Why Are You Convinced They Exist?

[Guest OntarioSquatch]

A couple guys in Northern Ontario heard wood knocks coming closer and closer to where they were camping. They were totally stumped at what it could have been so they posted their experience on a fishing website. No one mentioned Bigfoot, but I've always thought it's a possibility. The best guess was woodpecker at the time.

[southernyahoo]

There's so many different things that point to this being real for me it's difficult to list them all. I've heard the knocking at close range and continue to experience those with recordings of it. One of the vocalizations I heard and recorded actually played a role in deciding my username here nearly six years ago and heard it a few more times in recordings. The sightings I don't even read anymore unless they are reported to my group., but the ones that matter are from the people you get to know in depth. The various casted tracks, the PGF , other vids, sounds , vocalizations , all have their way of speaking to you on an intuitive level which I don't tune out.

[Guest]

No, but just because they're more or less experts doesn't mean that they're free from making mistakes or errors. This is the human element and it must be accounted for dealing with eyewitness testimonials.

And of course that also means you could be wrong. Just sayin'.

Wrong about what, specifically?

I'm convinced because of the hundreds of years of reports and stories from Natives made before a white guy ever set foot on this continent.

Because some primitive people living in the wilds had folk lore that have been unverified and has to be shoe horned to fit Bigfoot and was passed around orally, that makes Bigfoot real? Color me skeptical.

Ok, you are skeptical. You might want to look up the original Greek meaning of that word first. I don't believe that Native Americans had the same burning desire for fame that our society has today. Their oral tradition describes the world around them, as best they could. That was and is more convincing to me than all the videos on YouTube.

[MIB]

Ah, the myth of tribal myth! People who try to dismiss sasquatch as a tribal myth make the counter-case better than they make their own.

If it was just a single tribe or even tribes from a single language group, it might be reasonable to call it cultural myth. Instead, the consistency across essentially all tribes and language groups in the Americas supports the idea. When you have people in Alaska and people in Florida and people in S. America that can't even talk to each, providing the same descriptions, from stories predating contact with each other, the chances they're talking about something real goes way up.

MIB

[Rockape]

Ah, the myth of tribal myth! People who try to dismiss sasquatch as a tribal myth make the counter-case better than they make their own.

If it was just a single tribe or even tribes from a single language group, it might be reasonable to call it cultural myth. Instead, the consistency across essentially all tribes and language groups in the Americas supports the idea. When you have people in Alaska and people in Florida and people in S. America that can't even talk to each, providing the same descriptions, from stories predating contact with each other, the chances they're talking about something real goes way up.

MIB

There is no doubt actually that much of what Native Americans tell about BF is in fact myth, but I believe that is because their encounters with BF were much the same as ours, brief fleeting glimpses of a creature that defies belief. How the heck a large bipedal creature could be so elusive is in itself bordering on the unbelievable, so it is no wonder many Native Americans explain BF in a mytical way. It was their method for rationalizing what they saw, much the same way we do. Some of us know they exist, some believe they exist, some think they have supernatural power, and some don't believe they exist at all other than as a myth but still enjoy the story.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Rockape

[Guest]

Ok, you are skeptical. You might want to look up the original Greek meaning of that word first.

Why, is that going going to help you any?

I don't believe that Native Americans had the same burning desire for fame that our society has today.

I doubt that very much, but even if true that isn't why I'm skeptical.

Their oral tradition describes the world around them, as best they could. That was and is more convincing to me than all the videos on YouTube.

You really ought to reconsider that, passing information down orally is fraught with inaccuracies and tend to get severely distorted from the original. Assuming of course that the original myth has any truth to it.

[dmaker]

For me, it has to be the Osterman story. It just sounds so plausible.

[Cotter]

Hi Lefty,

Perhaps a better place for those types of discussions are here:

http://bigfootforums.com/index.php/topic/37621-bigfoot-research-still-no-evidence-continued/

y'know, so as not to clutter?

[the parkie]

JiggyP

Just curious, can I ask:

Were those you convinced to go camping with you aware of your real reasons for wanting to go?

Would you be comfortable in sharing what you experienced here or via pm?

What convinces you that the Ostman story is true?

Many thanks

[dmaker]

^^ Parkie, I think you confused my comment with some of Jiggys. I mentioned the Osterman story. I was being, I thought, funny and ironic since I'm a pretty vocal skeptic on this site, so I thought slipping in support for what has to be one of the most outrageous BF stories to date would be humorous. Seems the humor went unnoticed.

[dmaker]

Oh crud, just realized Jiggy did actually mention support for the Osterman story. Wow, that's quite a coinkydink. Please ignore my comments then.

Or even better, could a kind moderator just remove it all together??

Thanks!

[Guest]

Like many before me have said, the PGF is my number one. Second the credible sightings that you can tell they can't be lying and lastly the incidents that have happened to me in the forest that can not be explained.

[Guest]

Ok, you are skeptical. You might want to look up the original Greek meaning of that word first.

Why, is that going going to help you any?

I don't believe that Native Americans had the same burning desire for fame that our society has today.

I doubt that very much, but even if true that isn't why I'm skeptical.

Their oral tradition describes the world around them, as best they could. That was and is more convincing to me than all the videos on YouTube.

You really ought to reconsider that, passing information down orally is fraught with inaccuracies and tend to get severely distorted from the original. Assuming of course that the original myth has any truth to it.

That is a concise and articulate argument. I am unmoved.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/skepanci/

The term “skeptic†derives from a Greek noun, skepsis, which means examination, inquiry, consideration.

That says nothing about doubt, but concludes that a true skeptic remains open-minded.

[Guest]

That is a concise and articulate argument. I am unmoved.

Really? You ought to reconsider.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/skepanci/

The term “skeptic†derives from a Greek noun, skepsis, which means examination, inquiry, consideration.

Which should include a healthy amount of doubt when performing any amount of examination or inquiry, or taking new facts into consideration.

Skepticism, and doubt, is normal and healthy.

That says nothing about doubt, but concludes that a true skeptic remains open-minded.

"Being open minded" is all fine and dandy, but at some point you have to draw a conclusion. My conclusion, after examining the facts, is that folk lore and oral traditions aren't trust worthy or reliable sources.

[Guest]

Why I Think Sasquatch Exists

My Experiences – link to my experiences thread on the BFF - http://bigfootforums...foot-in-oregon/

Video Evidence

Patterson-Gimlin Film http://www.google.co....41248874,d.cGE

PGF breakdown by NatGeo “The Truth Behind Bigfoot†- http://channel.natio...behind-bigfoot/

Munns Report breakdown - http://themunnsreport.com/

Audio Evidence

Mongahela - https://sites.google...site/mongahela/

Stan Courtney - http://www.stancourt...uatchmarks.html

Miscellaneous – The Ohio Howl http://sasquatchbioa...-ohio-howl.html ;

Physical Evidence

Footprints – specifically, the London Tracks - http://www.northamer...London Trackway ; Meldrum’s info http://www.isu.edu/~.../fxnlmorph.html ; Bossburg Tracks http://www.bigfoothu...pple_foot.shtml ; Eric Shipton’s yeti track http://en.wikipedia....ki/Eric_Shipton

Historical Evidence

Native American stories - http://www.bigfooten...com/legends.htm ; http://www.native-la...nds-bigfoot.htm ; http://www.bfro.net/legends/

North American stories – Albert Ostman http://www.bigfooten...sics/bauman.htm ; DAvid Thompson 1811 http://www.bigfooten...vidthompson.htm and http://en.wikipedia....pson_(explorer) The Fouke Monster http://www.foukemonster.net/ ; the Ape Canyon incident http://www.bigfooten...assics/beck.htm ; Historical article of giant skeletons http://bigfootchicks...-unearthed.html ; 1884 Wildman http://bigfootchicks...etery-1884.html; Series of wild men info http://bigfootchicks...men-series.html

European stories of wildmen - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_man ; http://www.bfro.net/...OL/kirtley.html ; http://www.wisegeek....-a-woodwose.htm ; http://www.isu.edu/r...Bayanov_rev.pdf

Zana the Almasty – http://www.bigfooten...icles/zana2.htm

Worldwide - http://www.guardian....tra-mystery-ape ; Yeren http://www.bfro.net/...NA/as_ch001.htm ; Australian yowie site with lots of info http://www.yowiehunters.com.au/ ; this one is a strange site but has more information http://www.australia...archcentre.com/

Archeological & Anthropological Evidence

The “Hairy Man†pictograph - http://www.isu.edu/r...ctographs-1.pdf ; the work of Kathy Moskowitz Strain http://www.amazon.co...66565739&sr=1-1 ; Commentary from another paleanologist on the “Hairy Man†http://accpaleo.word.../tag/sasquatch/ ;

I see nothing that would say a bigfoot creature is impossible on the extended family tree http://blogs.smithso...uman-evolution/ ; Dr. Jane Goodall’s transcript onw why she thinks they might exist - http://www.bfro.net/...lTranscript.asp ;

Miscellaneous: http://www.newworlde...entry/Sasquatch ; Theodore Roosevelt’s story http://www.bigfooten...sics/bauman.htm ; Daniel Boone’s story about shooting a “yahoo†http://www.bigfooten...i_zueffle97.htm

Of course, there's more - I've been doing a LOT of research since August 19, 2012. This is just some of it! I'm at the 90 - 95% convinced rate - WHEN I see one myself, then I'll be at 100%. All this "evidence" points to something real, my own experiences were real and I am actively searching and researching.

Edited April 21, 2013 by madison5716