Let me first state that I'm not talking about people who are skeptical or those with legitimate questions. I'm referring to those who are absolute about Bigfoot not being real.
Before I go any further with my thoughts and ramblings, let me first give you an example that happened only a few days ago.
I was on Facebook, in one of the groups that I follow, just reading some of the post. It was a totally non Bigfoot related group and has to do more with country living and life style. As people sometimes do, someone ask a question about Bigfoot being real, or do you believe in Bigfoot, or something to that effect. My guess is that the person asking the question either had a sighting or thought some of us country living folks might have.
There was various answers and a few people offered up such things as "yes, I've seen it" or "I think it might be real". Then of course you had a few of those absolute deniers of Bigfoot. Those who think people who have seen Bigfoot are nuts and that there is no way Bigfoot is real.
It made me think about the numerous times that I ran into someone who just flat out, point blank, did not believe in Bigfoot or the slightest possibility of Bigfoot. How quick they are to dismiss the whole idea of Bigfoot. I have had hunters tell me things like "I've been hunting these woods for almost 40 years, I ain't never seen no Bigfoot." But they fail to realize that just because you haven't seen it does not make it any less real. These people totally cut off any conversation about the subject and generally label anyone who says they seen Bigfoot, a liar.
Often times, these Bigfoot deniers will not even consider or look at any of the evidence. They will not take into account the thousands of eye witness sighting reports. They will not consider the numerous tracks found or any other trace evidence. Sometimes, this can really be frustrating for Bigfoot researchers and for Bigfoot witnesses. The frustration is because we know it is real but the denier will not even listen to what we are trying to tell them.
I guess the question is why are they so adamant about Bigfoot not being real. Does it upset something in their belief system? Sometimes, they seem to get upset at the people who believe or know Bigfoot is real. Why would it bother them if I or anyone else believes in Bigfoot? My guess is that they are just a combative person and enjoy the fight.
I have seen this denier behavior in several Bigfoot groups over the years. First, if you don't believe in Bigfoot, and have zero interest in it, why would you join a Bigfoot group? Is it just to harass others that believe and are interested in Bigfoot?
It seems that people who fall into this section of anti-bigfoot are the very least likely to change their minds. I would think it would take them having a real, up close sighting for them to change their mind. Sometimes the Bigfoot deniers are very aggressive and not only wants to make sure you know they don't believe in Bigfoot, but they will try to convince you to not believe in it as well.
I can in some ways understand how some people may feel jaded by some of the hoaxing events that have happened in the Bigfoot community. For people who may be on the fence about whether Bigfoot is real or not, hoaxing can drive them into total denial and lead them to thinking all sightings are nothing but a hoax.
So, what are we to do and how do we handle these types of people? Well, for me I normally choose not to engage them. Sometimes I will offer a remark or two just to see if they are open to looking at any evidence. Once I realize they are totally closed off to any idea of Bigfoot I normally just move on. Its just not worth the energy to debate with someone who will not even look at potential evidence.
This type of behavior also happens often when evidence is presented. These deniers will all call it a hoax or explain it away in some way. Sometimes, they even turn this into a personal type attack. Again, even thought we want to defend ourselves and our friends, in the end it is a fruitless endeavor to engage and legitimize these absolute deniers, in my opinion.
The Bigfoot field seems to have a lot of factors that make it very frustrating at times. But we must try to maintain a level head and not get bogged down with those who are there just to disrupt. We must attempt to answer legitimate questions from those who truly want to learn more about Bigfoot. And nothing they could say or do can take away the refreshing we get from being out in the forest. Being in the forest seem to clear the mind and re-center a person.
So, in closing of this rambling, let me say, don't let anyone take away the joy of Bigfooting from you. Yes, there are factors that we may not like in the Bigfoot community but most of us do this because we enjoy it and we enjoy nature in general. We get to see, hear and experience things that others do not. We should not give that up and at the very least it is a excellent hobby.
I know this post could have went in many directions and it is probably not very informative for you. But I did want to share some thoughts about this and ramble a little bit.
Have a great day and Squatch on!
Thanks
Tom
This
post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the
cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto
Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of
unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild
land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.
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How can you expect someone who does not believe in Bigfoot to be convinced when none of the "evidence" out there would be accepted as evidence by science? The P-G Film can't be proven as a fake or the real deal (and it's also not great that it's the ONLY good video that has been taken in 50 years), footprints can easily be faked and the "dermal ridges" can easily be caused by plaster molds drying, and eyewitness accounts don't mean anything to science if there is no absolute physical evidence with them, not to mention that it has been proven time and time again that eyewitnesses usually misremember events and are mistaken. And, I understand that several scientists like Krantz, Meldrum and Bindernagel have looked at it and been convinced that it is evidence of an unknown creature, but many more scientists have looked at the "evidence" and said the opposite. If anyone ever expects to get to the bottom of this mystery, we need to be critical of everything and not just try to prove or disprove because of one belief or another. Belief is what hurts cryptozoology more than anything else.
ReplyDeleteThere are several other videos of Bigfoot. The Hoffman film, Paul Freemen, Russian cliff footage and most recently the footage by Leo A Frank. As for tracks..there is a big difference in real tracks when compared to faked or human tracks. But there is a lot of bad information out there and some of it comes from "scientist".
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