I’m not sure I see the harm here. Some sad kid is missing his dad and is told dad is fine and in a good place and always there in spirit. That’s bound to make the kid feel better in the short run, time will take care of the long run.
And in later years , he figures out that psychics are phony and he was lied to about his dad.
Yeah, I still don’t see it. I’m guessing figuring that out at 15 will hurt less than losing his dad hurts right now. The idea that our lost loved ones are still somehow present is comforting, why would that bother you?
Unless they charge money for it.
If they were psychic, why haven’t they won the lottery?
Quite honestly, if people are dumb enough to fall for psychics, I really don’t feel all that sorry for them. You know what they say about “a fool and his money”.
The kid, however, is another story.
Every time you pray a cute kitten is tortured. Just take my word for it.
I thought that happened when you masturbated?
Only if I have a cute kitten handy at the time.
Yeah, a lot of people have that attitude towards those victimized by a con.
If people didn’t actually believe in psychics, they wouldn’t stay in business. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that these so-called “psychics” aren’t assholes. But c’mon, people. Common sense, here? People who fall for Nigerian scams? Please. Believe in this woo, you’re gonna get burned.
Little kids, are a different story. However, a LOT of responsibility lies on the parent who drags him or her into this crap.
+1
I agree.
And during those later years, he’s developed the emotional, psychological and mental capabilities to completely understand and accept this without suffering in any meaningful way.
In the mean time, he has a hard time being intimate or masturbating because he thinks his dad is looking over his shoulder.
Hmm. Do you have some psychic stories you want to share? 
I still don’t see the harm either, unless the psychic truly starts to milk them for big money. People who have lost a loved one often have hallucinations where they feel or see his presence anyway. Psychic claims like the one in the OP serve the same role.
FWIW, I have beleived in an afterlife for years due to some ouijboard experiene I had. When I met someone, yers later, who said that he had been guiding the oijaboard with his fingers all the time, it didn’t come as a big shock. I was, and I don’t think I’m an exception, in some sort of ambivalent state; an open mind where I cold believe in an afterlife and not, at the same time. A sort of doublethink. Yeah, I know it is probably silly, but still, it might be true that…And my beleif adapted to whatever of those two mental state felt best at the moment. And that worked well when it felt good to believe, as well as when I stopped needing to believe.
Besides, I’m going to get a lot of flack for this, but I really don’t see much difference in a priest or minister comforting the bereaved, or a psychic doing so for those who believe in woo.
British illusionist, mentalist, and sceptic Derren Brown in Derren Brown Investigates - The Man Who Contacts The Dead, at one point expresses his doubts about whether the con being perpetrated is entirely harmful. None the less he succeeds in making Joe Power appear look very bad indeed.
After the show aired Power’s career apparently didn’t nosedive. In fact he promoted himself as having appeared on Derren Brown Investigates.
What the fuck is wrong with you people who think it’s ok to milk people for money and lie to little children about things they can’t possibly know just to comfort them.
What’s wrong with saying, “Timmy, your Dad loved you very much, and although you won’t ever be able to see him again, his memory will live on with you forever and your family will never forget the wonderful man he was.”
Fuck people who lie to kids about heaven and spirits and shit, just to make them feel better. There are plenty of ways to make kids feel better without lying to them.
The difference between this and a minister is that they don’t perform magic tricks to convince you that they are telling the truth. There’s no con involved. Anyone who claims to be able to talk to the dead is not mistaken if they can actually be convincing. They are con artists.
Though I’m more mad at the parents for taking the kid there.
I’d put the faith-healers and televangelists on an even higher rung of despicability.
Everyone is going to suffer the loss of a loved one at some point. As far as human emotions go it’s even kinda routine. Everyone goes through the death of a loved one. I can imagine that even if these psychics know that they’re lying through their teeth, in some perverted way they might feel that they are giving comfort to the bereaved.
But faith-healers and televangelists deliberately prey on people who are going through *unusually harsh *emotional circumstances.
Your wife has MS? Simply send some money and we’ll fix it. Your child has leukemia? Send us some money so we can build a megachurch in Las Vegas to glorify our egos. Oh, that didn’t help? Well, this “God” character works in mysterious ways. Didn’t you read the fine print?
[QUOTE=Morgenstern;]
If they were psychic, why haven’t they won the lottery?
[/QUOTE]
I don’t believe in psychics, but this is a silly argument, akin to telling a jogger if they were an athlete, they should be on a box of Wheaties.
Commonly referred to as “the collection plate” and “Sunday School” I think.