Bottom Feeding Scum

As far as I am concerned, psychics are all scum, but some more than others. They fall into different categories. Most psychics fall into the "slightly scummy" category. These are the people who generally limit themselves to stupid conjuring tricks and cold reading. They're not a great source of irritation, I'm just annoyed by the fact that people pay them for the bullshit they spout. I would put Uri Gellar and Derek Acorah in this category, and all those psychics who make predictions that simply don't come true. The astrologers also fall into this category.

I am more disgusted by psychics who deliberately target vulnerable people, specifically the recently bereaved. This is the "true scum" category. Rosmary Altea, Colin Fry, James Van Prague, and John Edwards all fall into this category. These people are foul, but they don't usually cause much distress, they simply obtain money by deception and tell people things they want to hear.

Occasionally one comes across psychics who deliberately target people with missing loved ones. They make wild guesses about where missing people are and what happened to them with total disregard for the feelings of the families involved. These psychics fall into the "evil bottom-feeding scum" category. Sylvia Browne is in this category. She has many times made statements about missing people that have subsequently turned out to be completely wrong, and caused a great deal of suffering and distress in the process. These people should be in jail. Their assets should be seized, and they should be publicly birched.

This list is not carved in stone. Psychics tend to move between these scum categories. Uri Gellar for instance, usually confines himself to stupid tricks, but I'm sure he has on occasion crossed the line into targeting the vulnerable. Likewise, Browne often travels down the scale and makes dozens of predictions which don't come to fruition. As far as I am concerned, she is welcome to do this. Very few people are really stupid enough to pay any attention to it.

I'm explaining this because I believe the British psychic community has hit an all time low this week. The Madeleine McCann case in Portugal has been invaded by Amanda Hart, Ben Murphy, and Alison Dubois. I'm told they intend to "help" with the Madeleine case, and I believe Hart and Murphy are actually flying out there. This is nothing more than a disgusting attempt at self promotion, taking advantage of some of the most vulnerable people on earth in the process. If I were the McCann family I would be threatening legal action.