A New Ufological Mess

I have attempted to keep this blog about things unusual and paranormal and overlook some of the infighting that goes on in the UFO field. I have tried to present the results of investigations and at times those investigations impacted on individuals. I believe that these reports have been fair and when there has been a mistake I have attempted to correct it as quickly as possible.

I guess that means that some might see these reports as attacks. I have questioned credentials and stories and documents. I have tried to get at the truth and at times, I have failed. I don’t believe that any of the reporting was unfair and I believe that I supplied sufficient documentation and information to back up what I have said.

But now, inside the UFO field there is a very nasty fight taking place and I am involved in part of it. I have been called a coward twice in my life, both times inside the UFO field and both times by men who have never heard a shot fired in anger and I suspect by men who never served in uniform.

And I have seen friends attacked for no reason other than they disagreed with one of those men who called me a coward. Before I respond to that specific allegation, let me say something about a posting I saw today. A man supposedly sent an email to a web site (heaven forbid I call it a blog) suggesting that Paul Kimball, while in school had an attitude of "gotta get you back."

Now, to understand the context you must know that Paul had been involved in this fight for a number of months. He saw it as a waste of time and he proposed a truce between this web site owner and himself. He would say nothing derogatory about the man if he would do likewise. This truce held until recently. From my perspective the other man broke the truce when he made veiled references between the communist governments behind the Iron Curtain and Paul’s Redstar Films. It was a subtle attack and I doubt many caught the significance of it. I certainly did.

Paul, in reading some of the attacks launched at others of us, some of whom he counts as friends, wrote about this on his blog. It gave his opinion but that was enough to set off a new rage in the man and the attacks began. Of course the man suggested that Paul was the first to break the truce, but I believe the article about the red star was actually the first, tentative shot.

Next came the alleged email from a classmate of Paul’s. The letter was filled with allegations... but it lacked the one thing that would have given it real impact. It lacked a name. There is no way to verify if the writer actually attended school with Paul as claimed. The letter is the worst kind of smear because it sets up allegations, it makes claims, and it attacks character, but it offers nothing in the way of proof and no way to verify it. And as they sometimes say in the law, you can’t unring the bell.

Even with the lack of a signature, that nonsense is now out on the web for all to see, though I doubt many will see it. It will hang there like dirty laundry, an unfair accusation of a man who did nothing other than write a brief statement in defense of his friends.

I see nothing more cowardly than posting an attack on another and not having the courage to sign it. It is very easy to stand on the sidelines and sling allegations if you know the mud won’t splash you... that is, if the writer is actually who he claimed to be. Without a signature, without a name, I don’t believe it was an email received. I think it was invention as a way of attacking Paul without having to sign a name.

The other thing I wanted to point out is how nasty the UFO field has gotten. We can’t just disagree with anyone anymore, we must attack each other’s character. I don’t know why it is necessary to sling this allegation of cowardice at me, but it has come from a field that has few participants and fewer who wish to get into it because of the nastiness.

All this because I have allegedly refused to debate a certain individual (yes, the same one I have been talking about who attacked Paul)... I have, according to him, ducked his invitations to debate. I find I must ask, "What invitation?" I have received no invitation to debate him, or anyone else about Roswell...

I did, a number of years ago, debate the late Karl Pflock. Those who believed that Roswell represents the crash of a UFO thought I won, and those who favored the Mogul myth thought Karl won. I know that Karl was annoyed with my pocket Mogul which was bits of aluminum foil, balsa and string. It was a way to demonstrate that Mogul had been made of items that were easily recognizable for what they were.

The point is that we had a venue that was unbiased and fairly moderated. We did it in front of crowd and there were three video cameras recording the event.

Now, someone has claimed he issued another challenge to debate, but I have received no such challenge. Had there been one, I might have accepted, depending on the circumstances, or I might have declined because what would be the point. But I have not received the invitation to debate. To suggest I’m a coward for not wanting to debate is ridiculous, but more importantly, it is simply untrue.

This is similar to his other allegation, which is that he has raised questions about my Roswell investigation that haven’t been answered. True, I haven’t responded to many of them because they simply were so ridiculous that they deserved no response. Others have been answered in depth with evidence to support those answers. However, I am not obligated to respond to all the nonsense that is being slung, nor am I required to debate this fellow in a venue of his choosing.

Now, I’m sure that you noticed that I have not mentioned the name of the man who is slinging these allegations... Those of you who wish to know, can easily find out. Those who don’t won’t be subjected to his rants. But the point is that I don’t want to give him additional credibility. His charges, which he continues to sling, are simply the opinions of a hate-filled man.

For those of you who would rather read about UFOs and the paranormal, I apologize for this diversion. I felt it necessary, simply because, sometimes you just have to say something. Sometimes you can’t let the nonsense hang without providing some sort of response to it. Sometimes you have to try to unring the bell.