From one of the Orange orb blogs…I forget which.
I thought this would be the last of the “Trent Tempest” that recently went on, (see notes below) but I’m inspired to write a bit more on this. One of my observations about this whole thing has been the Trickster aspect in this little affair.
The Trickster is everywhere in UFO and Fortean events, and I think this point is often missed by many researchers. As irritating as the hoaxes and hucksters are, and as bewildering as the surreal moments in UFOlogy are,these elements are a necessary part, an innate part, of the phenomena.
Often both UFOlogists and the pathological skeptics call for some sort of what I call a cry to “cleanse the cultural landscape of woo.” Get rid of the hucksters, the embarrassing ones, the harmless pranksters — all of them. On the pro-UFO side, a rational (usually) call for saner behavior is made. On the rabid, anti UFO side, there are those who want a crusade against anything “woo.”
Personally, I’d like the Raelians to go away, for a long list of reasons. Reluctantly, however, I realize they’re simply a part of the big UFO picture.
The Trickster in Brief
The Trickster is not a person. It’s not an individual, not a human. I’s not a cartoon character, or a comic book icon.
The Trickster is a manifestation of a phenomena, an element, an idea. It’s cross cultural. The Trickster goes by many names, and many guises, and many guises within any one culture.
Odd:
I’m one of those rationalists who have called for the hucksters and snake-oil salesmen to be turfed. But, while I’ve had my run-ins with the “believers”, I wouldn’t want to see them bounced, anymore than I would want to see religion gone and replaced solely by science. The world would be an infinitely less interesting place if that was the case. The con men are just bad guys, preying on people’s better nature – that should never be tolerated. The “believers” (and I don’t mean that pejoratively) are good people who have travelled farther than I think the evidence leads, but then it’s not a matter of evidence to them, it’s a matter of faith. And that’s not a bad thing. There are days when I almost wish I could move in that direction myself… but then something in me pulls me back to the more logical side.
Paul
To some people, If a skeptic a believer a believer they are automatically being pejorative no matter what the intent is. I don’t think that believers are bad people, I’ve never felt that way and I defy anyone to come up with a statement that I’ve made to the contrary. I’ve never felt that “woos” should be destroyed or silenced. I’ve never met anyone who did.
The only time I have a problem with a believer is when they make attempts to force their beliefs on other people. People need the luxury of making choices, never under duress, never with information withheld by one or more side. belief should be an informed belief but if people wish to have and ill informed belief? that’s completely their own business.
Ms Lee and I got off on the wrong foot because I stated some of these things to her and she chose to insult me. That’s OK but when I responded in a predictable manner she started pretending that I was some kind of threat. That part is annoying but the manner in which she’s chosen to deal with the perceived threat is doubly so. But, no lasting harm’s been done. An annoyance is not in itself harmful no matter what the intent.
The one and only thing I’ve ever threatened is ideas and I do so unapologetically. Ideas cannot be harmed just by being challenged. Indeed, if they survive they become more than ideas. People cannot be insulted by an attack on an idea. To become insulted when an idea is attacked is to prove that it was not an idea at all, it was a belief.
People can and do become insulted when a deeply held belief is challenged, that’s human nature. That part I cannot control just like I can’t control another person’s thoughts or emotions. I don’t have that power no matter what people say and attacking, even a person’s belief is not immoral or illegal.
It would be SO nice if some people would figure that out.