Is it time we start calling ourselves "Earthlings" incase we find ET?

For instance let's say we find an ET civilization I think it would be our best interest to call ourselves a common entity rather than hundreds/thousands of sub entities like "Americans" or "British". To call ourselves Earthlings will Atleast give us the front that we are a united planet. I would assume that any other planet out there would be working as a whole planet for space travel because this is the BEST and most INTELLEGENT way.

For instance NK just sent up a satellite. It failed. It was a loss for NK which everyone praises but a loss for humans which people ignore. Those materials used will NEVER come back for us to use. So while we laugh at them precious resources we might need 1,000 years from now is gone forever.

Now let's say the voyager 1 or 2 finds Something and they trace it back to Earth. And when they get here they see all these nations fighting and war and then they think to themselves. "these humans are using all these resources to find new life and they have so many problems still on their planet.

If anything we will prove that we are not advanced.

The reason I bring this up is one day we MIGHT find something since we send so much up in space but we are not ready.

I believe that we made contact with higher life forms after they detected our nuclear bomb testing. It's possible they were here in the past but those aliens could have killed themselves off or moved to other parts of the universe... Who knows. But I mean if we make 100% honest contact with ET right now we will look like idiots in their eyes and they might take advantage of that.

Except that is already the way the world works..

Within America we have the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines yet when dealing with that on a world wide scale its referred to as the American Military.

When dealing with the globe, internally for lack of a better term, everyone associates with their country yet if we had aliens sitting on our front lawn I bet everyone would be using the term earthling.

reply to post by opethPA


So why don't we advance ourselves to earthlings before we make contact. Remember earthlings didn't land on mars or the moon Americans did and that is bad for Earths image I think.

If we are not united when we make contact it will show the ET we were not ready and therefor did not fully think out our plans on space exploration. More INTELLEGENT entities will be creating plans that may take tens or hundreds of years to carry out. We can barly get 2-3 year projects done.

I'm just pointing out the HUGE gap between where we should be concerning a first contact and where we actually are as a planet.

reply to post by marbles87


We can call ourselves anything we want. But, I surmise, once ET sees what we've done to our own planet...they'll call is idiots, and dangerous.

Des

Why not just use 'Human?' After all, it worked for you a couple times in the OP rather the 'Earthling' you might have used (unless, of course, they're of the 'Uncle Martin' variety - then 'Earthling' should work fine).

Maybe it could be more like 'U-Mahn,' with perhaps a Ferengi accent.

reply to post by marbles87


I think by your logic,would you start calling married people divorcees in case they get divorced?
So...no is my answer.

reply to post by marbles87

I think that would be assuming Aliens would have hostile intent only triggered by our own stupidity and they're friendly and open otherwise? I think it's one or the other in each species case (If rumors of more than one flavor out there are true) and what we do or don't do has little to do with it. It'd be like our having rats in a cage and deciding to kill them all JUST because one attacked and killed another. Well, we might terminate the experiment, but we wouldn't kill them for any personal concern over what happened?

If Aliens are out there, they have an advantage we cannot match and cannot fight. THEY are THERE...we are down here. They can sit half a lunar distance off, presumably, and bombard our planet until they just get so bored, the flashes across our surface don't amuse them anymore ...for all we could do to stop it.

If they mean to kill us or they mean to steal from our world....I'd say about all we'll have for choices is to fight for the idea of at least dying for something ...or watching it all happen. Nothing effective would be possible anyway. So why worry?

Originally posted by marbles87
reply to post by opethPA

 

So why don't we advance ourselves to earthlings before we make contact. Remember earthlings didn't land on mars or the moon Americans did and that is bad for Earths image I think.

Because at that time the space race was still on and Russia was our enemy so it makes total sense that the country specific labels were used. If you throw an alien race at the planet I imagine everyone will unite under the Earthlings title real fast.

What if an astronaut gives birth in space outside of earth?

reply to post by ElOmen


I think that would make him an illegal alien.
(pun intended)

reply to post by DrumsRfun


The name isn't as important as the fact that we have united the planet. The earth should have been united before anything went in space. Hell what if the moon was a space ship and when we landed they considered it an attack there would be no order on earth. But now that we are crashing stuff into planets and moons we might hit something we shouldn't have and how does a planet answer for a country? The ET won't hold a country responsable it will be the whole planet.

Everyone will blame USA the ET will say you were his friends why didn't you stop them.

It's easy to blame a country when another country is involved what the hell do we do when another planet is involved. Or spaceship if not a planet.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


This has little to do with proving military might as proving superior intelligence on earth. Big difference. It's very possible that hostile aliens dont exist becaus they kill themselves off eventually and all the nice ones hide until the evil ones die off. Might be why we have never made official contact because we were told we will be left to die off. Maybe only peaceful ET become smart enough to travel the universe ever think of that.

ET probably ignore military intellegence and look for peaceful intellengence.

Well before "earthlings" I would call us,

homo-Sapiens,Terran and humans come to mind.

Earthling just means residing on earth, so it's the same than saying you are new-yorker from living in new york. So if we leave earth, we are not earthlings anymore.

reply to post by marbles87

The ET won't

the ET will

How did you get all this knowledge of their behavior??
What makes you such an expert on ET??
This is all speculation.

Thats fine...this is the gray forum but I am only pointing out the obvious.

reply to post by marbles87


The aliens would have to be within 67 light years of our location to have detected by now the atomic bombs dropped in Japan. That is a very small area considering our own galaxy is 100,000 light years in diameter. It is highly probable that they wouldn't know we are here yet.

I will go by "EarthDude" though when and if I meet them.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


I'm assuming and using what humans have done in the past to predict what a more intellengent society might do. For instance it might be wise to say that if another Civilzation was highly advanced war and the need to kill another would be very rare like while humans are at times of peace technology booms and civizations thrive it's only when they turn to war paths that they fail.

Self proclaimed "Terran" from the Sol system here.

Earthling sounds so 1950s low budget Sci-Fi

Originally posted by marbles87
reply to post by DrumsRfun

 

I'm assuming and using what humans have done in the past to predict what a more intellengent society might do.

That is sort of like saying I am using what my dog did in the past to predict what my cat is going to do.
It makes no sense.

Bit late for that - we sent messages long ago,

Remember the Golden Record?

Voyager

Greetings

I always preferred "Terran"