Battles, UFOs, and the Folk
I’ve said it many times and I see it’s time to say it again; there are many diverse approaches to exploring the UFO phenomena, as there should be.
That last part “...as there should be” is the part that trips up a lot of UFO researchers and commentators, who argue, often stridently, that there is only one way to study UFOs, and that’s the way they’ve decided.
As we know, there are all kinds of theories out there, including the wacky ones. Wacky being a matter of subjective interpretation. ETH vs. whatever -- well, there’s no one, final, definitive answer to the UFO phenomena. What if ET does literally exist? Does that answer all of the other weirdness? Is there only one kind of ET? What about all the rest of the high strangeness stuff? What if we discover ET doesn't exist? Does that nullify all of the weirdness, or just put it someplace else? For myself, it hardly nullifies a damn thing. Anyway, it’s impossible to prove there isn’t ET.
All that aside, it seems to me -- and I’m surprised more people in the field simply don’t accept his and move on -- that as long as one is being honest, there’s no problem. No matter how whacked out their ideas may be.
The so-called serious ones, who insist UFOlogy does things a certain way, don’t see the irony of their behavior. Often in downright hostile ways, they spend a lot of time being distracted by those they disagree with, from insults to ripping apart theories.
Debate on theory and research is an obvious given. Beyond that, it’s a losing and self-defeating battle to persistently engage in bouts of ad hominems and accusations of someone’s sanity or intentions. This includes the insistence that one need not at least try to be pleasant. Being nice does not mean you’re naive or incapable of research. It means you’re an adult and don’t have time to waste in fights. Good goddess, we get that enough from the pathological uber-skeptoids! Standing up for yourself is one thing. Being contentious just because you can, and thinking that somehow gives you a patina of intellectual superiority and moral righteousness over others you disagree with only makes you a jerk.
I will concede that some witnesses and researchers are hard to take on a personal level (one pompous twit, in my opinion, comes to mind, who is well known for his dedication to data) but their personalities shouldn’t let us ignore their contributions. And no matter how nice someone may be, if their work or their theories don’t make sense, we shouldn't say they do just because we like them.
Anyone who denies the UFO experience is without high strangeness is either lying, or they haven’t done the work they say they have. And for those of us who have had a life time of high strangeness related to UFOs; what, are we supposed to just go away because the fact of our experiences bothers others?
The rabbit hole is slippery enough, with plenty of side tunnels, without the constant cry for a retooling of UFOlogy. It’s ludicrous to think there’s a “UFOlogy” anyway. The phenomena is of the folk; it’s grass roots, it’s individual, it’s personal, it’s anti-structure. Who else but all the diverse people involved in this phenomena would have a voice?
With the help -- genuine help -- of researchers, we all can get closer to possible answers. But as soon as those who separate themselves out from the rest of us decide they’re part of the very institutions the phenomena has been thumbing its nose at for thousands of years tell us what to do, they’ve lost credibility.
Which brings us back to the idea that there’s one big answer, and that getting the answer is the prize. Individual answers to various cases may come, but none of those serve to solve the phenomena entirely.
It’s a process and a journey without end, and there are many ways to get there. Which is a paradox, for if there’s no end, how can we get there? But that’s what I like about it.
Regan Lee
7 Comments
Reader Comments (7)
Put that together with the hijacked mainstream everyone continues to let shine them on, the common sense they refuse to recognize as common, and their over reliance on a science presupposing on what it shall not itself investigate, and I think you make a great case on most people just comin' down off their high horse. Does the self-styled and "landed" gentry of paranormal study justify or remotely validate their pompous standoffishness? Not hardly. These can continue to reap what they sow, eh? Good piece if I may.
Bravo Regan,
Let the thought police have it! You GO girl!
As you say, the lore is out there. A lot of it goes far back in time, even though many wish to limit it to only the last 60 years or so. To insist that the answers conform to some limited preconceived notions about what it all may ultimately mean is simply being another type of skeptoid.
It is a wide weird wonderful universe out there. Nobody can possibly have all of the answers. Those who ask the broader questions are extending the envelope. Those who want the questions limited to only what they are willing to accept are megalomaniacs who wish to keep the universe as limited as their belief systems.
This is not just arrogant, it is errant and ignorant. Those are not good rants.
Regan yours, however, is.... :o)
Well put Regan,
There is so much going on the world of UFOs that there is no way in my opinion that any one answer can solve it all.
The world (and I don't mean just Earth and our Universe) is so infinitely vast, that more then likely, multiple phenomena make up what many consider to be one phenomena.
It's just a matter of what people are willing to accept and believe in.
Regan, you are so right!
Along with what you have mentioned -- I have noticed that the people that most often act in this manner never have had a UFO sighting or any high strangeness happen to them personally. So what exactly gives them the right to judge other opinions and theories? They somehow think that their lack of personal experience makes them unbiased, but in reality it just makes them bias in the other direction.
I think people who have had a true experience realize that just about anything is possible. Oh, that doesn't mean that we believe every story we hear, only that we are not so eager to publicly denounce those stories, except in the case of obvious hoaxes.
In all my hours of reading over judgmental postings and articles by people who claim to actually believe in UFOs, I still have not figured out the purpose. The only thing I can figure is that these people need to feel superior by pointing out what they think is wrong with everyone else. If they were truly so superior they wouldn't bother with that because they would be too busy figuring out the truth and not dwelling on what they see as untrue.
Is this reply in reference to what alot of folks at MUFON are saying? Taking personal jabs at UFO MAG and UFO Hunters because of the mainstream approach to heighten the audience's awareness of what may be possibly happening in the home planet we call earth.
They should respect what the UFO HUNTERS and staff at UFO MAG does. The dedication to this study heen beyond obvious. I like having the information on a mainstream level because perhaps it may reach common folks who have experienced a sighting and reach them on a level in which they felt comfortable opening up to UFOLOGIST to help investigate.
These groups have to realize that with UFO HUNTERS being on the history channel, there is going to be restrictions on what can be shown involving our powerful government. The production crew set's certain guidelines im certain.
I just wish all these groups could work together instead of turning it into a cockfight.
I personally have read the mufon investigator manual and I dont like the way they conduct investigations. Just my opinion.
beLIEve. The truth is up there!
Anyone who denies the UFO experience is without high strangeness is either lying, or they haven’t done the work they say they have. And for those of us who have had a life time of high strangeness related to UFOs; what, are we supposed to just go away because the fact of our experiences bothers others?
A great essay Regan! The above paragraph jogged my mind about the 'apartheid' of many forums. There have been so many I've come across that state in their byline something like - ONLY PARANORMAL SUBJECTS DISCUSSED HERE....or UFO SUBJECT MATTER ONLY....as if UFOs aren't paranormal and activities most associate with the paranormal aren't part of a UFO experiencer's life.
The bleedover of paranormal into UFOs and back has always been there, as you've essentially stated, but we still have influencial people that insist on separating something that has never truly been separate. Thank goodness for the investigators and writers (still in a minority) who noticed the two are linked and acknowledge the high strangeness.
It is high strangeness indeed to assume that there would be no high strangeness involved in alien contact.