Guest krakatoa Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I have to say that "go with the crowd" is not a label I would hang onto a bigfoot researcher or enthusiast. I believe that is why there are so many differing opinions on the forum. True enough, but we aren't talking about this forum. We are talking about (or I am at any rate) groups of people (the "crowd") who have joined together to hunt for 'foot. This group of people in a cooperative socialized endeavor like beating the woods for a 'foot will tend to share certain beliefs, and therefore would tend to share the bias of those beliefs when trying to determine what made that bump in the night. I think I've been pretty clear, but I feel like this tangent is derailing the thrust of the thread. So if anyone wants to discuss it further, please PM me or open a new thread if you like, and I'll join it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantor Posted October 13, 2011 Admin Share Posted October 13, 2011 I have to say that "go with the crowd" is not a label I would hang onto a bigfoot researcher or enthusiast. I believe that is why there are so many differing opinions on the forum. Welcome to the BFF noob... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yea, Jodie are you gonna post an introduction in the "new members" section...!! ?? As far as the last page or so of debate that my comments started i'd like to clarify a couple of things. My initial point to Sasfooty, and anyone else- is even though I'm a believer myself, I dont think General's statement is too far off the mark. How many videos do you have to watch these day's where people attribute every broken twig, every bent over sapling, and every static shadow or tree stump they film as "Bigfoot"...? I would agree with him, well maybe I wouldnt use the word "most"- but I'd be willing to bet that a very good percentage of reported class C, class B, and even class A encounters are either a mis-identification of another animal, or as General states- the product of an over active imagination- primed and fueled by movies, tv-shows, and internet stuff they've seen/read. Even as a believer I find myself extremely skeptical of new video footage when it appears... prepared for the same blurry, obscure nothingness I've seen so many times before. I try to keep an open mind, but have been disappointed so many times, I've even grown a bit cynical about it. Even in this very thread, I've been hesitant to comment many times- and have not allowed myself to get sucked in very far... why? Because of that old adage "fool me once, shame on you- fool me twice, shame on me".... and so like a few other's I await the forthcoming Autumn of supposed "groundbreaking" Bigfoot stories (OP, EP, Ketchum etc) with not so much of holding my breath, but cautious optimism, because as we all know we've been here before, havent we..? The mental picture of a large freezer in Georgia skitters across my mind, and then is quickly wiped away... "oh the pain, the embarrassment- the phone calls to friends and family claiming "this is it".. never again !! never again !! " Also- as has been mentioned, even if the DNA confirms a fully new species, and we're on the cusp of actual "discovery" - it ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT validate all the claims of habituation !! It does NOT validate every sighting report- not by a long shot ! Statements like that are just plain silly ! The problem with habituation claims, for me personally- is that very often (there are exceptions of course), the people making the claim LOVE to tell the warm hearted stories about how they did this, or did that, and all kinds of fanciful events going on- but dont you DARE ask them to prove any of it... It's the SAME just about every time- as I mentioned in my earlier post... you get the " well, you just wouldnt understand" excuse- or the "its because they need to be protected". And here I sit, knowing full well that people are perfectly capable of keeping it a secret where they are, and dont have to do a **** thing that would jeopardize the "safety" of their supposed forest friends- and they could post a picture, or even send info to a noted researcher etc... But it always seems to go the same way.. no way, no how. Then it normally ends (like the whole ENOCH debacle) with the "im taking my ball and going home" routine/ hurt feelings. Superman had kryptonite, and the people claiming habituation seem to shrink back from the statement "extraordinary claims, require extraordinary evidence". They always seem incredulous that the rest of us would want to know more, or see something to prove their claims- and dont understand why we think some of the things they claim seem "too good to be true". There just seems to be so many more reports/encounters where they are so elusive, and want desperately nothing more than to be away from us... I guess that's why I have such a hard time believing that people are being visited regularly, or interacting with them... and that they are capable of doing even half of the whacky things ive read from some people's stories. Maybe I need to spend more time in the woods, trying to form a mental telepathy connection with them? Then again, maybe the voices we hear are just our own... a thought to ponder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Well said, Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasfooty Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Tell ya what Art. You show proof of your sighting & I'll show proof of mine, & we'll see who has the best "proof". Edited October 13, 2011 by Sasfooty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Sas to be fair, your point is a valid one- with one exception. Again, im singling you out a bit here, but your certainly not the only one on here and other places that ive seen do so. You've mentioned quite a bit about your experiences in the various public threads, and made some pretty fantastic claims about behaviors and such over the years, I have not. In fact, normally my experience has to be dragged out of me- to the extent that ive had several people tell me recently that i MUST share my experience with the open forums.... Have I ? Nope, and I have no plans to anytime soon. Why not ? Because I realize full well that without the proof or evidence that people seek, my experience as a young man, is just another anecdotal story- that as powerful as it is for me, would hold little weight in the mind of the average non-believer/"skeptic". It doesnt make me feel any different about it the few times I have shared it with people via PM's, (including you), and i dont seek people's approval on here or anywhere else by doing so. It's what flames my interest in this subject, and the fear I felt for several years as a young man, quietly grew into fascination and extreme interest in the subject. I'm sorry, but that doesnt mean I have to "bite" on every story that comes down the line, and take it hook, line and sinker... that's just not who i am. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) I wouldn't necessarily disagree with the opinion. I think a great number of people are not only likely to misidentify sights/sounds/traces when in the deep dark woods, but also are willing to do so if they are specifically looking for 'foot, and are even more willing to do so when accompanied by others giving definitive affirmation feedback to questionable stimula. In other words: If you hear a few footsteps in the woods, and you wonder if it's a 'foot, and your buddy says "I heard a bigfoot!", you are more likely to come to that conclusion yourself. I'd go so far as to say that number of reports fueled by overactive imaginations is likely a majority of reported encounters that don't include up-close visuals, unimpeded by obstructions. That is not to say they didn't witness evidence of 'foot in some manner, but simply the evidence didn't warrant their definitive statement that it was 'foot. It was, simply, indeterminate. And having said that, I'll qualify it further: "Overactive imagination" sounds pejorative. So let's just call it "fueled more by suspicion than by actual data", insofar as a good imagination in the face of the unknown is a healthy trigger for the fight/flight response. That is my opinion, albeit one pretty firmly grounded in basic human nature. What you're talking about is Confirmation Bias and I agree completely. Once all logical and probable possibilities are put aside through examination, what you are left with is the "other" possibility, and what is gleaned from those moments is good data to have. Data that someday can possibly be researched by those involved in future study of the species if/when it is finally classified in the eyes of science. There are a multitude of circumstances where anecdotal evidence of species behavior, habits and dispositions later became fact through research. In my word tales of the White Sharks affinity for the color yellow from fisherman, divers and surfers was scoffed at by Marine Biologist for years until it was proven, in the field by Dr. George Burgess. Now we have the term "Yum Yum Yellow". Yes I know I am referring to a known species, but at some point in human history every species was an unknown from a certain point of view, until people such as Pliny the Elder began to catalog and describe them. Edited October 13, 2011 by Tautriadelta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiefoot Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Art, Is it Sasfooty's courage to speak out that's bothering you. It's not only you that doesn't have proof to back up your story, no one does. If everyone was like you we might as well close the doors. Thanks to all the folks who have had the guts to tell us their stories. Especially you, General. Edited October 13, 2011 by indiefoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Art, Is it Sasfooty's courage to speak out that's bothering you. It's not only you that doesn't have proof to back up your story, no one does. If everyone was like you we might as well close the doors. Thanks to all the folks who have had the guts to tell us their stories. Especially you, General. No disrespect intended, but I think he pretty well spelled out what bothered him about it, and it wasn't anyone's courage to speak out or mere lack of proof. It was a combination of the particular claims plus lack of proof. No need in me repeating it, though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Indie.. you missed my point completely.. that's not a shot at you, just that maybe i didnt come right out and say it more plainly. It's not about courage to me at all.. I'm not "afraid" of what people will think of me on these forums if I share what happened to me. It's that I've nothing to gain by doing so... I'm not here to reassure myself about anything that happened to me. I'm more than 100% certain, and have no doubts about what i saw walking in the woods that day. But then again, if I was to do so, and add on some interesting facts like- Bigfoot was smoking a cigarette as he walked through the woods, or was wearing animal pelts in an interesting fashion... does that not change it up a bit in your mind? I'm sorry if you dont see the difference, but when i read SOME things, that seem unbelievable to me, I'm not just going to accept it as fact because someone else says so. Especially when they are things that go against the other 98% or better reports/encounters that dont have these creatures doing odd things that seem out of place. I'm NOT that guy that's on here always talking about what happened to me. I HATE answering questions about it, because it wasn't "fun" for me. Maybe I am being a little selfish because my experience wasn't warm and fuzzy, unless you call being chased through the woods for 500 yards and fearing desperately for your life "fun", then to you it might mean something different. I'm a flat out believer Indie, I'm not embarrassed to say so, and its solely because of personal experience that I do say so. As I just said though- it doesnt mean I must accept every story someone else tells as FACT... If they want to listen to my story and tell me it sounds like BS, then fine- its not going to hurt my feelings, and I dont get defensive about it- can you or Sas say the same? Sorry, I dont think so. There's a big difference in what I claim to have experienced, and what someone in a habituation scenario is claiming- that's just the way it is. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Well said Art! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cervelo Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yes it takes a lot of " courage" to post on a Internet fourm! What an insult to any true act of courage!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jodie Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of OZ..... All this talk of virtual courage and real courage brought it to mind. Bigfoot World is a lot like OZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiefoot Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I have seen so much habituator bashing on this forum, it make me sick. No one has any proof of any claim they have made. The rules say we are not supposed to trash other members, but those rules are selectively enforced in my opinion, especially in the case of Sasfooty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Courage can't be compartmentalized. If one fears ridicule and chooses to speak in-spite of it, it takes no less courage to do so here than doing so at work, in school or in the senate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts