Why Do Some Want To Believe So Much?

[Guest]

It's miserable in all sincerity. My mind tells me that there should be conclusive evidence that is documented and accepted by science. There isn't to date. My heart tells me that there is too much there there for there not to be something there. Eyewitness accounts from folks that are woods-wise are hard for me to personally ignore.

I am right there with you. It's very mind boggling to me how people can see things, hear things. Photograph the odd shelters/nests and cast footprints yet no one has a decent photograph or undisputed video or even the smallest fragment of a body. Even a tooth would throw sasquatch firmly into the scientific realm.

I want to believe for similar reasons that bipto spoke of. That there's something greater than man and our limited amount of knowledge. I want to believe that it is possible that the naysayers are wrong and the crazies are right. I want to believe that about a lot of things though. I also don't want to believe that so many people have such terrible vision that they confuse bears for bigfoots or that so many people are outright liars. It'd be a blow to my faith in humanity, which is pretty low anyway. I'd like to see it not plunge farther still.

I've seen a few things that, if sasquatch isn't real, mean there are some crazy and demented people out there. Barefoot hippies in the woods and people who need to hoax to get friends.

[Guest alex]

Belief in things that are considered outside the norm are hardwired into our brains, we were not born to question things

[masterbarber]

I'm certain that some folks, like me, accept that they can exist but then are continually perplexed that there is a contigent who will or attempt to insert Bigfoot as an explanation for an occurance, prior to exhausting all other known (tangible) possibilities. A lot of the reports I've read over the years fall into this category. That's not to say that I haven't read some that are head scratchers, but there aren't many.

[kbhunter]

MB, I agree with that 100%. The entire reason I have issues with BFRO.

[Guest]

I was responding to GuyinIndiana's take on the differences between the noun and verbs "believer" and "acceptance". I was being sarcastic meaning a "rose by any other name smells just as sweet". I wasn't aggravated or toe crushed at all.

[Guest]

Absolutely.

As soon as it's proven to be a real animal, I think many of those folks will move on to something else.

I believe you are correct in this assumption Bipto.........

also I have a feeling that some people have direct/provable/repeatable evidence of this creature and do not want to turn it in the the general public......some people really dont need their name in lights, or want to be part of a media circus.....

[Guest]

As much as anyone here, I want to believe too. Or, to be more specific, to know. Why? The obvious reasons: cool animal, evolutionary enlightenment, renewed sense of wonder about the diversity of life histories, etc.

But hopefully my ardent skepticism illustrates that the desire to believe doesn't have to translate into belief. It doesn't matter how cool a sasquatch could be if it, in fact, isn't. So I just follow the evidence and to-date it leads nowhere but back to ourselves.

[Guest UPs]

My interest started with finding an unusual bone in the woods (been told on the old BFF). Still do not know what it was from, but that lead me into the realm of bf. As I spend as much time as I can in the woods, I want to know as much as I can about the animals that inhabit the area. If bf is proven and if it inhabits my immediate area, I certainly will not lose interest in it, but instead, will try to observe and learn about them. It interests me a that they may inhabit the PNW, Canada, and other areas, but if I determine they are not around my area, I may lose interest. This may take years though. In short, I just want to know what is going on around me in the woods. UPs

[Guest]

My screen name is an acronym for Want To Believe.

Like many, mine started with the P/G film, then waned somewhat until the proliferation of information both good and bad when the interwebs got here. I devoured all things Bigfoot for about 8 years and arrived at the conclusion (for me) that Bigfoot has the very remotest possibility of existing.

Why do I want it to, though? Because it would be beyond exciting, beyond amazing and too cool for words.

[Guest]

Any 8-foot animal that gets seen quite a bit but never properly photographed, that avoids getting mushed on the interstate, that leaves footprints, hair and doodies but remains undetectable, untrackable and unfindable, that blends in perfectly but stinks to high heaven and emits blood-curdling howls at night, and that, despite being extremely solitary does SOMETHING with the bones of all its dead compatriots is certainly extremely cool. Bigfoot - the only animal that could follow you into a revolving door and come out first.

[Guest Ambermae]

.....I also believe that if I see/hear the phrase "critical thinker" again, that I'm going to barf.

I second that one dude!

I'm undecided on the whole Bigfoot thing myself but i'll never understand the skeptics that insist in telling people that they couldn't have seen Bigfoot because Bigfoot doesn't exist (not accusing anyone on this forum). Even if i decide i don't believe Bigfoot exists, who am i to tell someone else what to believe, it's one thing offering my point of view but it's something else to tell them they are wrong. I think it would be great if Bigfoot existed because it would be an incredible animal to then study and learn about but in my heart of heart's, i think its unlikely.

And for those of you that believe they have seen Bigfoot, more power to you dudes, i wish i could join you!

[Guest]

Having been exposed to the PGF (and a bunch of other BF movies/shows) at a young age, I think I just accepted that it was a real animal. BF mania was strong in the mid/later 70's. And the world was still a BIG place to a kid in the 70's. There was no internet, no cable news, and only 4 channels on the TV. Growing up in rural New England, the American west seemed so vast and open that the existence of such an animal seemed reasonable.

So no matter how much education and how many science class later, I still have a point of view that these animals could very well be real. Now couple that with the evidence, a couple personal experiences, etc.; I haven't been convinced of that they don't exist.

[Guest Blackdog]

.....I also believe that if I see/hear the phrase "critical thinker" again, that I'm going to barf.

I honestly hope that the overall membership here doesn't share those feelings. Critical thinking is essential when looking at this subject. If that is the prevailing feeling here I don't think this new forum has any chance of succeeding.

The only reason I can think of to not accept critical thinking as part of this is if you just want to blindly believe every story that comes down the pike including the Georgia hoax (no offence my Georgian friends), the Marx hoaxes, porcupines in trees being bandied about as baby sasquatches and all the other BS that has been proven to be anything but related to sasquatch.

The basic history of this subject clearly shows the importance of critical thinking no matter what side of the fence you sit on or straddle.

Sorry if I made you barf Beachfoot, I'll just have to owe you a bottle of Pepto-Bismol.

[Guest]

Agreed. Critical thinking is our best defense against accepting legends as fact and best hope of arriving at a logical conclusion on any given subject matter. If there's another way, please explain.

[Guest]

One man's critical thinking appears to be painting yourself into a corner from another perspective. There are critical thinking skills which need to be used if you think you have seen something, but irrational rationalization isn't critical thinking.