• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

StopSylvia: Finally!

Try this on for size. I have seen Sylvia lecture in the past and I do believe there is something out there when you leave this world. I know Sylvia does not know what the hell she is talking about. I have heard people ask what their spirit guides name is and she will tell them and have heard several people say " Well that is not what you told me their name was the last time I asked" Sylvia then changes the rules and though she only has one spirit guide other people have many ( I would suspect that you have as many spirit guides as you have questions to ask Sylvia).

One of my favorite statements she made is Francine told her (and sorry francine as I know you are not this stupid) that when the space shuttle takes off it rips a hugh hole in the O-Zone layer and that is what is messing up our planet. (Really) That is like saying when I drive my car down the freeway I am screwing with the air because I am ripping a hole through it. I could not believe people bought this crap but they did.

It is hard to believe that people are that gullible.
 
Francine said:
Ok, so she lies about smoking. No big deal. A lot of people do. Well, it is a big deal because if she's capable of lying about something so insignificant and provable, what makes you think she's not lying about more important things?
Click to expand...

And it's a pretty big deal in itself for the health-conscious New-Agey types among her followers. I think many of them would be scandalized to learn she smokes. (A friend of mine once said he lost all respect for the works of Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Illusions, etc. when he heard that Bach was a smoker.)

SHE JUST DOESN'T CARE. She thinks she's above any kind of rules or accountability. And where does the money come from to pay for it? Line up, victims! Sylvia has opened her schedule and her heart to offer you a reaming reading for $850 a pop.

She lies just to lie- the whoppers she comes up with blow your mind. I don't know why I personally believed her for so long but finally the rational part of my brain kicked in and said, "WTF are you thinking, Francine?!" I just hope more and more people can open up their eyes and realize what kind of a person she really is.
Click to expand...

I think this is partly that she has become lazier and more arrogant over the years, but partly something I think many con-artists do. For some of them, the money is only part of the motivation--it's the rush of getting away with it. I believe most con artists and fraudsters push the envelope over time, almost as if they want to see what it takes for people to stop believing them.
 
I would hate to have you as my opponent, you are far too reasonable, far too polite and kind, and ready to listen. No anger, no insults, no outbursts; you really do not give them any reason to just mindlessly hate you - you do make life so very hard for your enemies;)

I have no idea how you manage to so patient, but you are a true pleasure to watch!
 
Francine said:
Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. :D

Robert- there has only been one response thus far to EE. I know he said that he gave you permission to post a condensed version here, but it looks like he posted about you word for word. Would you like me to paste everything here? He has posted everything in a public forum, I don't see why I can't.
Click to expand...

Francine, I have no problem with him having posted our correspondence. I never asked him not to, he never said that he wouldn't. And I doubt that I said anything I would object to being made public.

If you want to repost what he has posted, I have no problem with it. I was more interested in what he (and others) have said about it.

Thanks,

Robert
 
Helen said:
I would hate to have you as my opponent, you are far too reasonable, far too polite and kind, and ready to listen. No anger, no insults, no outbursts; you really do not give them any reason to just mindlessly hate you - you do make life so very hard for your enemies;)
Click to expand...

Should I look into creating StopThatDarlingOldFemaleDoggy.com? :)

I have no idea how you manage to so patient, but you are a true pleasure to watch!
Click to expand...

Thanks. Helen. I feel no reason to be impatient with Browne's supporters. Just Browne.
 
It seems to me, that like many Browne supporters, your correspondent is nibbling around the edges hoping that small points of criticism (I note, he doesn't raise any serious errors so far as I can see), somehow constitute refutation of you, your site and the facts and allegations there contained. They don't. Does your correspondent have any hard factual errors that you've made (not philosophical errors about the nature of Gnostic beliefs)? Can he show that something you've alleged or verifiably shown about Browne is a fabrication? Does he argue that there is some substantial body of proof for Browne's claims that you've failed to take not of, or that she provided to you and that you've not acknowledged? Does he hold her as guilty for the multitude of what he must believe are small errors on her part (because, how else could you believe her once exposed to her catolog of deception) as he does you? More to the point, does he think her errors and excessess small...would the family of that boy in Missouri agree?

Robert, you've been kind and respectful to him. That is to your credit. You've been patient and have even suggested that his more thoughtful criticism could lead you to alter some passages on youre site. Bravo. That is what you should do, that is how you should behave. I wonder if he notes the gap between your behavior and willingness to engage, debate and do so respectfully and Sylvia's -- who hides like a bat in a cave at the mere thought that some light might be shed on her.
 
Thanks, 'Scratcher! But remember, you have only my description of the correspondence - hardly enough to judge me (or him) by.
 
Francine: it just occured to me: reposting things from another forum here is against board policy, i think. DON'T DO IT!!! sorry.
 
I just reread the original reply from this man. A couple of other points he stressed:

1) He firmly feels that I am slandering/libeling Browne on the site.

From a legal definition, I know that I am not. For one thing, as far as I know, everything on the site is factual legally, in America, something must be false to be slander/libel.

And there is no way that Browne wants a court of law to rule on the truth or falsity of what is on my site.

2) He strongly criticized my use of Gary Dufresne's interview, saying that I should not take the word of an ex-husband, especially one who had abused his wife and is not in contact with his sons. I pointed out that, by describing Gary that way, he showed that he wasa taking an ex-wife's (Browne's) word.
 
Besides, Browne is a public figure by her own making, the standards for libel and slander in this country for libeling and slandering a public figure, if I remember correctly, is pretty high. You would have to knowingly repeat a lie, libel or slander or do so with reckless disregard for the facts. Indeed, if anyone has a libel/slander suite, it might be you against Browne.

I predict she will not sue you. I predict she will never sue any one.

Heck, even an accident tort suit where she was the victim would have great questions: Defendent attory to Browne: So, you didn't see this coming?
 
Avatar49 said:
Try this on for size. I have seen Sylvia lecture in the past and I do believe there is something out there when you leave this world. I know Sylvia does not know what the hell she is talking about. I have heard people ask what their spirit guides name is and she will tell them and have heard several people say " Well that is not what you told me their name was the last time I asked" Sylvia then changes the rules and though she only has one spirit guide other people have many ( I would suspect that you have as many spirit guides as you have questions to ask Sylvia).

One of my favorite statements she made is Francine told her (and sorry francine as I know you are not this stupid) that when the space shuttle takes off it rips a hugh hole in the O-Zone layer and that is what is messing up our planet. (Really) That is like saying when I drive my car down the freeway I am screwing with the air because I am ripping a hole through it. I could not believe people bought this crap but they did.

It is hard to believe that people are that gullible.
Click to expand...

I suspect you are right - there are as many guides as you have questions to ask, how funny.

I was a minister for Sylvia Browne, but I can't tell you how many things I just didn't pay attention to at the time. For example, she had a list of medical advice that she provided to her ministers to use in counseling. This was back in 2005 but among other things on the list, she claimed that Zithromax is useful in curing the common cold. Zithromax of course being an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, the common cold being a virus which is not at all affected by an antibiotic like Zithromax. :rolleyes:

I don't think I ever even bothered to look at that list until just recently.

Anyway, welcome to the forum Avatar49! :)
 
RSLancastr said:
I just reread the original reply from this man.

2) He strongly criticized my use of Gary Dufresne's interview, saying that I should not take the word of an ex-husband, especially one who had abused his wife and is not in contact with his sons. I pointed out that, by describing Gary that way, he showed that he wasa taking an ex-wife's (Browne's) word.
Click to expand...

This is another example of how this individual is accepting Browne's word for the truth. Gaining sympathy from her fans is just another way for her to gain their trust and then go in for the kill. She's a pro at this. If she seems more "human", experiencing the same things that regular people do, and she talks about it freely, then her fans feel like she must be legitimate. They indulge in an even deeper belief instead of questioning whether or not she is really telling the truth in the first place.

Example 1: If she says that her husband(s) are abusive and/or major jerks, she creates a bond between herself and other women who have been through similar circumstances. The majority of her fanbase is women. Even men feel sorry for her because their mom, sister, friend, grandmother, aunt- whoever- has also been a victim of abuse. Sylvia also loves to talk about how much her family gets into arguments or how much she hated her mother. It's just another way to make her seem more like she lives her life like any other average American.

Example 2: She talks about her ailments/getting older. Let's face it- most people that come to her are going through or have gone through very rough times. Who hasn't? Either they or someone they love has had or currently has medical issues. Everyone is getting older. By Sylvia making fun of her own aging body, people feel closer to her because they see her as an equal. If someone was a fraud, why would they be talking about such normal, human things?

Example 3: Sylvia loves to tell stories about how she lived her life in poverty during various periods of her life. MOST of Sylvia's fans are poor or come from poor backgrounds. Even right now, she has been posting things on Facebook to have people pray for her church because it's in such a poor financial state. She does this to gain sympathy and to keep up the illusion that her life mission is for her church/philosophy and nothing else. The economy is hurting so badly right now that everyone can relate. Yet she makes it seem as though her church is the only thing that is suffering. The truth is her church is suffering, but it's because she has pissed away millions of dollars on material items- not giving it to her church like she claims.

There's so many more examples, but these are some pretty major life events that she loves to exploit over and over. I have talked to a lot of her fans and one thing that they have in common is that they love Sylvia because she seems so "real" and "Down to Earth".

When I have some time, I will be taking points from her latest book and addressing the inconsistencies and lies one by one.
 
This is what being a skeptic is all about--having an open mind, and trying to find the truth about a situation rather than just paying attention to anything that reinforces your views.

I wish there was more dialogue among people of divergent views, regarding woo and also politics. The U.S. is so polarized, and the people seem to yell at each other and point fingers much more readily than listening to other viewpoints and engaging in an intelligent, open-minded dialogue. Actually, I've had the best luck with this lately on Facebook. Many of us have FB friends that go beyond our immediate real life circle of friends, like work acquaintances and old schoolmates. I've been involved in a few debates with friends and friends of friends, after someone posted a political article or opinion.
 
Ok... Here is a easy challenge for the secret poster. Find me diploma with a masters degree diploma with Sylvia's whatever her name was at the time. Now if I was a public figure and I am not but, still I can find documentation on any of my credentials within 5 minures max. Let's call it a very easy task and I will donate 1,000.00 dollars to his or her favorite charity. Heck I will even give it to him or her person. Now that would be a lot easier than Randi's challenge (although not as much money). Please feel free to tell the secert poster to go for it. He has two weeks. It has to be the school that she has written about in her books.(I think its USF? or whatever I can look it up) Let's call this the secret poster challenge. RSL please feel free to let him or her know.
 
RSLancastr said:
Thanks. Helen. I feel no reason to be impatient with Browne's supporters. Just Browne.
Click to expand...
And yet...when dealing directly with Browne in Las Vegas a couple of years back, you were the soul of politeness and reasonableness.

headscratcher4 said:
Robert, you've been kind and respectful to him.
Click to expand...
jimtron said:
This is what being a skeptic is all about--having an open mind, and trying to find the truth about a situation rather than just paying attention to anything that reinforces your views.
Click to expand...
Both of these are absolute models of don't-be-a-dickness.
 
HawaiiBigSis said:
And yet...when dealing directly with Browne in Las Vegas a couple of years back, you were the soul of politeness and reasonableness.



Both of these are absolute models of don't-be-a-dickness.
Click to expand...

I was sitting with ExMinister during Phil's "Don't Be a Dick" presentation.

She kept poking me in the arm and saying "That's you!"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom