What Level Are You At As A Researcher/believer? Why Such Charged Emotions?

[kbhunter]

I have been contemplating this morning. Why are there such highly charged emotions regarding the BF phenomena? In my view, there are 4 parts of the "bigfoot world".

1) The Newbies. The newbies are the ones just getting started and are forming there beliefs. They might be the ones who is purely interested by seeing TV shows, documentaries, reading books, or maybe they have had encounters they can't explain. They have formed a basis of an opinion but are could be swayed either way in belief or non-belief depending on the amount of believable evidence they see.

2) The Long Term witness. This would include habituators, the long term investigators that have had encounters, The long term investigators that may not have seen one, but has seen enough evidence they stand firmly in the "they are real" group. The habituators have formed opinions based on many years of experience with the BF people.

3) The Short Term witness. These are the folks that have had definite experiences and are still in that phase in their learning that they are trying to learn as much as possible. They know they are real but are still forming their opinions on exactly what and who the BF people are.

4) The Attention Seekers. These are folks that either don't believe they are real and are there just to seek attention or they might believe but they want attention for themselves. These would include the people who will do anything they can for either the attention, for money or both. They are also the ones who want to be "somebody" and will latch on to other people to gain knowledge and will turn on the same ones that helped them in doing so. Others that fall into this category are ones who believe they are real, but seek profit and only see that as their goal. Some may have real experiences and real evidence to share, but will also add to that body of evidence or will hoax evidence in order to draw attention for fame, profit or both.

I find myself as fitting into category number 3. I am a short term witness with my definitive encounters occurring in 2009/2010. I also find myself learning a great deal form some very experienced very honest and well intentioned people. Ones that are in this group and other groups that I have found to be extraordinary inn their willingness to help me understand and learn more. They do this for me by sharing knowledge and also keeping me thinking as a skeptic in other areas to insure I am learning what is from the BF people and what is happenstance that I could misinterpret.

Short term witnesses and newbies need to be very careful not to fall into the "everything is a bigfoot" category. Learning this from experienced people to help you understand this is very crucial in how you will learn. When you learn to read the evidence or sign in the correct way will help you understand just how complex and intelligent the BF people are. Almost all they do in leaving sign for you to interpret has a meaning and a reason. THIS IS KEY to you growing closer to them. As you learn this, it will enable you to go to the next level in your experience. The other thing I have learned at this stage is they will know your intentions so they had better be pure or your learning process from them will most likely cease.

The long term witness has years of this experience. Most all that I know are in this to help the BF people and are not concerned with fame or fortune. They share knowledge at different levels and may even have slightly different perspectives. That is a human trait and is always going to be the case with people. Those of us that want to learn from these people need to look and listen and use what is there for your stage of learning. Keeping an open mind to all is the only way to understand and learn what you need. If you cherry pick what you want and shut out what you don't believe or have a hard time believing, you will not learn all the parts of the puzzle regarding the BF people and what YOU need to help you understand. For example; Cloaking is a term that is hard to grasp because the term conjures up automatically paranormal aspects of disappearing. That is thought of as impossible by most people. However it is not at all impossible. A few animals that disappear are chameleons that actually change color to match their surroundings, some animals such as deer can seem to disappear in the surrounding forest that is the same color, many insects that look like sticks, leaves, etc. Cloaking or not being visible to the human eye is not impossible but in reality happens every day. We don't understand everything in science. I would state here there are many aspects of science that would seem impossible simply because we don't understand. Most that know of this can tell you they do NOT disappear in the physical sense, but to the eye only. Closed minds will never learn.

STAY AWAY from the attention seekers! They are the ones that will have sensational aspects of their evidence! It is easy to get caught up in the lies and stories these folks will tell. They will give you things you want and it will leave you wanting more and more. More often or not, it is a set up to either profit from this monetarily or it is out of self gratification. To be someone famous, to be liked by others. They are too often the reason people turn away from the entire BF field and it happens once they get "burned" by these people. They are most often the same snake oil salesman and are charlatans!

Least but not least are the newbies. Just like new babies, the first few months and years are the time when they will learn the most. It is this time that those of us that want to help them learn, do so in a way that will inspire them to want to know the truth. I was a newbie not so long ago and I am not that far from that now as I grow in my knowledge, I feel very privileged to have great friends in this with much knowledge and I know I can call them or turn to them anytime I need an answer or help. I am learning the truth with an open mind and by not looking at just some aspects but all. Are some hard for me to believe? ABSOLUTELY! However, if anyone would have told me I would have seen and experienced some of the things I have a few years ago, I would have not believed it then,.

KB

[Sasfooty]

Shouldn't there be a category for the trolls/pseudoskeptics? Attention seekers, maybe?

[kbhunter]

Sas, I think trolls fall into their own category. Pseudo skeptics probably would as well. But one can believe and be a skeptic.

KB

[MIB]

KB -

 

I guess I'm 1, 2 and 3.  Just depends on where I'm standing.    (Its like the stages of a hunter, they are not mutually exclusive.)

 

Truth of the matter is, while a "true believer", I'm also a skeptic.  Just because bigfoot exists doesn't mean every twig break is bigfoot.  Be wary of observation vs interpretation.  

 

I think I've come full circle.  Other than firm conviction I watched something, what do I have?  Almost nothing beyond interpretation.   What do we really truly know vs what is conjecture?   Some people make a religion of their conjecture.   The more I know, the more I comprehend how much I don't know.   I know a lot ... and I realize how little it truly is.  Kinda frustrating and humbling.

 

So, why the charged emotions?  

 

I guess personally, I get frustrated by people who are sure of answers I know aren't answers, they're camouflage for whole sets of questions that need to be asked first.  Then again, it takes two to argue so I guess those other folks think it's me that's got the questions out of order.   The difference?  If I'm right, the approaches they're taking are invalidated by the answers to my questions.  And they're not willing to see that possibility.  

 

There's a time to stop and take a deep breath.  

 

The problem I find with that is, once I step away from my own agenda, and take that deep breath ...  it's not very far to total apathy, to just not caring what happens, whether the question is ever answered or not.   In some introspective way, I think that means something but I'm not sure what.

 

MIB

Edited July 8, 2013 by MIB

[Guest JiggyPotamus]

I will admit that I occasionally get "charged" when reading and then replying to what some individuals write, and I am quite certain as to why this occurs. Having had a sighting, where there is absolutely zero room for doubt, I sometimes get offended when healthy skepticism turns into detraction, because it is impossible to escape the fact that these detractors are essentially claiming that myself and many others are either lying, or worse, incompetent because we cannot identify what we have seen. Truly there is no escaping this. If someone does not believe in sasquatch, they obviously MUST think that those who are telling them these animals exist are being deceitful, or are so stupid that they cannot tell the difference between an 8 foot tall bipedal animal and some other forest creature. The most common claim is that people are seeing bears, or that they are being hoaxed. 

 

It is difficult to get my point across that both of these are impossibilities, not to mention the other explanations that some offer. First of all, there are no bears in my neck of the woods to begin with, and I would love to know how I could have been hoaxed, considering that what I saw could simply not have been someone in a suit. I have explained this "knowing" before, and it is sort of like a primal knowledge. If someone thinks the PGF looks real, what I saw, although it did look similar, was much more realistic in all aspects. Like I said, there is no room for doubt in my experience.

[Guest Grifter9931]

 

^^^^ I believe it's that way with all sided relating to BF.

 

I work in Hollywood and i have asked quite a few people from the costume/latex dept about the film. It took a while because asking people you hardly know about something like BF in a work environment can have a disastrous affect to ones work place persona. Which is not good.

But after a almost a year of getting to know the folks. I started asking if I could have 5-10 mins of their time to look and give an honest opinion about the "P&G" film.. I have yet to hear anyone who say that the film isn't something they couldn't recreate. And then they go into look at the seams here and there. Looks there is padding in this place and then they start to show you costumes and then all end up saying that they have seen older costumes from 60's and 70 that represent something similar to the P&G film costume and with some modifications, bingo. Absolutely no one has said that looks like a real creature, ever. 

 

These are folks who create monsters for a living. They don't care either way about BF. They are professionals and work at places ranging from "Henson Company, Warner Bros, Fox, Disney, Dreamworks etc"

[Guest]

^And yet, here on the BFF and in several of the more well known books on the topic, a number of people "who create monsters for a living" have said the complete opposite (just like pretty much any specific topic in BF-dom...) saying that it was impossible to reproduce at that time, if not still now, that the movement is musculature not padding, etc etc - and they've put their names to their opinions.

[Guest Grifter9931]

And what else happens here on BFF???[ Exactly.... I am just reiterating what I have personally asked people that I know. If you don't agree, then don't... Also I am not paying any of these folks for their opinion, or time, or to write a full blown report about why this seems to them as not genuine. Are you talking about Bill Munn???

 

Edited July 9, 2013 by Grifter9931

[Doc Holliday]

not sure where I fall in there kb....I've been into it too long to be a newbie, seen & heard enough to figure there's probably something to it, just not sure exactly what...but not quite enough to say I "know"...

 

i'd say its something folks have to see for themselves ....& sometimes even seeing isn't believing .

 

I do think its entirely possible to be a little too open minded , like the "everything is BF" crowd you mention.

 

as far as seeking knowledge ive read most of whats out there, usually rehashes of the same things......while i'd still like to see scientifically sound  verified public proof I almost don't care anymore due to all the bovine excrement generated by the attention seekers, profiteers & build ups to nothing that we see.

 

perhaps we should add a "jaded skeptical proponent" category?

[NCBFr]

2.5

 

I am a short term observer that has done enough study to teach a So level college course.  Need a few more details ironed out (eyes, voice, metabolism/diet, whole exta-dimensional thing) before ready for a PHD dissertation.

 

NCBRR

[hiflier]

Hello NCBRR,

PHD- Piled High 'n Deep. Let me know when you reach the dissertation stage, my spouse is a "proof" reader LOL.

[Guest]

It's been a while since I watched Star Wars but I don't remember seeing Chewies muscles moving and that was 10 years later than P&G film.

[chelefoot]

I don't fit in any of those...

 

I'm with Slick. Been around too long to be a "Newbie"...  But I haven't seen one for myself.

 

I certainly don't seek attention, but can spot those attention seekers fairly quickly...

 

I still seek knowledge continually...but have no ability to see a BF in every bush in every pic.

 

I was so looking forward to getting out in the woods this summer, until this foot thing came up.

 

So, I think I would have to put myself in the non-represented "Skeptical Proponent " category as well.

[norseman]

Is there a category for......

 

I'm sick of the three ring circus, and I'm goin into the bush after the son of a gun?

[Guest Druid]

I fall in the same range as Norse, Im really done with the B.S. from the dutch-boy hair led mass media blitzers to the pseudo-science pratfalls. It's been how long since Patty?  We need a combination of Goodall type science with LRRP team field craft. Since I haven't J.Gs science background, I do have far too much time snoopin' an poopin' I'll be outback walking soft.

KB scale 2.5

Edited July 9, 2013 by chelefoot
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