Rose Shapiro, author of Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All, has come up with eight helpful tips on "How to Spot a Quack". How does Gary score on her Quackometer?
By Julia
1)The disclaimer
"Disclaimer" is Gary's middle name. He will happily tie himself in knots to deny that he has cured anyone, whilst at the same time publishing testimonials from awe-struck former patients and hinting that he does in fact have miraculous powers (my bolding):
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All testimonials featured are of the opinion of the person that wrote them: Gary Mannion takes no responsibility for anything stated and would like to make it clear for legal reasons that he does not claim to have healed or cured anyone. Even if no medical explanation can be given for a persons recovery.
And it would be difficult to improve on Gary's inspired get-out clause:
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"Anything mentioned by me is MY OPINION. I do not medically claim anything and do not state that what I say is correct."
As Shapiro writes:
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The disclaimer is the equivalent of the small print in financial adverts, warning that the value of your investments may go down as well as up, and is usually the only truthful statement on the page.
2)
The universal diagnosisGary's version of psychic surgery seems to be a blend of massage and the faith healer's "laying on of hands", with the diagnosis being performed by Gary's spirit guide Abraham. According to testimonials it works on cancer, warts, dermatamyositis, multiple sclerosis, slipped discs and a host of other ailments (including "misaligned feet"). There's a good reason for this, namely that Gary seems to be under the widespread New Age delusion that all illness is caused by an imbalance of mysterious forms of energy. You know, the ones that can't be detected by scientific means but
can be manipulated.
3)
It's based on centuries-old ancient wisdom and the method has not changed over time.Neither psychic surgery nor Reiki, which Gary also practices, are genuinely ancient. But he has made this extraordinary claim:
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If you do your research on Psychic Surgery you'll find it's routes date back to the Aboriginies who performed Psychic Surgery on an Ethric level for things like broken bones.
I have no idea where Gary obtained this information, which sounds like pure New Age fantasy.
4)
Feeling worse is a sign of getting betterYes, it's our old friend the "healing crisis", a ploy used by quacks of all varieties - homeopaths prefer to call it the "aggravation". According to Gary:
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In some cases people have reported going through a clearing for a short while after the treatment. This may be in the form of emotions and/or physical pain. This is known as a healing crisis and is your conditions way or clearing itself physically or energetically from the body.
It's quite obviously a way of dealing with dissatisfied customers and has no place in conventional medicine. According to physicist Jay Shelton:
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Very few other types of interventions cause the primary symptoms to worsen as a helpful and desirable part of the cure; fevers don't increase, tumours don't grow, headaches don't worsen.
5)
A powerful establishment is said to be suppressing the discoveryThe fact that Gary claims to be working alongside practitioners of conventional medicine and advises patients to see their GPs doesn't stop him claiming that:
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These things that have been said saying there is no proff about healing e.t.c I have seen people have different forms of healing and their condition which doctors said couldn't be cured went away. However it's sad to say if their condition dissapears and they tell their doctor they have had healing the doctors don't put it in their notes or persue it futher. So that is why there is no evidence. Not because it doesn't happen but because it isin't recorded. It is the same for Psychics working for the police.
Paranoid rubbish - police forces do NOT use psychics and doctors do NOT suppress evidence of miraculous cures.
6)
The evidence for their discovery is anecdotal and supported only by testimonialsTestimonials have absolutely no value as evidence. None of Gary's satisfied customers have produced back-up statements from the GPs and specialists who examined them before and after Gary's "cure". But of course, I'm forgetting something - it's all part of a massive conspiracy to deny that such cures take place!
7)
They are flattering and appeal to your vanityWere it not for Gary's partnership in
Samskara I'd be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one...
but it has to be said that his websites and contributions to various forums drip with New Age sanctimony. "Spirituality", however banal and absurd, is seen as morally superior to the dreaded "materialism". Those who flock to Mind/Body/Spirit fairs, read
Highspirit magazine and ask Gary questions on "spiritlove" are encouraged to think of themselves as enlightened freethinkers; in reality their "open minds" tend to be empty of the critical thinking skills needed to make the most of real life.
8)
It sounds too good to be trueBefore we drew Mr Rodger Andrews' testimonial to the attention of his local Trading Standards office, Gary insinuated that he made a terminal liver cancer disappear within two days of his treatment. He has also "fixed" a patient's immune system - Gary, how come AIDS victims aren't beating a path to your door? - and hopes to get a woman with MS "100% with her muscles". It is grossly hypocritical of Gary to use his patients' testimonials on his websites
unless he is 100% convinced that he was solely responsible for their cures. As we have seen, Gary goes to farcical lengths to say that he:
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...does not claim to have healed or cured anyone. Even if no medical explanation can be given for a persons recovery.
So, what's the verdict? I reckon that Gary scores an impressive 8 out of 8 on Ms Shapiro's "How to Spot a Quack" list.
