Branco Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 I certainly wouldn't advise anyone else to do this, but--------. Seven years ago, some of my Bigfooting Buds talked me into sharing what little I know about the subject animals on an Arkansas Hunting forum, "Arkansas Hunting.Net". The State does have a very good population of the things, and I just wanted to share a bit of info about them and their habits and traits. The thread I started on January 7, 2010 has now been viewed 800,708 times, with 17,900 replies. Of course many of the replies during the first couple of years were from skeptics. During the last five years I have been inundated with Personal Mail and phone calls from a LOT of folks that KNEW, but kept their encounters to themselves and family members. During the the past two months some Buds have had some real fun with BF in the Ozarks, and down south in Ouachita Count. I shared those with the members, now a lot of them are eager to hit the woods with us, It's fun for us all. 3
LeafTalker Posted February 20, 2017 Posted February 20, 2017 You made your post at 11:11, Branco! Too cool. And some of us have seen that thread on Arkansas Hunting and learned a lot from it. And it's always fun to hear about the fun you're having! 1
Guest DWA Posted May 24, 2017 Posted May 24, 2017 I only talk about what I know - most particularly, my experiences - to people who might be receptive. I find it more than surprising, the number of people who Go On A Crusade when they have an experience, as if All Man Must Know And It Is MY RESPONSIBILITY...as if seeing an animal, in the woods, where they live, was some kind of challenge to their sanity or something. Er, no 'taint. I know what I know. I'm here to share info and opinions with the like-minded. I no longer even open posts from the people on my (long) Ignore list to box their ears. They say the same things now they said at the start, with no glimmer of interest in figuring out what's going on. Let 'em. Without me.
Old Dog Posted July 8, 2017 Author Posted July 8, 2017 On 5/24/2017 at 8:08 AM, DWA said: I only talk about what I know - most particularly, my experiences - to people who might be receptive. I find it more than surprising, the number of people who Go On A Crusade when they have an experience, as if All Man Must Know And It Is MY RESPONSIBILITY...as if seeing an animal, in the woods, where they live, was some kind of challenge to their sanity or something. Er, no 'taint. I know what I know. I'm here to share info and opinions with the like-minded. I no longer even open posts from the people on my (long) Ignore list to box their ears. They say the same things now they said at the start, with no glimmer of interest in figuring out what's going on. Let 'em. Without me. I used to have a fairly long ignore list myself. I agree it does get tiresome constantly seeing the same old arguments from certain posters in the forums, but then I took a step back. I took into consideration that people who hold different ideas about this subject than I do have just as much right to express their opinions as I , and it is up to me as to what level of significance I give their posts. Some I simply just move past because I have no interest in what they have to say, it is always the same thing regardless of what side of the issue they are on. Yes, trolls can be on both sides of an issue, and they are there just to stir the pot, and have little to no interest in a cogent conversation, those are the ones that I do a fly over on. Deniers are going to deny, believers are going to believe and trolls are going to fling feces everywhere. I just mentally ignore them and move along. Then there are some that I had previously put on ignore that I actually clicked on their post to see if they were still holding to their past behavior. To my surprise they actually had a valid post. I kept running into this over time, and decided to unblock all those people. One may be surprised to find that there are some who actually are willing to have a calm, rational and sensible discussion on the subject at hand if you listen to what they are saying and not read their post through your own filters. I admit, it isn't easy to ignore one's own predisposition towards an aspect of this subject, or a prejudice towards a certain person on the forums, but in the end I always manage to learn something new about a person if I can engage them in a decent conversation. Sure, there are some that you just can't do that with, but it is always worth a try. Nothing is learned or advanced if you only share info and opinions with like minded people. One needs to have an intelligent conversation with someone of a differing opinion once in a while if for no other reason than to check and see if what you believe still holds up. I don't have all the answers, no one truly does, but if one listens with an open mind to others, you just might get a bit closer to the answers you seek. 3
ShadowBorn Posted July 9, 2017 Moderator Posted July 9, 2017 Quote consideration that people who hold different ideas about this subject than I do have just as much right to express their opinions as I Old Dog This is the hardest thing for one to do since we all have opinions of our own. To stay neutral is a difficult process and yes this subject does lead to lots of arguments . But if we look at the subject at hand and what we are trying to convey is that of a mystical creature that should not exist yet does to some. Where does this lead us with? different opinions that lead to frustration of who is right and who is wrong.
Patterson-Gimlin Posted July 9, 2017 Posted July 9, 2017 Old Dog I don't blame you for your stance in the past. I commend you for the change of heart. It is no wonder that people are reluctant to tell their encounters and experiences when there are people like me around that enjoy the story ,but not willing to accept a word of it other than just a story. Especially when there are real people that have encountered something even it is fear induced, imagined or a honest mistake. The point being they believe it and deserve respect for that . 1
Old Dog Posted July 9, 2017 Author Posted July 9, 2017 (edited) 16 hours ago, ShadowBorn said: Old Dog This is the hardest thing for one to do since we all have opinions of our own. To stay neutral is a difficult process and yes this subject does lead to lots of arguments . But if we look at the subject at hand and what we are trying to convey is that of a mystical creature that should not exist yet does to some. Where does this lead us with? different opinions that lead to frustration of who is right and who is wrong. Trust me, it isn't easy for me to suspend my personal opinions, and many times I don't. I will admit that I have a built in prejudgment about certain people who post on the forums, and it is nearly impossible for me to disassociate myself from those judgments, many times I can't. I find the best way to dispose of frustration is to not look at it in terms of who is right and who is wrong, but look at it in terms of differing opinions, and taking a step back and trying to discern the reasons for that differing opinion. Where is that persons point of view coming from and what are the facts they are presenting to bolster their side of the issue. 10 hours ago, Patterson-Gimlin said: Old Dog I don't blame you for your stance in the past. I commend you for the change of heart. It is no wonder that people are reluctant to tell their encounters and experiences when there are people like me around that enjoy the story ,but not willing to accept a word of it other than just a story. Especially when there are real people that have encountered something even it is fear induced, imagined or a honest mistake. The point being they believe it and deserve respect for that . There are many "stories" that I find hard to swallow, and I look at them as just that, stories. Some may think a story a total fabrication, but who is to say what is truth and fiction in this field? If we suspend judgement and just listen to the story, then ask the logical questions about the story, the truth usually comes out, if the storyteller will respond to the questions. So many times the storyteller is attacked out of hand, before any pertinent questions are asked, that they decide not to engage in a discussion and just go away. Some may say that this is a sign of deception, but sometimes it is just a matter of not being willing to subject themselves to the harassment that ensues. You may find there are real people that have encountered something, even it is fear induced, imagined or a honest mistake and they believe it is real. You may even consider that they deserve respect for their belief. Have you ever considered that what they find belief in may actually be real? I know for a fact that I don't have all the answers for what is out there, but I am willing to listen to people, find out the facts of the issue and make a judgement based on that individual encounter, sighting or evidence. Like the X-Files says, "The Truth Is Out There". It may be a huge massive hoax, it may be mass misidentification, mass hallucination, or maybe, just maybe, it may actually be an undiscovered primate. Who knows? Not me, that's for sure. Edited July 9, 2017 by Old Dog 2
ioyza Posted July 12, 2017 Posted July 12, 2017 On 7/9/2017 at 1:16 AM, Patterson-Gimlin said: The point being they believe it and deserve respect for that . No, and I think this really highlights an underpinning of the skeptical reaction that makes witnesses so uncomfortable, even when you're trying to be nice and generous as you are with this statement. It's not their belief that deserves respect, it's the reliability of their senses. You're telling them they're mistaken about things they saw and heard unambiguously, leaving them no rebuttal except "I know what I saw," to which you respond "No, you don't." You're denying their most basic connection to the external world, their vision and hearing. At the level of an individual story, it's disrespectful, at the level of tens of thousands of stories, it becomes kind of an untenable position. And to be firmly on-topic for this thread, I think findings need to be shared a lot more widely, and you're absolutely right about one thing: your type of reaction is a big reason people don't share. 3
Guest Cricket Posted July 13, 2017 Posted July 13, 2017 My stance is that I am not in a position to know whether BF exists or not, so I can't draw any firm conclusions regarding others' experiences. I am not in a position to know what it is that they experienced. Of course, there will be a percentage of people who are mistaken, a percentage who are inventing, but yet another percentage of people may also have had the experience they say they had. I can't rule that out.
Patterson-Gimlin Posted July 13, 2017 Posted July 13, 2017 10 hours ago, ioyza said: No, and I think this really highlights an underpinning of the skeptical reaction that makes witnesses so uncomfortable, even when you're trying to be nice and generous as you are with this statement. It's not their belief that deserves respect, it's the reliability of their senses. You're telling them they're mistaken about things they saw and heard unambiguously, leaving them no rebuttal except "I know what I saw," to which you respond "No, you don't." You're denying their most basic connection to the external world, their vision and hearing. At the level of an individual story, it's disrespectful, at the level of tens of thousands of stories, it becomes kind of an untenable position. And to be firmly on-topic for this thread, I think findings need to be shared a lot more widely, and you're absolutely right about one thing: your type of reaction is a big reason people don't share. I am sorry if you find it disrespectful I don't see it that way. My view has not changed. I don't know what the witnesses are seeing, but I am reasonably certain that it is not a mythical creature that simply does not exist. You are correct and I agree declarations like mine do discourage the reporting of the experiences.That I do regret. 1
MIB Posted July 13, 2017 Moderator Posted July 13, 2017 That behavior that discourages sharing also directly discourages progress towards ANY resolution. The odds are a solution is going to require collaboration, brainstorming, sharing. When you contribute content, whether well intentioned or deliberately malicious, that causes others not to share, you are part of the problem. Whether you have a right to, whether it's within the rules, etc does not matter so far as your impact on others being able to achieve the result they're after. Regrets ... only matter if you act on them ahead of time thus not doing the thing you regret. Otherwise, they're just a means to salve your conscience while disenfranchising your victim. MIB
Incorrigible1 Posted July 13, 2017 Posted July 13, 2017 So, faith is the answer. Ya just gotta believe. 1
MIB Posted July 13, 2017 Moderator Posted July 13, 2017 Thanks for providing evidence to support what I said. I don't know if you honestly didn't understand it or if you dishonestly didn't understand it, but you certainly validated it. MIB
Martin Posted July 13, 2017 Posted July 13, 2017 People sharing wood knocks, stick teepees and random animal noises have bigfoot living within minutes of just about everyone in the USA. Many people don't even have to leave their back porch. Research is supposed to narrow down possibilities and hone in "successful" techniques. Bigfoot "research" expands the bigfootery infinitely. Just what kind of "findings" are being shared? 3
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