Polarisation of belief

I came to ATS believing in an alien presence. I've had my own experiences which lead me to believe there was something out there. In the mid 70s I saw two RAF Phantom jets chasing a silver sphere across the skies of NE England, shortly followed by a Nimrod at very low altitude following them out across the North Sea.

Since I've been here I've witnessed countless posters showing ropey YouTube videos of obviously identifiable clips of aeroplanes, helicopters and insects.

These people are immune to logic. They believe and attack nay-sayers as dissinfo artists, government agents or human-alien hybrids on a secret agenda.

To these people can I say one thing: I was a believer but listening to your insane rantings and total lack of understanding of physics and photography you have pushed me to the other side. I will challenge your ignorance at every step. I will not stop until you are totally discredited.

Cue the next video of a UFO with flashing red and green lights.

reply to post by Slippery Jim


Slippery Jim.....

I was a believer but listening to your insane rantings and total lack of understanding of physics and photography you have pushed me to the other side

Oh you poor old thing.....I do believe we have worn you out!

Listen.....

There's plenty of interesting material around.....

You've just gotta keep your head down when the lunatics drop in!

Cheers mate
Maybe...maybe not

reply to post by Slippery Jim


Dang man. I just wrote a thread today about this kind of thing. You should not let these people that you don't even know, influence you so heavily as to make you an unbeliever in yourself.

You thought you saw a UFO right? You probably did, don't let the loons drive you away from the Truth!

It's like having a passing interest in Star Trek and the going to a Star Trek convention, you look around at all the the people speaking Klingon and saying "live long and prosper" and you think, Wow I thought I liked Star Trek (and would have something in commen with these folks), but these guys are clearly nuts, maybe I'll start watching the X Files instead.

reply to post by Slippery Jim

I will challenge your ignorance at every step. I will not stop until you are totally discredited.

Hiya Jim, the 'challenging ignorance' is powerful hoodoo and admirable.

The 'totally discredited' is a different matter...imo.

We've already got guys going for the 'discrediting' and the UFO blogs and forums across the internet are also full of these people. Attack dogs and discussion killers. For some of them, hostility from behind a monitor and angry avatar is a hobby. They have a mantra of how 'ufology should be taken seriously.' Then they make a 1000 posts picking and kicking at anyone who posts about UFOs.

We're unlikely to know what is really behind the UFO phenomena in our lifetimes. That won't stop us trying to scratch the itch or enjoy the mystery (I use 'enjoy' loosely! Frustration and irritation?). If we all challenge the ignorance with a smile and friendly style...it should help to keep the subject civil and free of the BS-merchants of *all* sides.

reply to post by Slippery Jim


One can be both a skeptic and a believer. I myself have seen a UFO and yet I'm not going to throw in with the fringe believers talking about Reptilians and hybrid babies who would believe just about anything. In fact one might say that in order to be a serious believer you HAVE to be a skeptic, after all without the proper dose of skepticism how are you going to find the truth?

reply to post by Slippery Jim


The best thing that you can do , is examine each post on face value. Ignore for a moment the motivations, or obvious stupidity of people, and examine the evidence provided. When its a plane, tell a sucker all about it. When its a bug, let the world know. Then , when you see something you cant explain, and you have had yourself a damned good look with a digital imaging pro looking over your shoulder, THEN when you cannot explain it, wonder, be awestruck, be amazed and love your life. Dont let bogus and shoddy research and evidence ruin your interest.

Originally posted by Kandinsky
They have a mantra of how 'ufology should be taken seriously.'

Shouldn't that be everyone' mantra?

reply to post by DoomsdayRex

Shouldn't that be everyone' mantra?

Recently, I could care less about whether people take the subject seriously. Chastising people for not taking ufology seriously isn't productive imo.

We're all attracted to the subject for different reasons and interpret it differently too. Various groups and individuals in the field take themselves seriously...often in opposition to other groups. I guess I'm trying to distance myself from that approach, but it could also be 'UFO fatigue' talking. It's complicated and I'm not tempted to write a few hundred words in explanation.

Aliens are definitely present on Earth.

Though, I think true UFO sightings are uncommon.

Originally posted by Kandinsky
Recently, I could care less about whether people take the subject seriously. Chastising people for not taking ufology seriously isn't productive imo.

There is taking it seriously and taking it seriously. There are those who may be serious in their belief but when they forsake evidence in favor of assumption, confuse speculation with fact, purposefully misinterpret data, and do not examine any claim with any sort of critical thought, they are not taking the subject seriously. Those people should be chastised; letting them run wild, dominate the conversation and pretend they represent serious UFO research damages the field.

Originally posted by Slippery Jim
I came to ATS believing in an alien presence. I've had my own experiences which lead me to believe there was something out there. In the mid 70s I saw two RAF Phantom jets chasing a silver sphere across the skies of NE England, shortly followed by a Nimrod at very low altitude following them out across the North Sea.

Since I've been here I've witnessed countless posters showing ropey YouTube videos of obviously identifiable clips of aeroplanes, helicopters and insects.

These people are immune to logic. They believe and attack nay-sayers as dissinfo artists, government agents or human-alien hybrids on a secret agenda.

To these people can I say one thing: I was a believer but listening to your insane rantings and total lack of understanding of physics and photography you have pushed me to the other side. I will challenge your ignorance at every step. I will not stop until you are totally discredited.

Cue the next video of a UFO with flashing red and green lights.

Thank you! I couldnt have put it better. I too am a huge believer in alien presence on this planet but most believers on these forums just plainly tick me off. Funny is that I get labeled skeptic or disinfo agent sometimes. Thank you for voicing the opinion of the minority on this forum.

To be a true believer you have to be a skeptic first!

Originally posted by vinunleaded
Thank you! I couldnt have put it better. I too am a huge believer in alien presence on this planet but most believers on these forums just plainly tick me off. Funny is that I get labeled skeptic or disinfo agent sometimes. Thank you for voicing the opinion of the minority on this forum.

To be a true believer you have to be a skeptic first!

Thanks for that, mate.

I believe because I have seen something undeniably strange. I didn't see aeroplanes or helicopters or satellites or planets or stars or meteorites.

When I see people on here being fooled by the above and being aggressive to those who question them I get a little annoyed.

Keep that skeptic eye open. We can believe but still spot the b*llsh*t from The Credulous.

Countdown to this thread being deleted 10... 9... 8... 7....

Originally posted by Kandinsky


Hiya Jim, the 'challenging ignorance' is powerful hoodoo and admirable.

The 'totally discredited' is a different matter...imo.

We've already got guys going for the 'discrediting' and the UFO blogs and forums across the internet are also full of these people. Attack dogs and discussion killers. For some of them, hostility from behind a monitor and angry avatar is a hobby. They have a mantra of how 'ufology should be taken seriously.' Then they make a 1000 posts picking and kicking at anyone who posts about UFOs.

We're unlikely to know what is really behind the UFO phenomena in our lifetimes. That won't stop us trying to scratch the itch or enjoy the mystery (I use 'enjoy' loosely! Frustration and irritation?). If we all challenge the ignorance with a smile and friendly style...it should help to keep the subject civil and free of the BS-merchants of *all* sides.

Kandinsky, I work for the BBC. I've been in the Post Production business for 21 years. I know what is or is not real just by looking at it. Sometimes I can't be arsed to explain exactly why videos are bogus because, like tonight, I'm on the night shift and need to go to bed. I'm knackered and have to be up at 8am.

Talk later tomorrow night.