Here’s
a question that has been asked several times in the last couple of months. It
came up on my radio show, it came up during a Skype interview with the Kansas
MUFON UFO group, and it came up in an interview I did a couple of weeks ago. I
know what my answer has been, but thought it might be something that you all
would like to chime in on…
Has
the Roswell Slides fiasco harmed UFO research in general and the Roswell case
in particular?
I suppose an ancillary question might be if this harmed the reputation of those involved.
Sure,
we can talk about some of the other recent missteps including the alien
autopsy, MJ-12 and even Frank Kaufmann and those of his ilk. Anyway, since I
have been asked about this, I thought it time to get a reading from others who
might have had a chance to interact with others. But keep it cordial, keep on topic and we'll get along.
16 comments:
My belief is everything begins and ends with honesty and integrity. UFO's is one the most sensational subjects of our times and of mankind. What you and other researchers do is to look for and hopefully find the truth. Without the truth the this question will remain open.
To answer the question about the Roswell slides, and the other fake stories does hurt in my opinion.
This is why you are one of the few UFO researchers I truly trust because you are sincere and honest. You are not afraid to question other's feelings to get to the truth. Your opinions are based in fact and solid analysis and if others don't like it, so be it.
I dont think it has harmed ufology overall as much as I thought it would. But for me it very clearly highlighted just how easily ufo researchers can get away with things, such as not having to return monies made after clearly being shown that they were wrong, and also it clearly highlights how things are governed in the world of the ufology researcher, as in they aren't. You can basically scam people - whether it wasn't the intention is beside the point - and then brazenly release a book a little while later, without so much as an eyebrow raised. To me what has transpired has been quite shocking, and has smoked out those who have no integrity whatsoever versus those few that do.
Overall though as I said, I don't think the field has been upset that much at all, and I think it (just might) force future ufo researchers to have a little more, or hopefully a lot more, integrity. I hope so anyway.
Hello Kevin, and all here,
"Has the Roswell Slides fiasco harmed UFO research in general and the Roswell case in particular?"
If the question was asked to me (and having following your recent podcast with Mark) I had replied something like:
No, it is in continuation and perfect continuity of what ufology/ists have already shown, or regarding the Roswell case, or the UFO phenomenon, or their positive proof / smocking guns that alien are visiting us.
Whatever you prove or demonstrate as "mundane" regarding their BEST positive proof/evidence for alien artefact they claimed to be, and them totally false, they and the myth will continue.
Public or their audience have a very few level of evidence and then, will continue to listen to Carey and Schmitt. As the "public" will excuse easy cause their need to "dream".
I may explain why the public is (imho) in great attempt of this, and like a need for them, but it is another debate.
Carey & Schmitt as ones the main protagonists of this fiasco, and demonstrated as false (and after as liars) you will have ALWAYS people buying their books, listening to them in ufo conferences regarding the Roswell case, MUFON or other inviting them. And "standing ovation" at the end...
That's ufology, after all
Public will excuse ALL concerning them.
As long as they sell us dream and good stories, we buy
So no, it have not damaged or harmed ufology: this microcosm is continuing and will continue to exist as if nothing happened here. Cool then!
Regards,
Gilles Fernandez
Yes, a complete historical distraction.
Best regards,
BD
@Bryan Daum
Indeed, sadly it will keep being mentioned once every week it seems.
I always have my bullshit meter set to high whenever I am presented information regarding UFOs/UAPs. I believe anyone interested in this subject should have the mentality "verify first, then trust (if appropriate)" vs. "trust first, then verify."
Do I believe this betrayal hurt the Roswell Case? Yes, because it's now part of the case history albeit just a footnote. However, I also believe this hoax will overall have minimal impact on the field of Ufology.
Kind regards!
How could it harm something that had no merit to start with, i.e., the Roswell "case"?
No, it is just a reminder to be skeptical about all UFO-related claims.
Not for die hard believers. It hasn't phased them a bit. But for the curious or skeptic it raises further concern that some ufologists (which generally gets interpreted as all ufologists) are kooky nutcases who will believe anything and twist reality to fit those beliefs. It reminds people that ufology is filled with misinterpretations which only impacts overall credibility.
The question is who is really watching? Probably not many in the general public anyway.
For those truly interested and on the margin, I expect they were negatively swayed. Most however, whether believer or skeptobunker are so committed to their point of view that no facts will sway them one way or another. Believers who are still trying to think critically see this as personal failings on the part of a few rather than as reflective of the entire field (as asserted by the skeptobunkers). However, there will never be a TV program about this silliness, but Ancient Aliens and other whackjobbery is on every day. All of these programs are going to convince more of the gullible who will be more than willing to part with their money to buy sensation speculation or outright fabrication. So while the RSF may have had some negative effect, it is a drop in the bucket compared to the round the clock assault of believer recruitment thanks to cable TV. Likewise this will spur the growth of well-intentioned nitwits convinced of their own intelligence into the skeptobunker ranks armed with smocking guns. Oh my.
Right and just the latest reminder, after the "alien autopsy" and others.
The Roswell slides nonsense won't have changed the views of the debunkers or the believers..
The skeptics (which includes the vast majority) will have become a bit more skeptical.
Unfortunately the Roswell Slides fiasco seems to me to be an extreme example of a more widespread and rather troubling pattern.
Many years ago a CIA analyst noted that large parts of the population seem prone to accepting the incredible (and you could note that there is also a flip side to that in that a further large chunk seem highly resistant to anything which doesn't fit the current paradigm regardless of evidence).
It's become increasingly evident that a growing proportion of the 'information' presented to us via a range of media, but particularly using new technology is less about providing objective information that has been properly fact checked and much more about pushing some particular agenda. Most of ufology, for example, strikes me as a branch of the entertainment industry with ever more extreme claims to maintain the interest of people that seem to lap up complete nonsense. This commercial model can however, and far more seriously, be seen being applied more generally.
These developments may have a purely commercial aspect (what sensational nonsense attracts visitors to a website and therefore generate advertising revenue, for example). It does however also appear to be being used to push particular agendas and leaves society open to possible threats of manipulation in a new form of information warfare that would have given the authors of the Robertson Report nightmares.
Whilst I hope there will continue to be small pockets of quality work that gradually chip away at the UFO question the overall situation is that ufology is a symptom of a bigger problem in our society. The answer will have to be multi-faceted but, for example, will require us to educate the whole population (or a critical mass at least) to be highly sceptical of 'information' presented to us and to develop the skills to critically investigate it and challenge it.
So, no, unfortunately it won't have damaged it anything like as much as it should have. It needs to be so damaged.
The answer to your question is a simple "No." The truth about UFOlogy - whatever that is - remains
independent of such fiascos.
For example, there were many, many failed attempts to create flying machines before the airplane came to be.
> Has the Roswell Slides fiasco harmed UFO research in general and the Roswell case in particular?
Yes and no.
Many people on both sides of the partisan divide were united in trying to verify and falsify the evidence present by the slides crew. That was a shining example to us all. A diverse group of people showed a respect for facts, and shared information and methods to get at the truth.
And then there were the die-hard proponents. If ufology had its act together, anyone involved with promoting the slides, and anyone who appeared on stage in Mexico, would have been "struck from the rolls" for gross malpractice. That some of these people continue to be invited to conventions to speak as authorities, well, THAT does harm UFO research.
....to a certain type of skeptic (the type that already "knows" the answer) the impact would be zero. To a middle of the road believer/skeptic I'd say it has a negative impact....
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