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This article originally appeared at Katie’s blog at www.thebuzzmedia.com/author/katie-mullaly/ Out of paranormal drama, that is. If you have been following my posts, it comes as no shock to you that the concept of paranormal drama has become its own cottage industry. The very mention of the phrase is divisive, and the decision of a person’s guilt in participating or exacerbating the situation becomes completely subjective. There are even rivaling Facebook pages dedicated to taking the drama out of the paranormal. Seriously? My anti-paranormal drama is better than your anti-paranormal drama. Now, to be fair, I started these commentaries because I was angry that people in this “field” were getting away with the underhanded behavior they were getting away with, and I couldn’t (and still can’t) stand being lumped in with a bunch of disingenuous halfwits who couldn’t properly investigate their way out of a paper bag. In the spirit of “taking back the night,” I believe it is important to provide some distinctions that might make things a little easier. First, I believe we have been going about this all wrong. Rather than taking the drama out of the paranormal, we should be focusing on taking the paranormal out of the drama. To refer to paranormal drama as some untoward branch of paranormal investigation is only fueling the fire. It’s drama - plain, old, run-of-the-mill drama that could just as easily be happening inside a bank or a beauty salon or a craft store. Everyone has a right to pursue an interest in the paranormal if that is what their heart desires, however, if someone acts like an ass, that doesn’t make them a paranormal ass – it makes them an ass that happens to be interested in the paranormal. For example: IF someone associated with paranormal investigation lies about having a terminal illness - that is not a paranormal issue. That is an HONESTY issue. If we as individuals feel that someone has an issue with being honest, then as individuals we can and should decide if we want to trust that person. Similarly, IF someone habitually accepts money to make appearances and then is a serial “no show,” that is also not a paranormal issue. It is a THIEVERY issue. Again, it becomes the responsibility of the individual to decide whether or not they want their name attached to someone who has a habit of taking money from people. The pathological drama-farmers that have parasitically attached themselves to this field would have done so in any of their chosen pursuits. It has nothing to do with investigating paranormal activity and everything to do with the integrity of the person causing the fuss. It is simply the attention-seeking behavior of these types of people, some of whom are riding the coattails of a coat that has long since been discarded and donated to Goodwill. I submit to everyone that the time has come to completely discard the term paranormal drama and all of its variations. Drama is drama. Attaching the prefix “paranormal” to the front of it only reinforces the notion in the minds of those that are causing the drama that they are somehow legitimate members of our “band of brothers.” If you lie, cheat, or steal, your seed will find no purchase here. At this point, I don’t know what is what, or who really did what, or who said what to whom and, quite frankly, I don’t give a frog’s fat ass. Somebody somewhere is full of crap, and since it isn’t me, it doesn’t make a lick of difference to me. Second, I think it’s important for people to accept the fact that paranormal investigation among people outside of a laboratory setting falls into one of two categories: hobby or commercial venture. Sometimes it starts as a hobby, but then becomes a commercial venture. Everyone wants to make money doing something they love, and there really isn’t anything wrong with that (outside of the obvious “don’t charge for an investigation” rule, of course). However, don’t fool yourselves (or worse, try to fool OTHERS) into thinking that you are doing anything even remotely scientific if you aren’t following scientific method. If there is no science, it is strictly active curiosity. A van filled with egg-crate-foam lined boxes containing all manner of technology does not equal science. THAT is a scientific fact. Now that we have made these distinctions, let’s line up, stand up, and be counted. Quit fanning the flames and step away from the instigators. This INCLUDES resisting the temptation to make every single Facebook status update about “Today is a drama-free day,” or “This is a no-drama zone!” or “I am ashamed of everyone I know in this field,” (I found that one to be particularly off-putting given that there is no way that person knows “everyone” in this “field.”) Further, making statements like “I’m not going on the radio to bash her, I’m just going to let everyone know what kind of a person she is,” are so absurd that they can’t even find the breadcrumb trail back to Normaltown. Why are we so fixated on speaking for everyone else instead of being accountable for our own actions and statements? Let them carry on privately and refuse to be sucked into this cycle of “any publicity is good publicity.” Once they realize that no one is listening, they’ll have no choice but to change the subject or quit bitching. This is not an assessment of any one person, or any group of people. It is simply a set of suggested behaviors intended to clean the muck out of the gutter. Now that we have that out of the way…has anyone actually INVESTIGATED anything, lately? |