Irish "Healers"

GlynD

Cotta wrote: »

No income tax no VAT, never give refunds and there was no guarantee.

Spot on. I think you can see through him and people like him at a glance but his success does seem to give credibility to the saying that you can fool some of the people all of the time - or at least for long enough to get the money out of them in this case before moving on to the next, rich, gullible eejit. And the multiples of poorer people who contribute smaller amounts.

lazer

Cotta wrote: »

No income tax no VAT, never give refunds and there was no guarantee.

No income tax, no V.A.T., no money back, no guarantee,
Black or white, rich or poor, we'll cut prices at a stroke,
God bless Hooky Street. Viva Hooky Street. Long live Hooky Street.
C'est magnifique, Hooky Street, Magnifique, Hooky Street, Hooky Street

Just like Delboy!

Nada666

lazer wrote: »

Ther[e i]s no harm in them as long as they are not used as an alternative to conventional medicine.

I have family that have used them for serious execema and it worked, I have also had other family members use them and it didn't work.

Most don't charge at all or just a small voluntary donation asked for.

And this is way they are [STRIKE]furrowing their brows with genuine concern[/STRIKE] laughing all the way to the bank.

Nada666

A cure for insomnia. Works within 36 hours or your money back.

qwert_yuiop

Truth is, we're not that far from societies we consider less advanced than ours. What's the difference between "a cure" here and what a voodoo master from Haiti or a Zulu witch doctor might offer? The Haitian or the Zulu patient might just not be able to afford proper medical care. Ours is free. So we're worse.

qwert_yuiop

lazer wrote: »

Ther eis no harm in them as long as they are not used as an alternative to conventional medicine.

I have family that have used them for serious execema and it worked, I have also had other family members use them and it didn't work.

Most don't charge at all or just a small voluntary donation asked for.

Is there a Waiting List?

Ticked

Sorry, but I can't be anything but skeptical. Healing "charms" preyed on the vulnerable and gullible. If they worked, the sufferer would have recovered anyway. When they didn't work, no one remembered because there was nothing "remarkable" to remember.
We've all heard of someone at deaths door who made a miraculous recovery when prayed over. What is forgotten is the countless thousands who were prayed for but didn't recover. We may remember the name of a lottery winner but not the names of everyone who paid their stake and didn't win. Call me a cynic if you want, but remember that a cynic is just someone who has seen it before.

GlynD

Ticked wrote: »

Sorry, but I can't be anything but skeptical. Healing "charms" preyed on the vulnerable and gullible. If they worked, the sufferer would have recovered anyway. When they didn't work, no one remembered because there was nothing "remarkable" to remember.
We've all heard of someone at deaths door who made a miraculous recovery when prayed over. What is forgotten is the countless thousands who were prayed for but didn't recover. We may remember the name of a lottery winner but not the names of everyone who paid their stake and didn't win. Call me a cynic if you want, but remember that a cynic is just someone who has seen it before.

But can you blame the so called Faith Healers for using the power of their gift to extract a living from the gullible? I don't think I could do it but then again I'm not the 7th son of a 7th son. If I were I might think differently. Imagine: all you have to do it put your hand on somebody's head 20 or 30 times a day and you're earning a fortune. That's a big incentive.

donnac2558

GlynD wrote: »

Like most people I think it's bunkum but I don't scoff at anyone who has faith because I think if you believe in something it's a great comfort. I've also heard stories where individuals can actually heal themselves through the power of their own mind although they will attribute the cure to the person who laid hands on them.

My mother has gone to faith healers. She's obviously very old school and still has superstitions which us "youngsters" generally don't have. I can remember when I was a wean when traveller women (we called them gypsys then) would come round selling heather or clothes pegs, my mum would always buy to get the blessing that came with the purchase because she believed that a curse from a gypsy would be a terrible thing. Apparently if you didn't buy something they would curse you on your own doorstep.

We called them Tinkers(they did not rank gypsies), just begging door to door. I had one come to my door in the 80s, I was going out. Said no thanks and she started mumbling about bad luck. I told her you curse me, I'll curse you back! She walked away very quickly.

Cotta

If it's done for free it's less of a problem, however those who are making a lucrative living from it also cause issues.

I also feel for the sick going to such people who are genuinely hopeful of a cure.