst-case scenario'. Other forms of psychics are less intrusive and damaging, but at the same time, are no less fraudulent. John Edward (host of TV series 'Crossing Over') is a prime example. He has built a lucrative career around being able to communicate with the dead, and can even do so on 'live TV'* (infront of a live studio audience, but not broadcast live, of course...) But although he cannot be accused of grossly negligent activities like advising sick people to disregard legitimate treatment in favour of a 'psychic' remedy, he is still guilty of preying on the sick and vunerable. I don't know about you, but the last time you spoke to a loved one who has since passed away, is a pretty cherished memory...? Of course it is.... so why pay John Edwards $300 for him to make something up and leave you believing that it came from the lips of your dearly departed?? I could go on all day about Edward, but I'll leave that for the discussion....
Anyway, do psychics deserve to remain unchallenged and unregulated, allowed to charge whatever they want to say whatever they want, even if it means great distress and even suffering being inflicted on those they target? Or should they be brought to book, forced to provide a certain level of proof before they are allowed to operate under license, or should they be banned altogether?
