My first thought when I saw the subject of this particular episode was "Here we go more 'he said and she said'!" but what we heard pushed home what I said about Hopkins, and particularly about Jacobs, many years ago when I realised what was going on.
With Hopkins it was Sight Unseen where it read as fiction and at that time I knew someone acquainted with the "VIP witness" (the then Sec Gen of the United Nations and he asked if he were aware that he was a witness to a UFO abduction (light heartedly)? The response once it was explained was a denial of being any such thing or actually even being in the area in question. It was a lie.
Bit-by-bit other snippets emerged and by that time Hopkins had decided to no longer communicate with me.
With Jacobs it was after I defended him in writing following an article in Fortean Times (he read my response but the publication refused to publish any counter article which is typical of not just Forteans but most little fringe cliques). Jacobs was interested in the Project Damocles the AOP Bureau wanted to instigate but something felt wrong. When I questioned something (not that bad actually, quite minor) he no longer responded. I later heard from an acquaintance at a MUFON conference that he had overheard Hopkins and Jacobs refer to the symbols allegedly seen during UFO abductions I had sent them and it was clear the two wanted no input but were "keeping symbols between themselves and only from their subjects and Budd was coordinating that".
I never accept hearsay, even from a trusted person so when I saw the video posted by Carol Rainey of how Hopkins "stacked the decks" and how he knew Linda Cortile was faking evidence and hoaxing but still went ahead with this fraud my heart really sank. I supported Hopkins back in the early days and even have a signed copy of Intruders with a personal message inside and, before they were stolen, I had two C90 cassettes he had sent me of his MUFON talks. I had to sit down and ask myself how long he had been doing this? Was his much lauded investigation with Ted Bloecher of the "Stonehenge", NY, 1975 UFO incident (Flying Saucer Review Vol. 23 no. 3, October 1977) tainted? I suspect not since Bloecher has always had a solid reputation backed up by meticulous records.
The rot seems to have set in as soon as hypnosis creeped in. I was willing to accept a "false memory" implanted -perhaps even considered something "humane" to save the percipient from the world view shattering experience they underwent. However, as things progressed and I listened to those early tapes I did write notes regarding my concerns.
When we got to the point where percipients were regressed back to being little children to recall their abductions then to when some were abducted (?!) while still in the womb I realised that something was wrong and when hypnosis was used to regressed people back to previous lives and abductions that was it.
I looked deeper and re-read Hopkins and Jacobs books and they had points where you could see, as a body of work, where things were going wrong. In Walking Among Us Jacobs had lost the plot. I even stated so in a 2017 review -ot was now reading like bad sci fi. Pure fiction.
John Carpenter, another abduction=hypnotist specialist sold his "subjects" files to Robert Bigelow and I am not going to go into other personal scandals around him and his work,
Let it be clear that Jacobs was an historian and Hopkins an artist (producing some interesting pieces) but they were nor medically qualified nor qualified psychiatrists. For Jacobs to tell a "subject" that she is affected by MPD -Multiple Personality Disorder- and that she has the classic symptoms and needs medication for this; as have a number of other "subjects" he has dealt with is totally and utterly wrong. He is not qualified to diagnose any psychiatric disorder let alone tell a "subject" this while "under hypnosis". In fact he totally and utterly abuses hypnosis. When he jokes about a sex shop he frequents and how he can get Woods a chastity belt (he's done it before he claims) that goes beyond any decent conduct. That his voice does seem to suggest he is finding this a "turn on" is worrying.
People have accused Woods of being a hoaxer and so on. I have had no contact with her and not looked into her case so I am not taking sides -and despite what was said in the video there are two sides to every story. You cannot dismiss counter accusations by stating that. In this instance I was interested in the behaviour of Jacobs who, even if Woods was faking it all, behaved in a manner that makes him predatory. And not just in the case of Woods. Jacobs' followers and those invested in the whole UFO abduction pop culture even use words such as "retarded" regarding Woods while stating that she is no such thing but a calm and collected hoaxer.
If a person completely and utterly believes that they have been abducted then they may have been -even if not in reality as that is how Ruth Syndrome works (see UFO Contact?). People keep referring to "subjects" but that is something I, personally, do not like. The bottom line is this: these people are just that -human beings-and they should be treated with dignity and respect. This should NOT be about the "next book" or getting an interesting chapter. This is NOT about making money. Gather the data and evidence, yes, do checks all the way, yes. But if the person is a genuine abductee then they have just had their entire world view shattered and that is why so many suffer mental trauma -mental shock and post traumatic stress disorder. You are gathering data "for science" (?) but above all you are trying to help the percipient come to terms with what happened to them.
"Missing time? Hey, get on the couch I'm gonna hypnotise you!" is not the approach. You need to find out more about the person and their life and then get up to the date and time of what ever happened to them. You listen. You do not push for what happened. You talk, listen and tell the person to write down any dreams they have or anything they recall that might be related to what they experienced. It is a long and dry process and you need to keep reassuring the vulnerable human being sat in front of you. There are techniques that they can use to try to recall events. Hypnosis should never be used unless the person involved is suffering trauma or the hidden event is somehow affecting their daily lives to a point where physical and mental health is affected.
The investigator should never attempt hypnosis no matter how many courses she/he has taken. Hypnosis should only be carried out by a qualified person and I would always suggest that it be one that has NOT dealt with UFOs. The investigator should not sit in on the first session unless absolutely required to by the person undergoing the therapy who would feel safer. Even in the remotest possibility of telepathy the investigator should not even be thinking of an abduction scenario. Record sessions and take the advice of the qualified person on how to proceed.
Always -always- remember that you are dealing with a human being not a piggy bank.
