Why Would Aliens Not Be Violent?

All of the following is my opinion as usual.
All the following is a IF Aliens are Real scenario:

I get the opinion if they wanted to attack then they would have done so along time ago...Sure that makes sense to in extent.
Chances are there are more then one Race, so to group them into all being peaceful is kinda naive.

I just don't see how when Aliens "arrive," all our world problems will be solved.
I believe there will still be war.
There will still be hate.
I don't see unicorns floating through the air, rainbows, angels singing.
People will still probably need money.
I don't see us zipping through the universe in Jetson's like space cars.
I don't see them blindly sharing their technology.

America was colonized without much sympathy for the people who were still here.
Remember it was the "NEW WORLD" for those colonist.

I just think that we can't rule out that they could be planning "negative" things.
When countries invade other countries there is a bit of manipulation of the local population before the war begins.
In my opinion there is no reason to believe the aliens are not any different.

I know some grew up in the age of cartoons like "futurama" and others where humans are living side by side with aliens.
I know there are a few groups out there that worship these beings, and think they will save us and made us, so they will believe what they want.

I just think we should keep a open mind in either case.
Thinking they may have violent intentions is far from being ignorant.
All is my opinion.

reply to post by StarPeace


Fundamentally, I think it comes down to what it would take to be a space traveling civilization. Much the same way some believe reptiles couldn't evolve to a society based culture, since they don't raise their live young and therefore lack certain empathetic qualities, we can say that in most probability, a civilization that didn't wipe itself out would have the cooperative spirit that would allow it to take to space and survive. A war based race, would most likely destroy itself before it could pose a threat to another sentient species, unless they shared a solar system perhaps. Even still, our experiences of conquering only relate to ourselves. Humans conquering humans, to ascribe our temperament and ruthlessness to an alien race might be premature. Not to mention, would we have conquered so ruthlessly if it were not for the Kings, Queens, and Empires of old demanding new land and resources. Fundamentally as long as basic needs are met, people tend to default to fairly pleasant individuals.

Its just loose reasoning, but the gap between stars is a bit bigger than an ocean separating continents. Them stumbling across us and wanting our resources is a huge leap, considering the most valuable of our resources are available in massive quantities floating out in space. There aren't a lot of reasons for them to be violent. If they wanted the planet, and were looking to expand their empire they wouldn't wait for us to develop the nuke or other weapons that may have some detrimental impact on their plans. They can get resources faster and easier in the vacuum of space, so for me, besides resources and real estate, curiosity is the only logical driving factor.

Just my two cents tho.

aliens if hostile haven't attacked yet because they probably aren't aware of us as we aren't aware of them.
unless there is a massive gov secret and aliens have visited earth.
if they have mastered space flight then they would likely be alot like us.
they appreciate the wonders in exploration and learning.
they would also need resources and when we need resources we usually start a war and lie about it.
many metals and gasses would be easier obtained mining other planets and asteroids unless they would want to rely on a slavery.but thats if they are hostile or need anything at all.

We're the bad neighbors, on the wrong side of the galactic tracks....

As long as we keep our garbage on our side, they probably have no interest in us....

Originally posted by listerofsmeg
aliens if hostile haven't attacked yet because they probably aren't aware of us as we aren't aware of them.
unless there is a massive gov secret and aliens have visited earth.
if they have mastered space flight then they would likely be alot like us.
they appreciate the wonders in exploration and learning.
they would also need resources and when we need resources we usually start a war and lie about it.
many metals and gasses would be easier obtained mining other planets and asteroids unless they would want to rely on a slavery.but thats if they are hostile or need anything at all.

Perhaps, but if you can control singularities to propel your vehicles across space, chances are they would have some sort of transmutation/manufacturing capabilities to turn the raw basic materials of the universe into the more refined elements they may need. I don't see them coming to earth for gold or diamonds (which can be manufactured to a certain extent), gas or oil (which we are just too lazy to find a better alternative for). They COULD potentially be after mass quantities of water, but there again they can utilize simple procedures to acquire these resources, saving time and energy on travel/enslave/exploit type systems.

Hard to say without knowing anything about their culture/government/biological needs/etc.

Originally posted by Destinyone
We're the bad neighbors, on the wrong side of the galactic tracks....

As long as we keep our garbage on our side, they probably have no interest in us....

That might be their reason for not showing themselves, we have a lot of problems to fix, and they know we'll just demand they do it for us. I would wait till the kids grew up to show them how to drive a car too (to use a poor analogy).

Cheers.

They arent hostile cus they ideally are at a higher level then us, war is man made. They hopefully can see that violence is not helpful and thus won't strive for it.

Originally posted by JunoJive

Originally posted by Destinyone
We're the bad neighbors, on the wrong side of the galactic tracks....

As long as we keep our garbage on our side, they probably have no interest in us....

That might be their reason for not showing themselves, we have a lot of problems to fix, and they know we'll just demand they do it for us. I would wait till the kids grew up to show them how to drive a car too (to use a poor analogy).

Cheers.

edit on 12-12-2011 by JunoJive because: changed reply to quote.

I think it was a good analogy you made. I sometimes think they must view us as the trailer trash of the Universe.

reply to post by JunoJive


if they were that advanced i doubt they would need or want contact with any other species, too much of a risk.
a civilization with that kinda tech would probably have evolved beyond the need for war to get what it wants.

Originally posted by thegoods724
They arent hostile cus they ideally are at a higher level then us, war is man made. They hopefully can see that violence is not helpful and thus won't strive for it.

Perhaps, but thats if maybe they are a few thousand years ahead, and they have sorted out their space based system of government and law etc. If they are like us only maybe 200 years ahead (technologically speaking) than they may still have basic primitive instincts as well. The urge to reproduce, to feed etc. But whats important is their self control so to speak.

They could be just like us, but a culture of Buddhists. We wouldn't have much to fear from them, but on the other hand they could have the 'American Dream' mentality and seek only to further their own ends. But I doubt it, since the same thing would keep them grounded as keeps us stuck here. Ourselves and our own inability to deal with our own demons.

It's simple logic to think that aliens with interstellar space travel would be loving or cooperative.

The reason why many humans believe E.T is a negative/violent entity is because they know no other way to judge a creature they've never met before. \

They look at their surroundings, their selves, and see violence. This is why E.T "must" be violent.

I think considering all the possbilites of millions and billions of years advancment over us...they have no need to"conquer" us.

They already could-have if they wanted to....and they havent, so they dont need to, so they wont. Otherwise? They would-have already. And they didnt.

reply to post by StarPeace


why would any hypothetical aliens be hostile ?

Originally posted by listerofsmeg
reply to post by JunoJive

 

if they were that advanced i doubt they would need or want contact with any other species, too much of a risk.
a civilization with that kinda tech would probably have evolved beyond the need for war to get what it wants.

Depends, even our primitive mind can imagine something like the Prime Directive from star-trek, where interference in a fledgling civilization is frowned upon. Again, there is little to no way to assess their motivations without even a hint of information regarding them. If we were to use the little Grey man archetype, we can say they don't need our resources, the are after biological information. They are scientists who treat us like we treat lab rats, and who are we to complain. The sequels of the rat don't slow down the science we do, why would our squeaks of protest?

Personally, if we found a tree on another planet, we could say the question is answered that we are not alone. Then comes the time to study. Non-involvement, don't influence the experiment etc, these things seem to drive the science as math drives the universe.

Originally posted by ThinkingCap
The reason why many humans believe E.T is a negative/violent entity is because they know no other way to judge a creature they've never met before. \

They look at their surroundings, their selves, and see violence. This is why E.T "must" be violent.

Yes, but ethnocentrism is something even our sociologists and anthropologists have to learn to deal with, so thats a primitive but deflatable defense mechanism.

Humans are kidnapped ... have painful medical experiments done on them .... their memories messed with ... and generally treated by aliens the same way that we treat wild animals that we are doing scientific experiments on. The aliens dont' seem to regard us any higher than we regard baby seals or polar bears. (and you can see how their lives are while having to live under humans - YIKES).

Originally posted by ThinkingCap
The reason why many humans believe E.T is a negative/violent entity is because they know no other way to judge a creature they've never met before. \

They look at their surroundings, their selves, and see violence. This is why E.T "must" be violent.

projecting the psychopathic values of western ":civilization"[no such thing] upon ET is pretty stupid,

but then again, lets not forget that those who seek to make ET into a bogeyman are the real enemy.

reply to post by JunoJive


i agree but evolution often produces the same result.
if their home planet is anything like ours then they are most likely a lot like us.
we'd probably find more on their planet that resembles earth life.
competition is part of evolution, anything that doesn't compete usually doesn't survive so if they've been around long enough to make space ships then their ideas and motives would also be likely similar to ours.

reply to post by StarPeace


I believe in about 1000 years humans will look back at war and violence like we look back at a simple caveman.

My theory is that with evolution war and violence will die out, or we will.
Same goes with other races in the universe.

if we get over that speed bump, its easy riding