Conferences and Influencers

[vinchyfoot]

Is there reason to call a Bigfoot Conference when it's actually more like a convention. It seems like the same speakers appear every year (because maybe there's just not that much to say thats new), and after a while it's basically a convention or even a Bigfoot themed Comicon esque event. By that same token, how much damage to the "Influencers" do to the larger cause? The Moneymakers, and other large group leaders? The Podcasters and the Conventioneers, the oh so common Youtuber as well. Is a "Conference" more than a Comicon at this point. Is an Influencer more than just some chump trying to get their own Finding Bigfoot show, or sell their own likeness as an Action figure? (This is actually a thing btw)

[wiiawiwb]

I've never been to one and would find it an absolute joy to attend.

[vinchyfoot]

In what context would you view though?

[wiiawiwb]

As being around a lot of like-minded folks who enjoy the subject of bigfoot. It would be a joy to talk about being in the field and how they approach it.

[vinchyfoot]

30 minutes ago, wiiawiwb said:

As being around a lot of like-minded folks who enjoy the subject of bigfoot. It would be a joy to talk about being in the field and how they approach it.

 

Ok, but you can easily host a local Town Hall style thing to, without all the Influencer nonsense, or having to pay the same "speakers" to come in and given the same presentation as last year..... Sorry, and downvote all you want but these two things are nothing more than mechanisms that reinforce the BS of the subject more than do anything fruitful towards actual research. The model at least, needs to shift.

[Incorrigible1]

10 minutes ago, vinchyfoot said:

 

What color is the sky in your world?

[Huntster]

So I ask all your questions about this conference:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Climate_Change_conference

 

This is what people do. It's how you drag others onto your side. It makes people feel good, I guess. It isn't for me, but it's everywhere. If you don't like it, don't go. I don't. I'd rather go moose hunting.

 

 

[vinchyfoot]

13 minutes ago, Incorrigible1 said:

What color is the sky in your world?

Blue, because it's the real world, sorry so many have been poisoned by the Community narrative, be they hoaxer, "celebrity", podcaster, youtuber...... I'm still right. Are you suggesting the current model is the only model? It's an industry not research.

1 minute ago, Huntster said:

So I ask all your questions about this conference:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Climate_Change_conference

 

This is what people do. It's how you drag others onto your side. It makes people feel good, I guess. It isn't for me, but it's everywhere. If you don't like it, don't go. I don't. I'd rather go moose hunting.

 

 

 

Replace moose hunting with back packing outdoorsy stuff, and we would be on the same page.

Edited September 2, 2021 by vinchyfoot

[Huntster]

1 minute ago, vinchyfoot said:

........Replace moose hunting with back packing outdoorsy stuff, and we would be on the same page.

 

I backpacked extensively when I was a teen. As soon as I arrived in Alaska, I found out what real "outdoorsy stuff" looked like.

[BlackRockBigfoot]

2 hours ago, Huntster said:

If you don't like it, don't go

Truer words were never spoken.

 

Do I think that conventions and Bigfoot celebrities cause damage to the larger cause?  No.

 

Do I think that these strange people who try to become self appointed gatekeepers of the topic cause damage to the larger cause?  Yes.  If they had their way, only ‘serious researchers’ such as themselves would be permitted to speak about certain things, and free public discourse would be controlled or eliminated.

 

Bitter, self-appointed experts who constantly demand that others be quiet and bow to their wisdom turn away more potential enthusiasts than Mountain Monsters.  And one of those enthusiasts might just be the one to prove Bigfoot’s existence someday.
 

I used to rail against BFRO paid expeditions on this forum, until a couple of members were kind enough to take the time to explain an opposing point of view to me.  Just because I don’t find any personal value in those things doesn’t mean that other people shouldn’t have the opportunity to enjoy them if they so desire.  At the end of the day, it exposes more people to the subject, many of whom are not able to do what we would define as field research themselves.  

Real field research is hot, dirty, expensive, time consuming, frustrating, and sometimes dangerous.  Just because someone can’t or isn’t willing to endure all of that, doesn’t mean that they can’t have an interest in the subject…even if the version that they are interested in doesn’t necessarily reflect my own experiences.  
 

When the shut-in on Facebook starts to lecture you on Bigfoot behavior…just laugh and move on.  There’s too many windmills out there to tilt with, so why bother?  And if you do argue with them and successfully impose your own viewpoint…well, congratulations.  There’s only a few million more out there, so you better get cracking if you want everyone to think the same way as you.
 

At the end of the day, the person who wants to pay to go on a BFRO expedition has absolutely zero effect on me or my efforts.  Nor does a little grandmother who collects Bigfoot memorabilia.  Nor does a Bigfoot celebrity who brings out his own branded ‘Monster Hot Sauce’.  I personally find it a bit cringe, but people might think the same way about me.  And I don’t want those people to have the ability to limit or control my actions or speech concerning Sasquatch…so I will afford them the same courtesy. 

The idea of subjective control of the discussion seems to be appealing to a disturbing number of forum participants these days.

 

I went to the Smokey Mountain conference, mainly because I enjoy watching Paulides give his presentation and I wanted to hear Ron Morehead speak.  I approached it with a certain level of hesitancy given some of the participants.  I ended up having a ball.  A lot of it didn’t appeal to me, but I enjoyed being there and talking to some of the attendees…even the ones who I find to be polar opposite of me on the subject.  Enjoyed the heck out of it, and even ended up buying some Cryptid related patches off of a kid who had a table there…just because I found his enthusiasm for the subject infectious.  
 

At the end of the day, if you think that Matt Moneymaker and someone’s grandma who collects Bigfoot tchotchkes is going to prevent the eventual proof of these creatures, or if you find yourself bitterly stewing over their very existence…maybe reflect a little upon why you are allowing others to affect you to such a degree.  
 

At the end of the day, this subject and it’s pursuit is supposed to be something that brings us joy.  If you find yourself hating the subject and everything or anyone involved with it…yet are still involved because you feel that you and you alone can solve the mystery…then I don’t know what to tell you, other than maybe request that you don’t constantly attempt to poison the subject for the rest of us.
 

No one person is ever going to completely control the narrative.  This isn’t the day of the Four Horsemen, were only a comparative handful of people were conversant on the subject.  There are more YouTube channels and podcasts than you could shake a stick at…. Most of them aren’t my cup of tea, but I don’t have an innate desire to control what others say, hear, or do…so I don’t care.  
 

And if you do care?  More power to you.  I only answered because you asked, and now I will continue my day free from the worry that Matt Moneymaker might be out there somewhere doing something that I disagree with.  
 

 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by BlackRockBigfoot

[Huntster]

54 minutes ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

.......I went to the Smokey Mountain conference, mainly because I enjoy watching Paulides give his presentation and I wanted to hear Ron Morehead speak........

 

If I went to a conference, it would be specifically to pick a particular person's brain or experience. Morehead's experience with the vocal sasquatches in that area of the Sierra Nevada mountains is of great interest to me, because that's the general area of my own footprint find, and the sheer consistency of his experiences at that camp over so many years is important to me.

[BlackRockBigfoot]

37 minutes ago, Huntster said:

 

If I went to a conference, it would be specifically to pick a particular person's brain or experience. Morehead's experience with the vocal sasquatches in that area of the Sierra Nevada mountains is of great interest to me, because that's the general area of my own footprint find, and the sheer consistency of his experiences at that camp over so many years is important to me.

And that illustrates one of my points precisely…

 

No one is ever going to accuse you of being overly interested in the woo, and yet you are interested in hearing what Morehead might have to say about his experiences.  
 

One of the other speakers at that same conference made more than one comment that insinuated people like Morehead or Paulides shouldn’t be given a platform to share their information because it runs counter to ‘accepted science’ and does harm to the subject.  The accepted science is all that should be discussed, unless we are departing from accepted science in a way that people like him find reasonable…like explaining how a warm blooded creature can see in the infrared spectrum or how land mammals can have bioluminescent eyes.  Infrasound as some sort of Sasquatch ‘deus ex machine’. 
 

That science we can get a bit flexible with, but Morehead’s attempts to explain some of the stranger aspects of the phenomenon using quantum mechanics is heresy and should be silenced.  

 

I don’t agree with everything that Morehead says, but I would like to be able to hear his thoughts so that I can formulate my own opinion on them as opposed to having someone else decide that for me.  Arbitrary lines drawn by personal bias… it’s a slippery slope.  I would rather have to wade through a bit of what I personally consider nonsense than have someone else filter what I should be allowed to hear.  
 

 

[wiiawiwb]

BRB ---- three posts above is one of the epic posts on BFF. Thank you.

 

I remember the time when the mere mention of this subject produced uncontrollable laughter and guffaws.  Matt M. has single-handedly converted what was once a subject that people only whispered about to something everyone can discuss with complete comfort.  People can discuss all aspects of how he did what he did, and that is fair game, but in the end he is a transformational person. Mega-kudos to MM.

 

We all have our own talents and they each benefit what we're doing. Field work is only part of it. Sound and video analysis, analyzing database information to develop patterns, photogrammery, historical data input and so much more. I am honored to watch all this evolve before our eyes. 

 

The more we foster conventions, the more there will be competition amongst them.  The more there is competition, the more there will be the drive for excellence. Rising water lifts all boats. 
 

 

[Kiwakwe]

@BlackRockBigfoot All of that--well put and I fully endorse your message!

[Incorrigible1]

11 hours ago, vinchyfoot said:

Blue, because it's the real world, sorry so many have been poisoned by the Community narrative, be they hoaxer, "celebrity", podcaster, youtuber...... I'm still right. Are you suggesting the current model is the only model? It's an industry not research.

 

I want to thank you for bringing up pleasant memories. Throughout my childhood I avidly read a daily newspaper comic by Al Capp, "Lil' Abner."

 

You remind me of one of the characters in the comic, Joe Btfsplk. Poor Joe was a notorious jinx and everywhere he went he was followed, above his head, by his own personal rain cloud.