50 replies to this topic

[Space_Jockey]

I hope you all catchy my drift here, just go with it...

I've spent enough time on the internet on various forums, messageboards, youtube and what not. My intention of starting this topic was to share my thoughts on believers and to also learn more about them. So far, many believers I've come across have a tendency of 'believing everything related to the UFO/ET phenomenon'. I find it strange that more 'believers' can't be skeptical about one thing while still believe in other things associated with the phenomenon.

Allow me to explain to the best I can.... Here is my observation of the different kind of 'believers' (Even though I hate to use terms like that).

A. The everything believer - This type of believer not only believes we are being visited by aliens right now, but also subscribe to the 'ancient aliens' theory, also believe in abductions, area 51, cattle mutilations being ET, Men in black, the government being in touch with aliens, aliens being covered up by the government(s), Crop circles being the work of ET and what not, God/Jesus being an alien, we being the offsprings of aliens.

B. The personal experience believer - This type has/had a personal UFO sighting or some other experience that he believes to be genuine, so he assumes or (acts) that all ET related phenomenon to be genuine just cause he had an experience. He might think that the ends justify the means. These people aren't necessarily looking for evidence/proof but are looking for anecdotes and stories that could strengthen their own beliefs.

C. The picky believer - These types usually believe in a few things, and is skeptical about other things. say for example : - He could be skeptical about alien abductions, while at the same time believing ETs are visiting earth. or maybe : - He believes ET are in touch with the government right now, but doesn't subscribe to the 'ancient astronaut' theory.

D. ???? - These types may have had an UFO/paranormal experience but aren't going to jump on the ET phenomenon because they could be wrong or maybe they think they need more evidence, for the most part are skeptical and tend to require proof/evidence for outlandish claims. They're interest in ET was the result of their experience. Some of these may have found the evidence they were looking for, while others they think they still haven't

I find type C and D to be rather rare....

Now don't take this generalization too seriously, if you have to put yourself in one of these groups, or maybe if you think one of these Types best describes or comes closest to describing you, what would it be? Most would say type C and D, I presume...

So, which one?

[Slave2Fate]

Interesting thread SJ, I'm looking forward to any replies.

[St. Jimmy]

Wow, that's really interesting. I believe in many things, but I can't say I believe in everything someone tells me. So... I'd probably go with C. On the other side, I'm usually not too sceptical about other mysterious things... because "what if"?

[DingoLingo]

I'm a D Saw one when I was a kid.. light in the sky that flew off in opposite direction.. was about.. hmm.. 5 at the time.. so 37 years ago.. so pre every one having a helicopter days.. was it a UFO.. I dont know.. could have been. .could have been something else as well..

[keninsc]

I don't fall into any of those categories. I know that people are seeing UFO's, i.e. things in the sky and they don't know what they are, I just don't believe it's some alien culture coming clandestinely to check on us, study us or abduct us.

The whole premise makes no sense really when you stop and think about it. If you were an advanced species of extraterrestrial and you had the ability to cross the vastness of space then it's a safe bet that your technology level is far and away superior to ours. Why all the drama when they could simply come down and do whatever they wanted to us. Our technology probably couldn't touch them, so they could simply drop in, take whatever they wanted or whomever they wanted and do whatever they wanted to them and we'd be powerless to stop them. I also find it hard to imagine that given the level of technology required for them to get here that all they did was abduct old Farmer Brown and shove an ice cold probe up his ass. If you read any of the reports of people who claim to be abductees then you discover that aliens seem to have a deeply disturbing anal fetish. Or they come in the middle of the night, abduct an unwilling victim, transport them to their mother ship, conduct medical experiments on them and then they tuck them safely back in their beds with their memories erased........only the memories aren't erased very well and they remember bits and pieces then everything under something as simple as hypnosis.........did I mention the ice cold anal probes?

On the other hand if they did arrive and wanted to have an open dialogue with us then they would simply drop in and open a real line of communication with us. Granted, they might not land on the White House lawn but they might well communicate via radio. So as you see the whole idea of these midnight abductions are simply poppycock when you apply just a simple bit of logic.

[Colonel Rhuairidh]

Hmmm, well then, what would I say? Well, I don't know if I believe anything, since belief is a personal thing, and is largely down to personal experience, but I think that there do very much seem to be things appearing in our Skies that do give every impression of being, if not artificial, then certainly under Intelligent control. Now, I'm afraid that the most popular Rational explanation (Secret experimental aircraft) doesn't really wash any dishes with me, since what one tries to do, as a rule, with anything that's Secret is to keep it Secret. The Plasma theory, now, while there might well be something to that, given that they do give every impression of, as I have said, Intelligent control, then that opens a whole new can of worms, and I don't think that Plasma, if that is what at last some of them are, might not be just the simple Rational explanation that some like to put it forward as.
In short; do i believe in UFOs as in do I believe that rational explanations can't explain them all: Yes.
Do i believe that they may well be under intelligent control? Yes, i think so.
Does that mean that I believe that they are Extraterrestrial craft? I wouldn't go that far, but it well be a possibility.
Does this mean that I therefore have to believe in everything else, cryptids, Extrasensory powers, Ghosts and Vampires, and the Illimianti? Well, some, perhaps, but not all. This is primarily about UFOs, so I'm sticking to discussing that here. So on the whole, I think I'd say, category C.

[Space_Jockey]

Slave2Fate, on 13 July 2012 - 05:04 AM, said:

Interesting thread SJ, I'm looking forward to any replies.

Thanks a lot man, from what I've seen, a lot of people tend to believe in everything attributed to ETH phenomenon,  I wondered why so.

[Space_Jockey]

I wish I could expand this topic a little more, add a poll or something, I don't know if that's possible, maybe next time.

I may be wrong, but,

More than a few people who believe in ETH, also believe in ghosts, psychic powers and other stuff. I find this a little strange. Maybe it's just a way of thought.

I also know that nobody would choose 'type A', even if they seem to exhibit that kind of behavior in the forums as well as others I've seen in other sites, most would choose the last two.....

[psyche101]

I am a D. 2 sightings in my life, one only a year and a half ago. I have no reason tro think or believe either connection was not an earthly phenomena. I was interested in the phenomena before my first sighting, and it took some time to swing my legs across to the skeptical side of the fence, but now that I have, answers are forthcoming for a change, instead of wondering all the time.

[psyche101]

Space_Jockey, on 13 July 2012 - 08:29 AM, said:

I wish I could expand this topic a little more, add a poll or something, I don't know if that's possible, maybe next time.

I may be wrong, but,

More than a few people who believe in ETH, also believe in ghosts, psychic powers and other stuff. I find this a little strange. Maybe it's just a way of thought.

I also know that nobody would choose 'type A', even if they seem to exhibit that kind of behavior in the forums as well as others I've seen in other sites, most would choose the last two.....

I reckon you are right, we have some type "A"s here, but to them, the rest of the world is wrong and has to catch up to them. So they expect the world to own up, and they feel that they never need to.

[Space_Jockey]

psyche101, on 13 July 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

I am a D. 2 sightings in my life, one only a year and a half ago. I have no reason tro think or believe either connection was not an earthly phenomena. I was interested in the phenomena before my first sighting, and it took some time to swing my legs across to the skeptical side of the fence, but now that I have, answers are forthcoming for a change, instead of wondering all the time.

I Appreciate your reply.

I saw an UFO, when I was 11 years old. The funny thing is that it happened right two days after I saw a scary documentary about UFOs and alien abductions. For years I was convinced, but as I got older I began to wonder... I must also say that back then, I lived in a country where people were unfamiliar with the UFO phenomemon.

As I grew older, I thought,

Would I have really cared as much for my UFO sighting if I wasn't aware of the UFO phenomenon in the first place? What if one of my friends saw the same UFO, would they give it that much thought?

Also, as time goes by, I seem to have got my memory of the UFO mixed up with something I saw on TV, I barely remember the original sighting as it took place.

For A long time, I wanted to think what I saw was something special, and not just something ordinary, but now, not so much. But I still think it could've been anything.

[Rlyeh]

D would describe me the best.

I wonder how you'd see the David Icke lackeys? A+?

[Space_Jockey]

Rlyeh, on 13 July 2012 - 08:56 AM, said:

D would describe me the best.

I wonder how you'd see the David Icke lackeys? A+?

I just call them "Icke-men".

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

I'm a "C", I brlieve they exist, they may even have come to Earth. But abductions, alliances with governments or genetic experiments? So unlikely as to be impossible.

[TheMacGuffin]

I despise the term "believer" and refuse to use it myself because it makes this subject sound like some kind of religion to me.  I know what I saw, and what I have heard, and that's it as far as I'm concerned.  I know that some of these UFO incidents are real and that others are bogus.  

Similarly I dislike the term 'skeptic" and think it's entirely the wrong way to go about framing the whole debate.  Once again, it makes it sound like an argument over religion and something metaphysical and airy-fairy.

I would not call someone like Phil Klass a "skeptic" in any case, but a liar.  Purely and simply the man was a liar, and very abusive and threatening to all UFO researchers and witnesses who came into contact with him.  I've shown many times on UM just what kind of person Klass was really like, and that he lied on many occasions, yet he still has a lot of admirers, followers and emulators...unfortunately.  

Klass was not interested in getting at the truth about UFOs but in attacking and discrediting the entire subject, just as Dr. Hynek always said.  If anything, his actions were the exact opposite of genuine science and research.