home esoterica Feature Articles by binnallFeature Articles by binnall Original binnallofamerica.com Audio the United States of Esoterica merchandise contact

Lesley

Grey Matter

12.13.5

UFO Updates - All the arguments worth hearing

Some of you may know that I belong to the mailing list UFO Updates.

UFO updates has many prominent members, such as Dr. Michael Salla, Kevin Randle, Bruce Maccabee, Loren Coleman, Don Ledger, Bill Chalker, Nick Redfern, Greg Bishop and Stanton Friedman, among others. I am not exactly sure why Loren is a member since there is very little cryptozoology discussion, but I have seen him post. This list is always full of controversy. Its members love to “debate” the issues.

Right now the big debate seems to be Kevin Randle’s post to updates and his blog entitled “Exopolictics.” This of course brought a swift response from Salla and then Stanton felt the need to chime in and side with Randle. In case you didn’t notice last time he was on with Art on c2c and talking about SETI, Stanton can get a bit grumpy from time to time. Anyhow that brought on another post by Salla and so on it continues. Though I wouldn’t say it is a full out war, it is obvious that most people have chosen a side. Not me, I have my own side which partly agrees with Randle and partly with Salla.

That being said, it is actually one of the tamer, adult like arguments I have witnessed since being part of updates. People have a least stopped short of name calling and making up outrageous false allegations about others, so far anyhow.

There was also a bit of controversy about another of Randle’s post titled “BS in the desert,” which was his opinion of Nick Redfern’s book “Body Snatchers in the desert.” On that one I pretty much entirely side with Randle. Although I think some of Redfern’s theories are interesting, I don’t truly believe in them.

It is not quite as lively as a list I belonged to back in the 1990’s with Friedman and Phil Klass, but it may yet get there. Although, I sometimes post to UFO updates now, I try to stay far away from the arguments occurring there. I learned my lesson back in the 1990’s after several arguments with Klass, which were of course a complete waste of my time since Klass had no desire to think about or see other points of view. I wish I would have saved those posts though, because I would love to read through them now.

The resident skeptics of updates seem to have been embarrassed into leaving the group due to being caught in a total fabrication of truth. I am sure if they don’t return, eventually others will step in to fill their shoes. It is a pretty easy job, all you have to do is not believe anything and blame all UFO sightings on Venus, swamp gas and mentally unstable people. If someone argues with you just point of how it is not logical to believe in UFOs since they have not landed on the white house lawn.

Sometimes the conversations on updates are at a higher level than you get with most other UFO groups, but most of the time it is just like any other group. You have people who don’t get along or don’t agree and trolls trying to antagonize members. Really though that is the fun of it. If everyone got along and believed the exact same thing it would be pretty boring just agreeing with everyone all the time.

I should also mention before finishing this that UFO updates is moderated by Errol Bruce-Knapp, who does a fabulous job and is probably the best moderator of any group I have ever been on. Cheers to him!

So if you are ever dying to know Michael Salla or Stanton Friedman’s opinion of the latest UFO news, you might want to join UFO updates. Then again, you may be just as happy not knowing what others think about it.

  • Check out Lesley's Blog HERE
  • Discuss "Grey Matters" @ theusofe HERE