Why MUST we believe? Is it threatening to NOT believe in alien visitation?

Seems like anytime anyone posts they don't buy aliens visiting us, anger erupts from the "believers"?
Why is that? You post that "non-believers' are closed minded, ignorant of the "evidence", Etc. Baloney.
There is absolutly no evidence that aliens ever, or are visiting us!
Every other UFO thread is some silly You Tube hoax!
Everything else is just conjecture, most of it based on SciFi movies and TV from the last 60 years.
So why is SO IMPORTANT to you that we "believe". It's like a religion to you! Why? Why do sceptics bug you so much ? Please try to answer intelligently. Thanks!

[edit on 17-6-2010 by OldDragger]

Why do religious people try to convince non-religious people of their beliefs, and vice-versa? The bottom line is that if you believe something to be absolutely true, and you see other people disregarding the idea despite what you might consider to be evidence, then you are probably going to wonder why those people don't believe what you believe.

Of course not all UFO believers are going to get insulted or angry if you don't agree with us. There is always a silent majority who are more interested in figuring out this phenomenon than trying to convince someone who doesn't want to be convinced.

People should believe what they want to believe, but always leave some room for possible new beliefs. Unfortunately bigotry runs strong in online forums.

reply to post by Magnus47


Thanks for a thoughtful post.
I rarely post in this forum, mainly because I no longer find the topic interesting, but I don't feel compelled to disagree and force my opinion on everone that thinks aliens are here! And I don't get the childish need to "believe" in ANYTHING that gets people so worked up when it's no skin off their backs! I find it the height of arrogance and ignorance!

You ask for intelligient responses after making a post full of wide generalizations and sweeping statements about a group of people that are all very different. For starters if you are going to ask about why people feel threatened by Skeptics then you shouldn't spell it like its a problem for a plumber to deal with. I am at a loss to see where you have given any examples of this behavior that you are claiming you see.

First of all, not all people who know the truth can be called believers. Believing is something that is done without evidence. Knowing is entirely different and you are sweeping Knowers in with believers and labeling them all the same. You are also taking the opinions of a few and applying them to this group you have created. Based on all of the experiences I have had I am not a believer, I am a knower, and to be totally honest with you.. I don't care what you believe. You will find that those who know can be some of the toughest skeptics to false claims. We are so critical because every lie tarnishes the underlying truth. You sound very young, so I am going to cut you some slack here but in the future please try to not generalize such a large and diverse group of people under sweeping statements that are non-factual.

thanks.

reply to post by OldDragger


Actually I don't care whether you "believe" it or not. As the expression goes, I know what I know. Skeptics actually play a role in the UFO debate; if nothing else to remind people that the sighting is not always a vehicle from outer space; that some sightings can be attributed to either man made secret aircraft that the average person is not aware of, or things like meteorites, comets, etc.

Where they (skeptics) fail in their efforts is by debunking all sightings automatically, without at least some consideration/evaluation of the information presented; i.e. preconceived notions, which in my opinion is a very naive position to take.












[edit on 17-6-2010 by manta78]

reply to post by OldDragger


I usually don't argue with people over their belief in UFOs -- I usually only debate with people regarding specific cases or reports of UFOs, or other UFO evidence.
People can have the general beliefs they want, but it does bother me when people believe a UFO story that I think may be full of holes.

For example, I personally believe that life may exist somewhere out there in the universe, but that belief does not mean I won't be skeptical of a person who says he is in remote contact with aliens in the Andromeda galaxy.

...i.e., I would automatically support others' belief in life elsewhere in the universe, but I won't automatically support a story about direct contact with distant aliens.


[edit on 6/17/2010 by Soylent Green Is People]

Just because certain individuals show certain traits; doesn't mean you should look at what they believe in and attribute it to others that believe in the same thing.

The answer to your question would be:

Because that person is insecure with their Self.

To get angry at someone because they believe something differently, means you have not accepting anything and everything is possible. (closed mind)

Who do non believers try and make believers not believe? Swings and roundabouts innit. It's the human condition, we love to air our views. You have an opinion on the ufo subject, you think it's all rubbish. I have an opinion on ufos, I don't think it's rubbish. (due to a triangle sighting in the mid- late 90s) I've had my evidence, I don't need anyone to disclose anything to me. Maybe one day you'll get lucky. Until then, you hold on to what's true to you.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter one bit what any of us believe. Well, it only matters to you, as this is a manifestation of how you view the world.

Also, this is a discussion board, what are we supposed to talk about in the ufo forum?

reply to post by Acidtastic


Also, this is a discussion board, what are we supposed to talk about in the ufo forum?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That IS my point! Do people want to discuss, or simply cheerlead?
If no sceptics are tolerated, then what is the point? You all get together and agree? Compliment each other on how "awake" you are? How thrilling.
AND, I have seen things I couldn't identify, but I am not so foolish as to make the leap to calling them spaceships! Unidentified being the key word here!

There are plenty of people on ATS who have been skeptical of specific UFO cases that believe in alien visitation, and there are FAR more ATS alien visitation report skeptics who DO IN FACT believe in intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

As I said in my other post, the question isn't ALWAYS about ridiculing a person's belief in alien visitation, but being skeptical of specific alien visitation reports.

I personally have not seen enough evidence that positively convinces me that alien visitation is occurring -- but that does not mean I would ridicule that general belief in others. HOWEVER, I will point out the faults in specific reports and sightings.

[edit on 6/17/2010 by Soylent Green Is People]

reply to post by NephraTari


I find your reply..less than thoughtful.
Young?
A generalization? It's not good to use specific posters, threads or names here, and is not neccessary. No freakin kidding was my question general! Frankly, your post is nonsense! I'm not being rude or hostile, but I find you pretentious beyond belief ,but I guess I'm just not in YOUR league! You know THE TRUTH!

[edit on 17-6-2010 by OldDragger]

Double post

[edit on 17-6-2010 by OldDragger]

Originally posted by OldDragger
Seems like anytime anyone posts they don't buy aliens visiting us, anger erupts from the "believers"?
Why is that? You post that "non-believers' are closed minded, ignorant of the "evidence", Etc. Baloney.
There is absolutly no evidence that aliens ever, or are visiting us!
Every other UFO thread is some silly You Tube hoax!
Everything else is just conjecture, most of it based on SciFi movies and TV from the last 60 years.
So why is SO IMPORTANT to you that we "believe". It's like a religion to you! Why? Why do sceptics bug you so much ? Please try to answer intelligently. Thanks!

[edit on 17-6-2010 by OldDragger]

Watch

*snip*

THATS 400+ credible witnesses that confirmes that we are DEFENETLY NOT ALONE and the PLANET EARTH IS BEING VISITED CONTACTED AND THEY ARE INTERACTING with us!



[edit on 17-6-2010 by Moonguy]

ATS Terms and Conditions of Use

1j.) URL Links: You will not place a link on our site that initiates an automatic download or execution of a file of any sort.

[edit on June 17th 2010 by greeneyedleo]

When I was younger, i.e. early 20s, I had some experiences that caused me to re-think the whole 'alien' visitation scenario. I always believed in UFOs; I've seen several, from a silver disc in the sky to balls of fire. But I was skeptical about the alien slant. I still don't believe we are being visited from aliens from another star system, but we ARE being visited. During the years after my experiences, I struggled with the fact of what happened to me and exactly who or what these beings are. After I became a Christian I finally found my answer:

They're more than likely demonic in nature, from the spiritual realm.

[edit on 17-6-2010 by The Patriot]

Originally posted by Moonguy
THATS 400+ credible witnesses that confirmes that we are DEFENETLY NOT ALONE and the PLANET EARTH IS BEING VISITED CONTACTED AND THEY ARE INTERACTING with us!

Three men do not make a tiger.

How do you know all 400 are credible? What makes them credible? How do you know they are all, or even a single one, is telling the truth? What evidence do they have to back up their claims?

Originally posted by OldDragger
reply to post by Acidtastic

 

Also, this is a discussion board, what are we supposed to talk about in the ufo forum?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That IS my point! Do people want to discuss, or simply cheerlead?
If no sceptics are tolerated, then what is the point? You all get together and agree? Compliment each other on how "awake" you are? How thrilling.

AND, I have seen things I couldn't identify, but I am not so foolish as to make the leap to calling them spaceships! Unidentified being the key word here!

you do realise that nobody is forcing you to be here? It sounds like this may not be the section of the forum which benifits you very much. And there's nothing at all wrong with being skeptical, it's healthy to have a degree of skeptisism. But like blind faith, too much of it can be a bad thing, as you'll never let anything in. As it seems you're doing, when you say "there is no evidence of UFOs" There's actually rather alot, if you care to look into it a little. Radar recordings, physical trace left on the ground, eye witnesses, pictures and videos. These all count as evidence. And whilst many pictures and videos are easily explainable, many are also not so easily dismissed. If 95% of sightings are missunderstood/plain hoaxes, then that still leaves a couple of hundred thousand cases that don't fit.

Originally posted by DoomsdayRex

Originally posted by Moonguy
THATS 400+ credible witnesses that confirmes that we are DEFENETLY NOT ALONE and the PLANET EARTH IS BEING VISITED CONTACTED AND THEY ARE INTERACTING with us!

Three men do not make a tiger.

How do you know all 400 are credible? What makes them credible? How do you know they are all, or even a single one, is telling the truth? What evidence do they have to back up their claims?

What makes you think they're not credible, where is your evidence to back this up? What makes you think that they're telling lies? Why would they lie? Has it brought them great fame and fortune? No, it bought them ridicule and misery. Ask yourself why would they do that if they didn't believe what they know to be true?

Some people are more interested than others and can see the true evidence, and there is a lot.. The people with no interest, or a frozen intellect on that subject have the potential to be in the know, but they don't even care and the reason for that is the alien scenerio has no real meaning to their life.. And they are actually correct in that because even if it is all real to them, they have lives to live that doesnt include any real pressing need to care one way or the other if there are aliens running around..

But the reason people like to try and prove it to others sometimes is because they can actually make sense out of what they found and they don't stop to think that the average joe disbeliever probably doesn't care even if it is true.....

Another reason is the alien stuff can be exciting to some people and they want to share it.. but their audiences can be unresponsive or hostile because the audience isn't interested either way..

An example of this is like when I try and teach the wife how to use her computer, she won't learn and wont try because she just isn't excited or very interested in computers.. I think a lot of debunkers are like this because they sure don't give a hoot about the evidence.. so how can they be convinced ?

reply to post by Acidtastic


I certainly hope the alien fans have better reading comprehension in reading "alien' accounts then they have shown in understanding my posts!
No, I'm not "forced " to post, I'm simply asking a question.
I knew someone would pull out the old "not open minded' baloney!
I WAS interested for 40 years, I finally came to the conclusion that it all amounted to..nothing!
So WHY did you reply to my post?

See my first post, we're human, we love to spout our opinions.

Deal with it