Calling Them Out..But Why? | Blogs

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Calling Them Out..But Why?

Wed 20 Jul 2011 14:26:16 | 2 comments

First of all, I would like to say that I fully support the efforts of Debunk Paranormal to get the truth out there, and this is not directed at anyone here at all.

I am all for calling out fraud. My personal approach is to call it like I see it, however there are some cases where I feel discretion is the better way to handle it. I mean, who gets anything out of a pissing contest other than some mild entertainment? But I digress. My point here today is about those who call out frauds who have other agendas than exposing lies.

Let's just say, for a moment, that one of the guys from the ghost hunting shows comes out and says "okay you got us..we acknowledge there is editing and faking done to keep the show going". Will that take away from the many years of presenting paranormal investigation in a false light? Will they all of a sudden become the good guy for saying aloud what we already know? Frankly, my first thought would be what is in it for them to speak up.

I have been rather amused watching all of the reporters from "News of the World" scramble around with "Yes, we were told to do this!" and "We were made do things that were unethical!" Hoping...PRAYING that other news outlets will see that they are honest enough to admit their knowledge of what was done and get hired somewhere else. Are they beacons for the truth? Well, maybe the ones that left when they were asked to do these things and are now coming forward..but what of those who went along with it? I'm not judging people for doing what they feel they need to do at the time..that's between them and their conscious. But coming out with the truth to save your own ass is nothing to be impressed with, in my opinion.

Harry Price is a name I come across often in paranormal research. I used to actually think there was something to his observations because I had also noted the many frauds he called out. He had been a magician and saw some of the tricks that spiritualists used, and called them on it..much as Harry Houdini did in the 1920's. However the difference between Price and Houdini was this...Houdini wanted to call them out because he saw their faking and felt it needed exposed. Price called them out because, in my opinion, he was setting the stage for his greatest show of all..his own fraud and deception, the Borely Rectory being the biggest example. After all..if someone is calling out the BS, wouldn't it stand to reason that their word would have some credibility if there truly was something unexplained going on?

If someone is calling out fraud to get the lies out of the way for the truth to shine through ..excellent! More power to you and you have my full support. But...if someone who calls out fraud and is only doing so to save themselves, it is nothing more than a rat abandoning a sinking ship. And if someone is calling out fraud so their BS will be taken seriously...then any step forward from the exposure will be an automatic five steps back for true researchers. Because those of us looking for the truth have to weed through all of that. It makes us suspicious, it makes us cynical, and sometimes it makes me wonder why I ever started in the first place.

And then I remember..because I AM looking for the truth. And the truth is out there..but so are the lies. And I will be wary of all, including those who expose fraud, because I never want my objectivity to fall victim to someone else's agenda.

Comments

Rusty O'Nhiall 10 months ago

Your spot on here scary. So many have ulterior motives and it seems to me that so many of those who yell and scream foul are just as guilty as those who get caught. Everyone seems to have an opinion but few seem to offer positive methods to help prevent outright fraud. I recently read a blog where the author openly and blatantly named names, of course the author became the subject of flames, thats when the "oh poor me being picked on" came out.

I tend to look upon much of what is said and reported on in this field as noise. I try to filter out the noise and come to my own conclusions based upon my own experience, knowledge and investigative?research methods. I have found that there are so many people who seem to think they are above question. They know it all and will damn others and their methods. An example. I know a group in Australia who have targeted so many over the years for their methods and one evening I joined them on one of their little "ghost hunts". I noticed for a start the equipment they were using was setup incorrectly, they became excited at draughts yet their leader became annoyed when I went around the room with a candle (a simple and so untech tool) and found the source was not paranormal. My opinion of the whole night was it was just a waste of my time yet they had the nerve to demand I write a favourable review, I didn't even bother writing anything. They were recently blogging on their site about another group who they accused of being frauds.

If someone sends me something such as a photo or recording, I usually tell them I can only offer an opiunion, and it's rarely what they want to hear, my time is often wasted by obvious faked photos or recordings, in fact I usually decline at all these days.

The simple fact is it is impossible to prove or disprove the existence of the paranormal but with modern technology it is easy to produce fakes and just as easy to prove them for what they are. Personally I dont even bother these days.

This is a great blog and makes for interesting reading - thank you. Please feel free to contact me I'm sure we can have some lively and productive conversations.

Rusty

scarygirl67 10 months ago

One of the reasons I like this site so much is it concentrates more on showing ways to educate yourself on proper equipment use, camera anomolies, and the most important tool of all, common sense. And yes, fakes need to be called out, especially ones that are taking advantage of people's fear. But I will always question the motives when it becomes more about name calling, attempts at clever wit, and most especially if it is someone who has the same bogus paracrap (yes that is my new word) as those they are calling out.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Rusty. I plan on posting many more here. As the founder of this site is well aware from other forums..i can yak a lot!! =) And I'm glad to share here.