We need to be very honest about Ufology. It is dead. Since
1947 the mindset has been that of a social club where people meet, hear the
latest news and listen to occasional guest speakers while those in charge try
to raise more funds. Yes, there were some really dedicated people but they
either gave up for various reasons or succumbed to self-deception.
Carol Rainey, who was married to Budd Hopkins and assisted
him in his work reported ("The Co-Creation of the Abduction
Phenomenon", Spectrum Radio Network 11th February, 2011) how, if she
"challenged" Hopkins
on an aspect of a case he was far from happy. Rainey, obviously, also knew
David Jacobs and it was at a dinner in Jacobs' home one day that he leant across
the table to Hopkins
and told him "We are the only two people in the world who know the truth
of what is going on." Rainey's draw dropped and she did question that
stance and the response was not good.
Hopkins and Jacobs, as far as they were both concerned,
could not be challenged on their work and this begins to explain what went
wrong with Hopkins work as well as Jacobs; neither man would accept criticism
of their work or even allow peer review or analysis of alleged materials from
alien abductions (powders, stained clothes or 'implants') there was always a
reason why they would not cooperate on this aspect.
We also know that Hopkins
left out some aspects of accounts (as with the book Unseen)
and then cherry-picked data and even went so far as to redraw symbols allegedly
seen during abductions. He believed
that he was on the right track so to heck with everyone else.
Jacobs, as I have noted before, went so completely off the
deep end that if he were a medical professional he could well be struck off for
his actions –telephone hypnosis sessions alone are high risk but, you know, what the hell: he “knows” what he
is doing and now that Hopkins is dead Jacobs is the ONLY man who knows the
truth (the “David Vincent” syndrome –named after the character from the 1960s
TV show The Invaders).
Researchers in psychology distinguish “belief superiority”
from “belief confidence” (thinking your opinion is correct). Belief superiority
is relative; it is when you think your opinion is more correct than other
people’s. The top end of their belief
superiority scale is to indicate that your belief is “Totally correct (mine is
the only correct view)”. Hopkins and Jacobs fall into this last category.
So why did no Ufologists challenge them and their techniques
and lack of any oversight or peer review? Well, Ufology is a kind of hive
mentality club: you agree with everyone else or you are out. In the 1980s,
t5hrough the efforts of two long standing MUFON members (who left MUFON when
things started going wrong) I was persuaded to (all expenses paid) attend a
MUFO)N symposium and give two talks on UK CE3K/AE research and how to proceed
when such reports were received. No
problem even though I do not like public speaking or stepping into even the
shadow created by the lime light!
When I heard no more I asked what was happening because I
needed to prepare material. “You upset a few people. Deal’s off” I was told.
Before “orbs” and all the other “current raves” you have to remember MUFON was
drawing in money, TV and a lot of publicity based on the Grey Abduction
hysteria. Apparently “someone” (a well known UK Ufologist and author I am told)
sent MUFON copies of some of my articles which question methodology and certain
cases. No. MUFON was NOT going to allow that.
You see, if you are not “part of the hive” you do not get
any time at a conference or speak anywhere. We have seen that corruption of
ethics and any pretence at scientific research vanish as (without the
permission of investigators or witnesses) MUFON sold all of its UFO reports to
Robert Bigelow –just as John Carpenter had sold his confidential files. Then
MUFON was hit by claims that it was rigging data to go with the lat4est trend,
racist rants from some higher ups, not to mention sexism…oh, and child sexual
abuse claims.
If all you see is the TV shows then you think MUFON is a
slick hard core scientific organisation. MUFON died a long time ago.
Back-biting, in-fighting, Ufologists hoaxing other
Ufologists or adding faked reports into the system making any serious study
highly flawed and pointless. Ufology was never a science just as
“Bigfootology” and “Cryptozoology” and around 96% of current paranormal
research is and was not a science.
When I started working on my first book, Some
Things Strange and Sinister” it contained almost 40 years of research
into some cases. The UFO related cases outlined showed just how much lying had
been going on. Noted American Ufologists admitting openly that reports used
since the 1960s were well known hoaxes or fantasy stories from well known
“personalities” but were these exposed widely to prevent any serious researcher
using them? No. They continued to be used –including by the people who knew they were fake.
With the second book, Some More Things Strange and Sinister
I delved into other cases –there were
interesting cases to note in all fields including Ufology- and these were not
debunking books. If you find an explanation for a report then you have to make
that known to prevent serious researchers using it and every one of my books is
fully referenced so everything can be double-checked which is the best peer
review can be with these subjects.
When it came to the first book entirely dedicated to SETI,
CETI and CE3K/AE –UFO Contact?- I decide4d to go straight for the proverbial
jugular and hit certain “classic” cases hard. After 40-60 years of debunking
there should have been enough pro-con material to reassess these cases. Fake
then I’d show why by using facts rather than “Oh, well so-and-so said it was
true.” I double and triple checked the cases put forward by debunkers (not sceptics who assess evidence but
people just out to disprove everything by fair or foul means) and…most of it
turned out to be fake evidence, twisted truths and worse. I had to then double
and triple check that these were not Ufologists!
I could dismiss a lot Ufologists claimed –I am sick to my
back-teeth of hearing about the Betty Hill “star map” which is pointless. I as
sick of hearing “He passed dud cheques” (debunkers, even most Ufologists
failing to point out that these payments were honoured by the person in
question) or had a record for “parking violations” and when you consider the
dirty and not-quite-legal things the debunkers got up to there were some pretty
bad double standards going on.
I waded through all of this and concluded –based on testimony and secondary witness
reports as well as other factors- that certain reports seemed genuine. “No,
I’m not having that –I’ve missed something!” I said to myself. I checked,
checked and checked again. Same conclusion each time. I had to stick with the results.
Let me make it clear that we do
NOT have any physical artefact from a UFO. As you might expect because it is
hard to steal something in most of the situations described. Unconnected people
observing a UFO over the area where a claimed encounter took place,
physiological and psychological effects and even trace evidence has to have a
cause. Someone walking down a quiet country lane or through a jungle is not
going to come into casual contact with high doses of radiation. Something has to have been seen or
encountered to cause psychological shock in a person or even post traumatic
stress disorder.
I prefer cases where there are
secondary witnesses if not to entities then to the UFO involved –something that
says yes, something did happen. I prefer cases involving two or more people
and, preferably, a report not messed up by some idiot using hypnosis and
forcing their own beliefs onto a percipient. Not some person who keeps details
to themselves and only releases little snippets as and when they like. The
percipient must be protected at all costs but initial and final
FULL reports must be published for perusal by any serious scientists to look
at. Any and all hypnotic sessions MUST
be recorded and made available. If we can see that no one is misleading us or
stacking the decks somehow then we have something we can look at and build on.
When I realised that there were
seemingly genuine incidents I began to look at others. I checked as I normally
do and came up wi8th various trends and findings that –it seems- no one else
has in Ufology. I was working alone and not connected to any group (most of who
would not cooperate anyway) and just ignoring the Grey (or which ever alien
Jacobs currently claims is the real
power behind things…until the next one is discovered) abduction phenomenon –I did assess the various aspects involved
in UFO
Contact?- and looking at the reports.
Everything I came across and
added to is fully referenced so anyone can come along and say “Let’s see if
this is accurate” and can do their own work.
Ufology cannot just sit on its
collective backsides and say “Jacobs is handling this” because he is NOT. A pinpoint of light in the sky is a pinpoint
of light in the sky and not proof of extraterrestrial space craft or even “back
up evidence” to someone’s claim of being abducted by aliens.
Although, if these objects and
those on board them are not from Earth, it leaves only one real conclusion
outside of wild and sometimes fantastical speculation; they are from another
planet. However, on that subject I have
to remain neutral because there is nothing to show us which planetary system or
planet. In fact, I do not even thing extra terrestrial when I study these
reports because that would mean the research would get tainted. If I believe
Betty and Barney Hill or Travis Walton, Zanfretta or any other percipient it is
because there is a strong case not because I believe in extra terrestrial
visitors.
If a percipient is told a planet
of origin, the planetary system and how far from Earth it is then that can be
checked to a degree –is it an exo-planet in a system we know of for instance.
Earth is currently (and very likely will not be for hundreds of years) not a
threat to any superior extra terrestrial civilization so one might hope that
one day someone asks one of these entities; “Where you from, pal?”
Ufology is currently in its death
throws but is in denial because admitting that affects certain power bases and
definitely the money coming in. Will it ever change or just fade out to become
an obscure fringe subject –no one can answer that. It is up to the individual
Ufologist.
Me? Well, I’m doing the work and
the results are there to read by anyone and with no seriously established
publisher being involved the reach is not as wide as I might hope. Would I
accept funding to continue the work? Like a shot.
