SelectSmart.com
Before you decide
POST YOUR COMMENTS on our message board dedicated to Lorie's pages. Tell us what you think and see what others have to say. ONLY RESPECTFUL AND ON-TOPIC POSTS WILL BE RETAINED. Or, send your comments directly to the author.


SPEAKING OUT AGAINST PARANORMAL PROMOTIONS IN THE MEDIA

E-MAIL SENT:

Thu, 1 Dec 2005
From: "Lorie Anderson"
Subject: Psychics and racist stereotype
To: maurycomments@nbcuni.com

To Maury Povich and Producers,

I am not a regular viewer but I happened to tune in to your show today just as a psychic detective conveyed to two devastated parents that their missing daughter had been abducted and sexually assaulted by a young black man. Although it is commendable that you attempt to help find missing children, your use of psychics conveys ignorance and/or dishonesty. Moreover, you promoted a racist stereotype when your featured psychic claimed that a young black man had committed the crime.

After seeing shows like yours, heartbroken relatives of victims all over the world, who feel they must leave no stone unturned to find their missing loved ones, are compelled to fill the wallets of charlatans (or, at best, self-deluded individuals). Some people argue that psychics at least give hope to families of victims (which would not apply when the psychic claims a child is dead). What kind of hope is there in telling parents that their daughter had been sexually assaulted and in giving a description of the offender without a whit of credible evidence? Yes, in the absence of reason to believe otherwise, believing your child is still alive can be comforting, and parents must never give up hope, but false hope can disrupt the grieving process and lead to prolonged agony. False leads waste valuable law enforcement time and resources.

Anyone who knows anything about how psychics work could clearly see how your featured psychic gained the parents' (and viewers') trust with "cold reading." E.g. He asked if the letters L-O-R mean anything to them. Well, everyone has the letters L-O-R somewhere in their lives.* The parents on your show gullibly gave him, the so-called psychic, the answer, naming a street near their home, cleverly building his credibility.

I hope your viewers caught the nuance of the backstage scene of your show when one mother of a missing daughter corrected the psychic after he claimed that the crime was committed by a lone man. She revealed to him that there was evidence that a woman was involved. (Paraphrased) "Oh yes," the psychic self-corrected, "a woman was involved, but it was a lone man who actually entered the house that night." Did you edit out the mother rolling her eyes?

The huge failure rate of even the most famous psychics is glaring. Ask James Randi; he offers a million dollars to any psychic who can demonstrate paranormal abilities: No psychic has yet to even apply.

Since you frequently flashed the phone number of the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, I'll close with a quote from one of their spokespersons, found at THE JAMES RANDI EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION.

    "We do not work with or endorse the work of psychics in missing child cases. [Here] is a general statement on this issue: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of over 55,000 missing children since its establishment in 1984. Our toll-free, 24-hour hotline accepts information from all callers, but over the course of our 16-year history, we have no evidence of any cases of missing children having been successfully resolved in direct response to information provided by a psychic."

Thank you for reading.

*LORie Anderson

Additional References:

  • Skeptic's Dictionary, "Psychic Detecxtives."
  • Article on Parascope.com, " How Psychic Sleuths Waste Police Resources," by Joe Nickell.

    ***END LETTER***

    OTHER COMMENTARIES BY LORIE ANDERSON

  • INDIGO - THE COLOR OF MONEY (commentary on James Twyman and the Indigo Child/psychic"new" child notion.
  • DID JAMES TWYMAN REALLY SPONSOR, ESTABLISH, OR FUND A CHILDREN'S HOME IN IRAQ?
  • "EYES OPEN-WALLET SHUT," Letter of concern to Daily Tidings about Ilchi Lee, 12/8/04.
  • Bert Hellinger's "Movements of the Soul" Therapy
  • Applied/Specialized Kinesiology; Applied Neurogenics
  • Pre-diabetes
  • Exploding Toastmaster Toaster Oven
  • Indigo-The Color of Money at SkepticReport.com. Same commentary as the one here, but check out their other articles.

    DISCLAIMER OF ENDORSEMENT: Any reference obtained via this Web page to a specific commercial or non-commercial product, process, or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this Web page's author or SelectSmart.com of the product, process, or service, or its producer or provider. The views and opinions expressed in any referenced document or any Web site linked to this Web page do not necessarily state or reflect those of this Web page's author or SelectSmart.com.

    DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY: Neither this Web page's author, nor SelectSmart.com, makes any warranty, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, legitimacy, or usefulness of any product, service, or information presented by outside Web sites pointed to or hypertext linked on this Web site.

    2003-2005 Lorie Anderson SelectSmart.com All Rights Reserved