Bigfoot, Should I Tell My Relatives?

[Lake County Bigfooot]

Alright, many of you know me from the threads here, but I am about

to get a little personal. Yesterday I spent Christmas Eve with my

3 sisters and a brother, nieces and nephews, and great nieces and

nephews. I have been hounding this subject since my vocal encounter

in 2013, but have not yet been able to share my experience beyond

my wife, who was also present, thankful for that! But when the moment

of truth came, and I wanted to explain the whole thing to my relatives,

I clammed up, and felt stupid to even try sharing it. My brother, who

is a literal genius, I am not kidding like a 165 IQ, listened to me with

that glazed look in his eye as I attempted to tell him I heard primates

in the marsh in my yard. So I just dropped it. It is hard to be so

consumed by a subject and not even be able to talk about it with those

you love, and feel like your going to get the reaction of trust and

acceptance you have come to expect. Just wanted to share that.

I guess in hindsight I wish I had not even brought it up at all...

Edited December 25, 2014 by Lake County Bigfooot

[Guest lightheart]

Lake,

Sorry you had a difficult experience when you tried to be real and authentic and share what you are interested in....I just think that the bulk of the population is incapable of digesting what the reality of these creatures existing means. To hear someone they love talk about something so far out of their frame of reference just rocks everything they believe to be true about the world and not in a good way....It is too unsettling to even consider the possibility. It takes great courage .....which you have ... to confront something the accepted world view says does not exist. Try not to be too disappointed in their response.....they just have a different play book than you do and that is ok. You know what you know. Trust yourself and your instincts. Let them off the hook it is ok if they don't understand....Most would not...

I think the important thing is to try to maintain a balance between being obsessed and interested. Do other things if it becomes too intense. Don't let it take over your life. It may take many years to get clear definitive answers about all this. Just enjoy the process and the discoveries along the way.

Have a happy holiday,

Lightheart

Edited December 25, 2014 by lightheart

[Redbone]

^ Plussed ^

 

There is a technique to telling people but I've not always followed my own advice.

 

You start with just a little bit, like telling them you've been interested in the subject and think they might exist. Gauge the reaction and decide if it's alright to go further. Never go beyond what people are able to handle. Sheeple are programmed to react in a certain way, usually to make fun of you or call you nuts.

 

I told my brother at a campout while sitting with another guy (I can't call him a friend - the other guy is a jerk)

My brother just looked at me like I was nuts - kinda glassy eyed disbelief. The other guy went off (I'll spare the details but he was 'unkind')

 

A year later my brother was in complete acceptance as I told him of my BFRO trip and the experiences we had (See - there is still hope for you and your brother LCB. That high IQ is much more useful if his mind is open)

 

My sons scout troop got.word of my 'hobby' this summer when they needed material to cast animal tracks for a merit badge. It just so happened I had two bags of casting material left over from my BFRO trip. The scouts and the accompanying adults all bought in without the heckling and they really appreciated being able to use the top notch industrial grade casting material. This time I did follow my own advice and only gave them the story in small parts they could handle. We'd like to take the scouts camping in areas where we've had bigfoot reports - maybe in 2015! The kids are ready for the experience.

 

So you know - several of these scouts (including my son) reported a young Bigfoot sighting (maybe 4 foot tall) at scout camp when they were younger. Being naive, I help convince them it was something else because Bigfoot is not in Iowa if it exists...oops! I missed a great opportunity to gather evidence or look for tracks. I had just passed this same spot and was maybe 30 feet away when the kids started screaming "It's Bigfoot!"

Edited December 25, 2014 by Redbone

[Lake County Bigfooot]

Good advice, thanks, patience is certainly not my strong suit, nor is curbing my obsessive

nature when it comes to hobbies or interests...Merry Christmas...I will now go pay more attention to the Turkey

[david75090]

My father gave me the glassy eyed look when I was talking to him about some of my beliefs one day. Let's just say, he's a non-believer. I'm a believer, but never had any sightings.

[Guest]

My girlfriend and her family don't believe in bigfoot either but they support my efforts and her dad just calls me "Bigfoot" now which I like in that weird, soon-to-be-dad-in-law, sort of way. 

 

I don't know if my friends believe my stories when I openly discuss the subject but they ask questions and at least indulge me for a little bit. 

 

Lake, I hope you can slowly open up to people about it. I've always had strong convictions so I've never had trouble talking about it but I can understand your hesitation. Best of luck and stick to your guns!

[BC witness]

I was pleasantly surprised last night, at my wife's big family dinner, when my oldest bro-in-law, a retired school principal, responded very positively to my mention of the subject. We got into a fairly lengthy discussion, where he brought up the question of what I thought it might be; neanderthal offshoot, G.Blacki, unknown primate, or what. Turns out he's been following the recent developments in dna testing of ancient fossil finds, like Denisova and Floresiensis, and is genuinely curious. Who knew?

 

In general, I'm not shy about broaching the subject to anyone, as I'm old enough (70) to not give a crap about what anyone thinks of my mental state, nor is it likely to affect my  career, being semi-retired, working at what I please, when I please. I guess that's one advantage of being an old fart!

[Guest]

I wouldn’t think it would be a major problem Lake; you lay it out and tell your family what you heard by describing it and let them draw their own conclusions. You will know who is receptive and who isn’t. You may also say that you wished to have your concerns and opinions heard. If the topic works for them as expected then, I still believe you could be spared this entire unpleasant and frightening experience, and /or spare others much grief and keep it to yourself.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Gumshoeye

[See-Te-Cah NC]

I was pleasantly surprised last night, at my wife's big family dinner, when my oldest bro-in-law, a retired school principal, responded very positively to my mention of the subject. We got into a fairly lengthy discussion, where he brought up the question of what I thought it might be; neanderthal offshoot, G.Blacki, unknown primate, or what. Turns out he's been following the recent developments in dna testing of ancient fossil finds, like Denisova and Floresiensis, and is genuinely curious. Who knew?

 

In general, I'm not shy about broaching the subject to anyone, as I'm old enough (70) to not give a crap about what anyone thinks of my mental state, nor is it likely to affect my  career, being semi-retired, working at what I please, when I please. I guess that's one advantage of being an old fart!

 

LOL! This is the truth, my friend. While I'm not your age, I've come to the same conclusion that you've reached. It's difficult to approach the subject of Bigfoot if you're concerned about what others might think. Kudos!

 

Only a few of my friends are aware of my interest and my investigations. Of those, roughly three, only one of them responds respectfully. The others like to joke and tease me. It's OK, though. They're still good friends in spite of their antics.

 

My family thinks I'm nuts! LOL! However, my mother also believes that the creature exists. It was her telling me her account back in 2011 that led me to start researching the phenomenon.

 

As for telling your relatives, I suppose that depends on whether or not you're able to stand up to any scrutiny they may offer. If you're going to offer an opinion without any evidence, you have to expect to be questioned, and, yes, even ridiculed to a degree.

[1980squatch]

Sorry it did not go better LCB. It is not something I would have done, that is what the Bigfoot community is for, why beat your head against a wall. My wife is the only non BF community member I discuss the subject with, and some day I'll need to tell my 7yr old daughter, which I am kind of dreading. I figure the nuclear family is in a right to know status about my experience.

Note also it is kind of ok to be interested in the subject, a bit less so to be a believer, and still very taboo to be a knower.

None of that will change until confirmation of the species. The uptick in popularity lately just makes the subject more ridiculous to folks not less.

Lastly, it is not fair to expect non community members to immediately take the subject seriously, even close family. Be disappointed but don't blame them.

[Lake County Bigfooot]

We spent years of family gatherings debating, some would call arguing, the existence of God,

and subsequent layers.  Some of the relations got tired of me and my brother spending the whole

time back and forth, but for he and myself it was enjoyable.  I guess growing up with an intellect 

like my brother I was forced to be ready to debate most anything that I would put out there, and 

that has proven positive for my reasoning abilities and critical thinking, but can prove boring or

obnoxious at a gathering.  I think I clammed up because my brother had not considered the possibility

of Sasquatch in a long time, since the Leonard Nemoy days.  So my re-introducing the subject

is sure to lead him into another investigation, that is just how his mind works.  If I said I was interested

in Ghosts, he would gather as much information he could to either shoot down the whole notion, or

at least intelligently discuss the subject, a quite admirable trait.

[Guest DWA]

My wife (then my GF) and I found tracks deep and I mean deep in the Siskiyou Wilderness of northern CA in 1986.  I tell people "I've never seen anything that looked so much like tracks that wasn't tracks; and if they were tracks a biped a whole lot heavier than us made them."  She says:  we found bigfoot tracks!  In those moments I'm kinda doing the shy-away thing; well, heh heh, all I can tell you is what I saw...

 

I saw something else in Calvert County, MD, a few years back; weeks later I took the wife and kids to look at it.  We got photos I shared with the BFRO.  Don't know what it was exactly, but it's been mentioned in direct conjunction with sasquatch in AK and WA, and no one would be able to give me a satisfactory explanation of how or why people would do it.  And no, to think it "just happened" naturally:  not in the universe I inhabit.

 

So my immediates know of my interest.  A couple friends do; one of them may have seen one.  But I don't and would not willingly share the idea with anyone else who didn't broach it to me first; and when that happens, I take the scientist approach, not the wide-eyed convert approach.  After all, I haven't seen one.

Edited December 26, 2014 by DWA

[Guest DWA]

I was pleasantly surprised last night, at my wife's big family dinner, when my oldest bro-in-law, a retired school principal, responded very positively to my mention of the subject. We got into a fairly lengthy discussion, where he brought up the question of what I thought it might be; neanderthal offshoot, G.Blacki, unknown primate, or what. Turns out he's been following the recent developments in dna testing of ancient fossil finds, like Denisova and Floresiensis, and is genuinely curious. Who knew?

 

In general, I'm not shy about broaching the subject to anyone, as I'm old enough (70) to not give a crap about what anyone thinks of my mental state, nor is it likely to affect my  career, being semi-retired, working at what I please, when I please. I guess that's one advantage of being an old fart!

One can be pleasantly surprised.  One can also note that don't-give-a-crap attitude and say, wait, that is *wasted* on the elderly.  Why not have it myself??? 

 

It's just that I deal with the negative reactions enough here, and don't see any particular need to deal with them elsewhere; it's just time wasted on the merry-go-round.  It is also time wasted, and one might deduce that from what I just posted, to be *asked* about it and not say what one thinks.  Be assured; that I do.

Edited December 26, 2014 by DWA

[Guest]

I think Rebone's approach is viable. I also think that if you want to share your experiences and the results of your research with someone you should choose the time place and circumstances carefully. Doing it in a place where you are not around a bunch of people that you are not close to and don't know well is wise.

There is a huge "groupthink" and herd mentality out there, and in a serious discussion about anything more complex than a video game you are going to have people who hide their ignorance behind ridicule.

That is simply the way the culture has evolved. Sorry if I sound cynical.

[Guest DWA]

Nope, way it is.  Even scientists think that the scientific method involves ridiculing anything that isn't proven until it is.  This hyper-empiricism has only set science back about, oh,  50-75 years, depending on the science, by my rough back-of-napkin calculations.

 

Some sciences have somehow bypassed this; the paleo-and archaeo-sciences and astronomy seem to thrive on intelligent speculation upon relatively skimpy evidence.  Other sciences could follow their lead.

Edited December 26, 2014 by DWA