Hi,
When this hoax is revealed, which I believe it inevitably will be, and sooner rather than later it seems, the blame can be put squarely at the foot of one door: the Bigfoot community itself. People will no doubt come out squirming; some will be incredulous; others will be furious. But instead of looking at themselves, they'll pin the blame on Rick Dyer.
Whilst RD has no doubt played a pivotal role in this whole pantomime and can be painted as the villain, it should be incumbent the Bigfoot community to take a step back and engage in some critical thinking and stop letting their heart rule their head. Sure, it's naivety on the part of some, but others should know better. We know what Rick Dyer is all about.
If we'd have stuck together as a community, and not engaged Rick, we wouldn't be nearly 300 pages in on a person who frankly doesn't deserve it. If we'd have all stuck together and demanded proof from the off, then we'd have had this thing wrapped up months ago. Instead, we are letting the story perpetuate and it is almost frenzied sometimes. It's not Rick Dyer's fault - he is an attention seeker, a narcissist who craves attention.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, though, and we are where we are. But if people stop giving Rick the attention, stop feeding this story as being true, his hand will be forced, and he'll either come up with the goods or make more mistakes, which will lead to the further unravelling of this story.
And if the story is true, everyone is a winner: those who believe, the skeptics, science - you name it. Because we will have proof. But if it is a hoax, then it is only the Bigfoot community that are the losers, because it's further evidence that we are crackpots who believe in bogeymen and fairytales. No-one outside the community will differentiate between those who believed the story and those who didn't.
This story is becoming a bit of a touchy subject to say the least - some people are even getting mad about it. It's ridiculous! We've had this thread closed once and if you look on FBFB some of the vitriol on there is quite shocking. It's beyond me how something like this could have reached this juncture.
Look, I'm not trying to come across as some know-it-all sage or the Dalai Lama of Bigfootery. I'm not, and in fact I know very little. I just think that the community is its own worst enemy sometimes, and blindly believing someone like Rick Dyer cannot be good. I was hoping that we might be somewhere closer to mainstream acceptance with the release of the Ketchum paper. Seems that's not the case. And when this latest hoax is revealed, it will be even worse.
There are people who are praising RD like he is some kind of saviour, before he has come up with ANYTHING substantial. It's all talk with him. That's it. There is nothing else. I will gladly become his number 1 fan if wait he is saying is true and he can prove it. Until then, he remains what he is: a hoaxer.
Best,
Lee