Barbara Walters and James Van Praagh

[RSLancastr]

He says Barbara Walters slammed him because his book is doing better than hers.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/praagh-says-ghosts-2102185-told-spirit

Yup. Watch the video I linked to above to hear him say it.

 

[CFLarsen]

You know, when I read this this morning, I suddenly realized that you are exactly right.

I usually am.

All this time I've been thinking that Sylvia Browne and these others start out somewhat sincere and become corrupt by money/power/fame, but now I realize you are right - They were arrogant and corrupt all along, and their public personas change to reveal their true colors only as they get famous enough that their arrogance begins to show more, and under duress.

But, as you say, now that I know what to look for, I can see the arrogance even in their early years! I suppose in the early years they have to try harder in order to get what they want but it's only a mask to cover their true slimy motives.

It's impossible for me to fathom what kind of monster could sit in a reading room across from a suffering human being, or stand in front of a room full of grieving people and knowingly fake communicating with the dead while a person stands before them sobbing in grief. Much easier to think they were self-deluded or sincere in the beginning. Horrifying to think they weren't. Does anyone else feel that way?

And if that's the way Barbara Walters feels, then she showed considerable restraint in only saying what she did.

This is why I keep saying that it isn't the money that drives these people. Sure, it may be a part of the attraction, but I really think that the main driving force behind them is the power they wield over other people.

They discover a bigger kick than money: The power to control other people's lives. And they do it by manipulation.

When Sylvia Browne tells Opal Jo Jennings' grandmother that Opal is alive but is in sexual slavery in Japan, it is the pain that Browne inflicts that makes it possible to control the grandmother. If the grandmother receives a positive message, she isn't as vulnerable as if she is told that her granddaugther is raped daily - in a different country.

Browne could have banked on the easy guess: That Opal was dead (of course, that doesn't always work all that well, as we - and Shawn Hornbeck in particular - all know). That would have been hurtful to the grandmother, but also what she would be expecting. When she hears something as dreadful as that story Browne fed her, it isn't just the pain of knowing what is happening right now to Opal, it is the added guilt of not being able to stop it.

Most woos portray a very positive, gentle and loving attitude - because they know that it attracts people. But all we need to do is scratch their surface, just a little bit, and all the putrid evil comes bursting out.

 

[AndyD]

Most woos portray a very positive, gentle and loving attitude - because they know that it attracts people. But all we need to do is scratch their surface, just a little bit, and all the putrid evil comes bursting out.

There's a link to a radio clip on the Australian "The One" (merged) thread (around page 4 I think) featuring one of the contestants on the TV show doing "psycchic medium" readings of callers. At one point she admits that she's skeptical of a lot of the things claimed as psychic phenomena.

Richard Saunders is also on the show and as soon as he starts debunking the obvious cold reading ("I'm getting a "D"), Charmaine, the reader, starts getting very narky about it all, constantly interrupting and suggesting that Saunders is the one who has no compassion for these people who seek relief through contact with their (un?)dead relatives.

I hope someone posts a clip of the Walters complaint soon.

 

[Niobe]

he had gone from the gentle, compassionate-sounding Van Praagh from his earlier days, to sounding a lot like Sylvia Browne, cracking snide jokes, bullying people, and generally being sarcastic and snarky. My husband noticed it too, and even before I mentioned it, asked if I thought Van Praagh was now copying Sylvia Browne's style.

I think it's a mental survival tactic. He's dealing with legitimate human suffering, knows deep down he's BS-ing them, so he dehumanizes them by treating them as "sheeple".

Besides, he's probably heard it all, like the person at a helpdesk line. You might ask that question for the first time but he heard it 10 times today, every day for years. The annoyance turns into curt rude behavior. Couple this with years of undue praise, and he thinks his excrement don't smell.

Sylvia and James are vets for the afterlife tech support, with the attitude to match.

 

[CFLarsen]

There's a link to a radio clip on the Australian "The One" (merged) thread (around page 4 I think) featuring one of the contestants on the TV show doing "psycchic medium" readings of callers. At one point she admits that she's skeptical of a lot of the things claimed as psychic phenomena.

Richard Saunders is also on the show and as soon as he starts debunking the obvious cold reading ("I'm getting a "D"), Charmaine, the reader, starts getting very narky about it all, constantly interrupting and suggesting that Saunders is the one who has no compassion for these people who seek relief through contact with their (un?)dead relatives.

Yep: The moment their methods are explained in this....nasty fashion, they get mean. Really mean.

 

[AndyD]

The Walters video clip is here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgITYUjEGdk

 

[dustbunny]

Yup. Watch the video I linked to above to hear him say it.

I've just read the article on the link you've put. I had no idea he'd been married for a brief time. That does surprise me because he doesn't talk much about his personal life on camera.

We've all been babies and I've got a reasonably good memory but how the heck does he remember seeing his grandfather as a baby. I could be wrong but a crib suggests to me a baby and not a toddler. I have very few brief flashbacks as a toddler but a baby, no way, surely. The dental office one was a good one too. I am absolutely terrified of dentists but I've never thought of them as housing spirits. The office may be full of fear but not death.

Again he widens his diagnosis of BW's white blood cells. So in ten or twenty years time, if there really was a problem with it, JVP can boast he'd got it right. Maybe we should ask for time limits on these predictions, I doubt we'll get any though.

 

[AndyD]

This appears to be a clip from the episode Van Praagh was on when the incident occurred.

While a part says "great" that Walters dared to complain about his off-screen comment to her - about her - I wonder if he would have continued to enjoy her on-screen support if he'd stuck to just messing with the minds of the audience and viewing public?

At the end of the day, Walters and her peers are responsible for the fame these people enjoy at the expense of the gullible and, unlike "the unwashed masses", she can't argue ignorance of the controversy that surrounds them. People in her position would be well aware of the work of Randi, Shermer, et al and obviously choose to ignore it for the sake of television.

It looks like other clips are available from this episode.

(The final words from the audience member in this clip, re: "changing schools", are yet another example of fitting the reading to personal experience)

 

[dustbunny]

That's a valid point AndyD. BW and other celebrities are responsible for helping put these psychics where they are today. A lot of people listen to the stars. Boosting ratings is a large portion of what it's all about. It's about time these celebrities thought about the harm JVP, etc, are doing instead of being number one of TV.

 

[CFLarsen]

People in her position would be well aware of the work of Randi

She is. Walters have had Randi on one of her shows in the past.

 

[dustbunny]

Sometimes I think all celebrities are actors. They host these shows and agree with whoever is on at the time. One or two though will air their opinions and I respect them far more than the limelight seekers. Now Barbara Walters has made her statements about JVP she should stick to them and not retract through pressure from others.

 

[Niobe]

She is. Walters have had Randi on one of her shows in the past.

From the Randi youtube channel:




Walters comes in at video 2 around the 7:55 mark.

 

[AndyD]

Just for the sake of exercising my more cynical side, I'm going to throw out the possibility that this will turn out to be a storm in a teacup that will spike the ratings for The View in coming weeks (and possibly for both books too).

If Van Praagh returns as a welcome guest on the show then we must assume it was all just a publicity stunt with both Walters and Van Praagh as willing participants.

 

[dustbunny]

Just for the sake of exercising my more cynical side, I'm going to throw out the possibility that this will turn out to be a storm in a teacup that will spike the ratings for The View in coming weeks (and possibly for both books too).

If Van Praagh returns as a welcome guest on the show then we must assume it was all just a publicity stunt with both Walters and Van Praagh as willing participants.

You're probably right. I'm sure JVP will welcome a future visit. You never know though it might damage his credibility to some believers in the meantime.