SETI’s Senior Astronomer and gentleman sceptic Seth Shostak has had enough abuse from the pro-ET lobby. In this piece over at Space.com he lays out his grievances on the matter, airing concerns that all of us who sit out on the sidelines of the UFO field run into at some time or other.
“Somehow, the fact that I didn’t share their convictions must mean that I’m an “evil, terrible person.” This sort of automatic excoriation seemed to come with the territory. Talking about UFOs was like moonlighting as a metal duck in a shooting gallery…
Why is it that so many members of the UFO community feel that they need to be bullies? Yes, I’ll freely admit that many scientists are dismissive of the UFO hypothesis — often to the point of ridicule. I can understand the frustration occasioned by that. “I don’t get no respect” can be a legitimate plaint, and I’m sure that some UFO proponents feel that pain.
Nonetheless, if after 60 years of claims, the only way that those who believe we’re hosting extraterrestrials can make their point is by wielding the blunt weapon of personal attack, then the whole issue has gone off the rails. I’m willing to listen, and — believe it or not — you could convince me with decent evidence. After all, I happen to think that extraterrestrial intelligence is a frequent occurrence in a universe of ten thousand million million million stars. But when you resort to threats, vitriol and scorn, I think you’ve lost more than the argument. You’ve lost your cred.”
The answer to Seth’s question of course is that for many people belief in ET visitation is a matter of faith – it’s a religion. And as we’ve seen, unfortunately all too often over the past few millennia, religious disputes can get very nasty indeed.
We can only hope that the ET lobby don’t become militant, though this has happened before…
In 1968 Aladino Félix, aka Brazilian contactee Dino Kraspedon, author of Meu Contato com os discos voadores (My Contact with Flying Saucers, 1952/8), began to predict a wave of terror attacks across Brazil. Sure enough a series of bombings, murders and robberies followed. When the gang’s ringleader was apprehended it turned out to be none other than – you guessed it – Aladino Félix!