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I somehow just know I'm going to regret this, but sometimes you just can't help yourself so here goes nothing... This is my second post here on BFF. I'm much more of a lurker, but right now I just feel the need to vent. About once every year or so I drop in to see what's new in BF world, because let's face it, not a lot of "new" exciting info comes out very often. Lately, for a variety of reasons, coming to the BFF has become a daily ritual. I will be upfront and honest and say I am an outsider with a casual interest, interested in both the pro and con side of the issue. I guess I could best be described as a fence sitter who leans towards the "wants to believe" side. Ever since seeing "Those Mysterious Monsters" in the theater when I was a kid I have always been fascinated by the topic. Yet, I've bounced back and forth between the believer and skeptic sides most of my life. This fluctuates based on what I see and read at the moment which I deem to be "reasonable" evidence, or arguments against. I have never had an encounter, and I never will that I can ever forsee. Having said that, I have read a LOT here lately and I have to say I am quite impressed with Bipto and the TBRC (standard disclaimer here, I know absolutely none of these folks, nor do I belong to any BF organizations/clubs). I am struck that they are not extremists, but seem to be rather level headed with their approach based on what I see here. Most importantly though, they strike me as determined. They want to see this through and get results. Apparently they have had enough evidence of some type of cryptoid to keep going back week after week, month after month, year after year with that goal in mind. Pouring who knows how much time, money and effort into achieving that goal; with precious little to show for it at this point. It could be that these guys just like congregating in Oklahoma to wander around the woods with guns and drinking beer at night...but I doubt it. As anyone who has ever been involved in a hobby which borders on lifestyle can attest, at some point your "just for fun" factor wears out unless there is some sort of bigger payoff (not necessarily financial) to be had. Heck, you can go almost anywhere and sit out in the woods with a gun sitting by a fire to drink beer with your buddies without traveling to some remote area of Oklahoma. I've done it for years. For that reason alone, I am inclined to think they must be chasing something real. I don't know what "it" is, but they've certainly put a lot on the line to prove it. They "believe" something is out there, and some of them "know" there is. I think it's safe to say either they'll come home with an empty game bag, a wrongful death case for killing an idiot in a fur suit, or come home with a sasquatch tied to the top of an SUV. To outsiders with a passing interest like me, it seems that a lot of folks out there in BFF world come across as a bit like knee-jerk reactionaries on both sides of the issue. I'll start with a recommendation for you extreme skeptics out there. Three words for you..."LET IT GO." If you are so all fired certain that BF is a hoax and doesn't exist, why do you care what the TBRC or any other footer says or does? Do you also prowl fishing boards to endlessly challenge stories of "the one that got away?" Do you engage in this arena just to be argumentative? Why do you care how these guys waste their time and money, or what sorts of yarns they spin? Seems to me that the extreme skeptics need to find a more productive hobby, because I've got news for you...you ain't gonna change or convert the minds of believers or knowers. I never cease to be amazed at how much time people have to waste on such things, and to what end? I can understand having a differing viewpoint, offering constructive criticism, or even playing devil's advocate; but some of the stuff on here seems rather extreme to the point of being obsessive. I think most people who really disbelieve in BF in an honestly critical way, have sense to just shake your heads, move on, and leave the "fools" to their own devices. Personally, I don't have a lot of use for people who rule their lives by the shake of a Magic 8 Ball. Then again, I don't go on their forums and spend countless hours trying to make them see the error of their ways or convince them to do otherwise. For the "pro" side of the fence...I have the same advice in regards to this operation..."LET IT GO." For many of you, we get it...you don't want the TBRC or anyone else killing a BF. You can come up with all the elaborate, no-kill, tranquilizer, salt licks made of sleeping pills, dig a giant pit, hide a spring loaded lasso in the leaves plans you want to. The fact is, these boys are Texans...they have no qualms about throwing down on a 8' tall unknown monkey (or 8' tall anything else for that matter) in the middle of the backwoods of Oklahoma at 2 a.m. in the morning. That's what they went there for...to get one of these critters. I am particularly amused by the folks who are trying to sway TBRC plans with the "Kill a Bigfoot, Go to Jail" line of talk. Side note here, I really love those who like to brand pro-kill advocates as "murderers." Apparently they imagine that pro-kill advocates are regular Ted Bundy wannabes just working their way up the primate chain until they get to humans. (Hint for you, if they exist, we don't know what "they" are yet, nor do "they" have legal rights as prescribed by the laws of this country. By definition, "murder" is an act which one human unlawfully kills another human. Not a primate, not a proto-human, not a cryptozoological creature...another HUMAN as recognized by 98% of the populace in the world and 100% of the laws of these United States.) Back on track though, I don't mean to speak for anyone in the TBRC, but I suspect I can clue you in...THEY DON'T CARE. I've spent quite a bit of time around Texans and ruralites (I am one) in general. The perceived spirit of John Wayne is still very much alive and well regardless of how many folks wish it to not be, or deem it to be "in-politically correct." It is quite obvious to me that these folks are cut from the cloth that "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" (or ladies as the case may be). In this case, I'm sure they all will be more than ready to take their licks should the time come even if it means an extended stay at the Graybar Hotel. Hey, at least they'll have the biggest bragging rights on the cellblock. A more likely scenario is if, and a big IF, things develop wherein charges are brought and fines levied, someone will step up to pay the tab before the game warden or judges pen even lifts from the paper. No questions asked. So we're back to--they don't care. To sum up, I guess the point I'm trying to make is, do any of you really think that after 36 pages (at this point) of this stuff that anyone is going to change their stance based on comments posted here? Perhaps everyone should just take a deep breath, sit back, and let the TBRC do what they do and see what comes of it. I know I get bored with seeing the same arguments, questions, and accusations in post after post after post and I'd be willing to bet I'm not alone. Vent over.

I would think the scientific community would just confront the BF research community and say "show me whatcha got"! This would then either settle it in proving the researchers have nothing, or it will set the stage for a huge crow BBQ.

No

Must be slow at JREF this week.

C'mon . Trolling ? In the same post you said this ; "I refuse to believe there's giant ape man walking all over America..." then to finish that prize; "I'd like to add that I do suggest that bigfoot are real animals. I'm not saying if you were to walk up to one and touch it your hand would go through it. Because the fact of footprints. But I could be wrong." Pardon me for being persnickety , It's not quite clear the point yur trying to make.........

Five years and nothing? That would make me doubt the competency of the researchers, not the existence of bigfoot. Why? For the following reasons: There have been a few, brief scientific surveys that looked for bigfoots. While none actually found bigfoot, some of them did find indications that more research was warranted. To rephrase that for the laymen; they found physical evidence that would be best explained by bigfoots, but which could have (unlikely) explanations other than bigfoots, or more questions than answers. I have been exploring for bigfoots off-and-on since 2007, with maybe a total of 140 hours in the field, all but 30 of them daylight (20 inside the cabin, so not really "in" the field). In those 140 hours, I have had 2 highly probable daylight encounters, 2 nighttime encounters, 2 nighttime visitations, and have found 5 trackways and about 30 examples of bigfoot sign. I know some wild cat experts who spend hundreds of hours in the field and maybe find the remains of a kill or a paw print. Implication: bigfoots are easier to find than mountain lions. Bigfoots are in a lot more places than the PNW. I have never looked for bigfoots in the PNW, and have only ever been in the West three times since I started researching bigfoots, and all of those were on vacation; just a few, short day hikes. Around Lake Tahoe, CA and Breckenridge, CO I saw very little that might have been bigfoot related. In Jackson, WY I saw some stuff that might have been bigfoot, but could possibly have been human. Around Chicago and in eastern Maryland, I find a lot of sign, even on just casual walks. The only problem with Illinois and Maryland is that most of the good stuff is inside State parks or County preserves; closed at dusk, but the two daylight encounters were in those places, so who needs dusk. As to why all of those biologists already out in the field have failed to notice the bigfoot sign; it is probably because they are blind to it. It might even be more accurate to say that they filter it out. Bigfoot sign can look a lot like natural falls and weather damage, and it can look like human sign. Biologists tune it out. If they find a bent over tree, they just conclude that it was bent by the weight of snow. If they look closer and see that the "tree" is actually a branch that was stuck into the ground and bent over by pinning the top down, then it was a bunch of kids goofing off. If the biologists don't know what they are looking for, then they may as well be blind.

How appropriate that you quote a member telling us how moribund we all are for being angry believers yet (she) spent a good deal of her summer and fall making sure she kept current with all the witnesses that know that Sasquatch is a real entity. Yes, Ketchum may be overdue or even a dollar's worth of dna short of a SNP..... but that doesn't take anything away from those of us that have witnessed the very biped this forum glorifies. You were a complete skeptic in six months of reading BFF? It took me six or more months of nonstop research to put myself in a position for a sighting. Maybe you took the wrong turn Summitwalker?!

No. I am suggesting that you, with your radio pipes, and charming personality would be the one raking in the dough. Bipto was joking, when Irish said some complimentary things about Bipto's sense of humor. Someone asked how much Bipto was paying Irish to say that, and Bipto said "It's Tax Deductible".