I Am Feeling More And More Disconnected From The Bigfoot Community

[Guest]

I had first hand experience with what I believe to have been a young sasquatch back around 1986 when I was a teenager.  My experience included a nighttime sighting and then an aural confrontation the next morning.

Over the years, I have relived that experience many times.  At times I even get close to convincing myself that the sighting was just a misidentification.  But what I will never be able to explain away or get over was the intensity and volume of the sound that was directed at me the following morning.  That is what always re-focuses my sure belief that what I encountered was a bigfoot.

I am 44 now, and over the last couple of years, with the level of hoaxers and silly shows like Finding Bigfoot and others becoming more common, I find myself getting more and more "turned off" by the whole scene.

Anyone with a modest level of computer skill can edit and create realistic looking photos or videos.

It is becoming necessary to doubt everything you see and hear.

I don't know, I just seem to be getting burned out....

Anyone else find themselves in this sort of condition?

 

[NathanFooter]

 I have days where I feel kind of like this,  the community as a whole has gotten rather out there { in my opinion }.   I ask my self, where did the nitty gritty research discussion and tech talk go ?  

 

 Now the majority of it is a back and forth between people saying  ,, Nope, can't exist ,, - and - ,, Yes it can and does ,,.     We end up talking in circles rehashing the same old things to accomplish nothing and in the end either get discouraged { maybe not on existence but if this subject will ever break the surface after all the fakes and nay say } or leave all together due to the negativity in general.   

 

 All I can suggest is put your focus on what you are doing in this subject and those pushing for the same goal, forget the negative.

[hiflier]

Hello asarjip,

I hear you. I ran a thread a while back regarding Sasquatch on roads:

http://bigfootforums.com/index.php/topic/42982-sasquatch-on-the-roads/

It has some ideas for getting more active and personally involved which for me is a surefire cure for the "dumps". My prescription for the Squatchblues is to locate some info for anything pertaining to sightings in one's proximity, even if the reports are a couple of years old. Getting involved with a local investigative group in your area may even be a way to find out about reports that have not been publicly reported to say, the BFRO.

Zero in on any within say 30 miles of you; specifically incidents of road activity involving crossings in the day or night or reports of drivers who saw something along the side or at the edge of wooded areas. Pack a couple of sandwiches, some kind of fluid, snack foods, a decent camera maybe a spotting scope or binoculars....oh yes, and a couple of friends to enjoy the ride with.

The good weather is coming and even though Sasquatch activity seems to be at a low ebb in Springtime it's still a good way to gain some experience and get your eyes accustomed to looking into woody fringes along the rural parts of your area. I find when things become stagnated then it's time for action at any level. Join a local group and learn the investigative techniques of casting prints looking at scat, and other signs of wildlife if you want or have the time.

The answer to many questions can be had through Forum discussions but the real solution to the mystery is in the field. So put a big picnic together, some folding chairs, a small table and have at it. Who knows it may turn out to be something you enjoy doing even if it's NOT squatchin'.

Just lobbing in my two rock's worth here.

Edited March 15, 2014 by hiflier

[gigantor]

Good advice there Nate and hiflier.

 

Here is my two cents asarjip...  the BFF exists to encourage discussion of the BF phenomena from all points of view. There will be opinions you don't like and as a skeptic myself, there are opinions I don't like, but having it all in the open benefits everyone involved.

 

You wouldn't want a board where only a certain point of view is allowed and anyone who disagrees is censored, would you?

 

I know I wouldn't be part of such a board. We have to air everything from everyone and let members use their own judgement...  the key is not to get emotional about it.

 

Hope that helps.

[Hammer102492]

asarjip - Don't worry about what everybody else thinks, you know what you know.  Just be happy that nowadays, you have a forum in which to talk about it.  Be happy and enjoy.  Look for answers if you have doubts.  When you saw it, there wasn't this level of ability to meet up and discuss. 

 

A healthy discussion about what it could be or couldn't be is always good, but you have to get past the ones that just want to put you back in the box.  Before all this you had faith in what you saw and heard.  Your story is similar to mine.  I caught a glimpse of it, but when I heard it loud and clear a few weeks later, there was no doubt.

 

If you were feeling disconnected, I'm glad you reached out to plug in again.  There are really great people here who are willing to give up personal stories and experiences to help others not feel isolated.  I think of it as sort of a support group.  Sure there are nay sayers and all kinds of people jumping into the BF world now, but just embrace it and take what is useful and don't let the "it could never happen" crowd get you down.

 

Life is good now for people that are searching for answers to their experiences.  There is a lot of good info out there now. 

P.S.  Yeah, do what hilifer said and just get your tail out in the woods.  Everything is better when you are sitting outside in the woods, squatch or no squatch.

[BobbyO]

An insatiable appetite to learn more about these things and what I saw means I will never ever get burned out.

The forum is like life itself, take the majority of things with a pinch of salt and take on board only what you feel is legitimate and sensible, the rest you just pretty much dismiss politely.

[Hammer102492]

P.P.S.  Gigantor is right too.  It takes all of us to come up with answers to this very mysterious question about Sasquatch.  Mulder need Scully and Scully needed Mulder. 

 

Good luck and keep the faith!

I agree with BobbyO too. 

[Guest keninsc]

I had first hand experience with what I believe to have been a young sasquatch back around 1986 when I was a teenager.  My experience included a nighttime sighting and then an aural confrontation the next morning.

Over the years, I have relived that experience many times.  At times I even get close to convincing myself that the sighting was just a misidentification.  But what I will never be able to explain away or get over was the intensity and volume of the sound that was directed at me the following morning.  That is what always re-focuses my sure belief that what I encountered was a bigfoot.

I am 44 now, and over the last couple of years, with the level of hoaxers and silly shows like Finding Bigfoot and others becoming more common, I find myself getting more and more "turned off" by the whole scene.

Anyone with a modest level of computer skill can edit and create realistic looking photos or videos.

It is becoming necessary to doubt everything you see and hear.

I don't know, I just seem to be getting burned out....

Anyone else find themselves in this sort of condition?

 

Sadly, I can relate. The problem is two fold really. One, we want to see results. We, as a people, are result oriented. "Don't talk about getting me a puppy, get me a puppy!" Two, the vast majority of us are dependent on others to get the results we want to see. Other people suck at this, and swallow.

 

Bigfootery, is now a multi-million dollar a year business. Yes, I'll pause for you to get over the shock from that, but sadly it is. We have watched as looking for Bigfoot isn't about actually finding a Bigfoot any more, it's about finding footprints, it's about screaming like madmen into the night and hoping they can record something responding. it's about talking to people who've seen a Bigfoot and getting their stories, it's about building databases, it's about having the most hits on your webpage, it's about getting people to come to lectures on the subject, it's about getting people to buy into taking courses, it's about any and everything except finding a real Bigfoot. Know why? Because as soon as you do then it's not a cryptid creature any more, it's a real creature that now needs to be studied by real science, by real scientist who went to real colleges and have real degrees and real letters after their names that mean something.

 

Bubba and Earl can't call themselves "cryptozoologist" any more, they're just a couple of good old boys usually who don't shave who've never seen the inside of a college or university and wouldn't know a real scientific method if it jumped up and bit them. Ok, they might use one scientific method, they might poke something with a stick.

 

In short, it's simply frustration............I think I have it as well......now that I've read what I've written but hell I'm on a roll.

 

You need to get out, forget what this group or that author said and get up and go out and connect on your own. You're frustrated and so am I.

 

But I'm going to stop now before I get an email from several of the admins.

[Guest]

Well said, Keninsc.  Couldn't have said it better myself.  Count me as a +1....

 

Want frustration?  Try being involved in this stuff since childhood the mid 60s.  I've learned a ton & experienced a few things for myself, but without a type specimen it is a hollow quest.  Every year that passes it is more unlikely a type specimen will come to light via a well placed shot, and all the pictures, video, DNA, footprints, etc, are worth about as much as a bucket of monkee poop. 

 

For decades I've anticipated reading in the morning papers of the type specimen getting splattered by a semi crossing an Interstate...

[hiflier]

Hello NDT,

 

...For decades I've anticipated reading in the morning papers of the type specimen getting splattered by a semi crossing an Interstate...

 

Yep. Fast aren't they! The Sasquatch I mean

[JKH]

I don't believe in a "same goal" or a "hollow quest".  A recent fortune from a cookie read, "Curiosity killed boredom, nothing killed curiosity."

 

There's nothing wrong with doubt, it's a useful filter. However, I avoid teevee and avidly read instead. Holy moly, I've been reading about this for years and am always learning new stuff. There are patterns to be found through careful attention.

[MIB]

Burnout .. sort of. 

 

I had first hand experience with what I believe to have been a young sasquatch back around 1986 when I was a teenager.  My experience included a nighttime sighting and then an aural confrontation the next morning.

Over the years, I have relived that experience many times.  At times I even get close to convincing myself that the sighting was just a misidentification.  But what I will never be able to explain away or get over was the intensity and volume of the sound that was directed at me the following morning.  That is what always re-focuses my sure belief that what I encountered was a bigfoot.

I am 44 now, and over the last couple of years, with the level of hoaxers and silly shows like Finding Bigfoot and others becoming more common, I find myself getting more and more "turned off" by the whole scene.

Anyone with a modest level of computer skill can edit and create realistic looking photos or videos.

It is becoming necessary to doubt everything you see and hear.

I don't know, I just seem to be getting burned out....

Anyone else find themselves in this sort of condition?

 

Yes and no. 

 

My first sighting was in the mid 70s.   Tracks before that.   No hoax.   No matter what else happens, "that which has been seen cannot be unseen."   I'm pretty sure without that, I'd walk away.   But I "know", I can't "un-know", so now I seek to understand. 

 

In a way, that perspective protects me from the video hoaxes and other BS because even if real, they don't address the questions I seek answers to, so having them be not real doesn't matter either.    I suspect within my group people are getting tired of my video analysis: "looks fake, doesn't matter" and "looks real, doesn't matter".   Either way I'm not going to try to use it to convince anyone of anything so ... real or fake really does not matter. 

 

I don't specifically "go bigfooting."   I go hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, taking pictures, or just exploring a new area.   I choose the location and time to increase the chances of a sasquatch being in the area and I keep my eyes and ears open.   However, the success or failure of the trip is based on the fishing, hunting, and pictures I bring home, not bigfoot.  

 

That helps a lot with avoiding burnout.  

 

MIB

[Guest]

The idea that anyone with a computer can create good fake photos or videos needs to be put to rest. If that was the case we'd be flooded with good pictures and videos, instead we have a million blurry out of focus blobsquatches. Good photo editing takes a lot of skill, and even so there are tell-tale signs of being edited. Making a good convincing video is several orders of magnitude more difficult, to the point where it's not realistically feasible outside of a high end studio.

[indiefoot]

We have had little to focus on since Ketchum, except each other and that's never good. We are a ship at sea during the doldrums. I can keep myself satisfied if I can say I learned something each day.

[Gotta Know]

Sorry to hear you're burned out, Asarjip, but understandable. This board is a good example of all the good and bad of the BF phenomenon. Some great, great people, and many here to derail anything like positive dialogue. It's a shame, really. I digress.

 

I would be interested to hear more about your "aural confrontation" and your encounter in general. Is it posted in another thread? Interesting that the confrontation came in the morning and not at night. Was it a sort of "wake up and get out!", or something else?

 

I think having a confrontation out in the middle of nowhere would be the worst imaginable scenario. You have to leave and leave quickly, but there would be a real threat of exhaustion of injury trying to run all the way out to a road. What was your reaction when you were (presumably) screamed at? How did your reaction increase or minimize the threat?

 

Thanks for your post!