Legitimacy? Attained or a Pipe Dream?

Greetings. The UFO topic has struggled mightily to attain a level of legitimacy in the eyes of the general public, not to mention the scientific community. Has any progress been made to alleviate the situation?

Back in the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's the so-called contactees were quite popular. Their tales of being invited onboard flying saucers, traveling to Mars, Venus, and other planets, and meeting well-endowed blonde-haired females made for good fodder. Their place was secure in the spotlight, but they never provided any evidence to support their laughable and admittedly embarrassing claims. For a while, George Adamski and his peers held a place in the UFO subculture, but as time moved forward, their collective fame began to wane, or did it?

Nowadays we have Demi Lovato and Tom DeLonge to carry the flag of nonsensical content, among others too numerous to name in a single blog posting. They are alive and well. Their voices have not been silenced, in fact, they have gained some standing in the UFO subculture. With so much of the UFO subculture's foundation firmly "grounded" in the entertainment industry, people like Ms. Lovato and Mr. DeLonge have made substantial headway gaining an level of fame and notoriety along with quite a bit of undeserved credibility. With the backing of producers eager to provide content to a public desiring anything and everything UFO related, the ease with which the public can be misled or misinformed is truly disconcerting.

In decades past, the contactees' ability to influence the public and the UFO subculture was limited to a certain extent, but with the advent of the Internet and social media, the situation has completely changed, and not in a positive way. When George Adamski, Daniel Fry, Truman Bethurum, Orfeo Angelucci, and others were in the limelight, they were only able to reach a certain percentage of the general population, usually people who attended one of their events, or saw one of them interviewed on network television. Today, with so many platforms providing content for public consumption, the potential avenues of influence and for the spreading of nonsensical, misleading excrement is too troubling to consider, but it should be.

The situation has not improved since the days of the contactees, in fact, it has become substantially worse. For every Jack Brewer, there is a Christina Gomez. For every David Marler, there is a Tom DeLonge. For every John Greenewald, there is a Linda Moulton Howe. For every Kevin Randle, there is a Steven Greer. Do you sense a pattern? Its a troubling pattern to say the least. The UFO subculture is never going to make any headway towards answers to the UFO problem, not because of any societal shortcomings, but because we keep embracing nonsensical crap, as if its gold. Such crap is fool's gold.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Comments

Liars, Frauds, and Misrepresenters.

Greetings. I am occasionally asked why I write about so many of the troubling issues within the UFO subculture. One reason, actually two. One, because the troubling issues exist, and I cannot in good conscience simply ignore them. Two, I am passionate about the UFO question, and I care deeply about the integrity of the entire UFO subculture, even though I am not an active participant in the movement. There are many outstanding people involved in UFO research, individuals with integrity, an unshakable commitment to the work, and a high level of professionalism. They consistently grind the research stone in the never-ending effort to solve, or at the very least, learn about the UFO problem and it's innumerable questions. I cannot offer enough kind words of support and encouragement to those people, they are all deserving of our accolades, for they conduct their workmanlike efforts behind the scenes, without attention, out of the limelight, and beyond the prying eyes of the UFO subcu

Cringeworthy Promotion, Dolan Style.

Greetings. Mr. Richard Dolan is one of the most well-known figures in the UFO subculture. Known as a historian of the UFO topic, Mr. Dolan has commented at length about the UFO problem on various platforms, on broadcast media, during his own show, and on various social media outlets. Mr. Dolan is a highly active participant on the UFO circuit, making appearances at many UFO themed festivals and conferences, actively promoting himself throughout. Now the simple act of promotion is not necessarily a negative course of action, but it is strongly suggestive of a change of course. In UFO circles, the act of self-promotion is a slippery slope, one that many well-known public figures have fallen into, some seemingly by accident, others by choice. Mr. Dolan seems to have chosen his course of action, and is apparently quite comfortable in his new surroundings. Some UFO researchers have lost their professional credibility and integrity in the name of fame, notoriety, and financial gain. It ha

MUFON: Peddling Nonsense or Unknowingly Ignorant?

Greetings. The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) was once a legitimate investigative organization. Back in the 1970's, the organization worked alongside, but not in cooperation with, the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) and the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP.) By the 1990's, MUFON was the only game left in town, with APRO and NICAP having passed into UFO history. In recent years, the organization's focus has shifted away from UFO investigations towards the UFO entertainment industry and the nonsensical content it embraces. The organization has experienced several setbacks in recent years, self-inflicted wounds that tended to occur at the upper echelons of the organization, with the names Jan Harzan, John Ventre, and Steve Hudgeons immediately coming to mind. Despite this situation, there are several local chapters that have maintained a level of investigative focus and legitimacy, keeping the chaos of the higher organization at arm's

William G. Pullin

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