I related a few weeks back how I was trying to stop being so much of a Closet Anomalist. Aside from my continued blogging here at Forteania, the easiest way I felt that I could really 'come out' so to speak was by joining a Fortean group. The one that immediately sprang to my mind, as I'm sure it does to other's as well, was MUFON. The Mutual UFO Network is arguably one of the best know Ufological groups in the US, if not in the world. I have to be honest though as soon as I thought about MUFON I almost immediately discarded the idea. MUFON has had a lot of issues in the last few years, and many of the more public faces of the organization would probably not feel out of place in a Church of Ufology.
However my need to burst out of my shell and finally be able to speak openly with people about all of these strange topics overrode that initial gut reaction I had, so I sought out to join my local MUFON chapter. As I related in a recent post (see Closet Anomalist/Fortean updates!) when I went to the main MUFON website, it offers you links to your local chapters website. So I followed the links to the South Carolina Chapter of MUFON's home page and for just a few minutes I though I had been transported back to 1998. Seriously check it out and see if you disagree. Go on, I'll wait. OK are you back? Can you believe that? I mean I realize that my blog isn't exactly the most Flash or Java heavy site out there, but at least its better than a block of text that apparently hasn't been updated since 1999.
Even after this bit of disillusionment, I still decided to struggle through. I figured that maybe they had just been so busy with meetings and investigations that perhaps they didn't have time to fix up the website or hire some web builder to do it for them. With this in my mind I called both numbers located on the site, neither one returned an answer. It was a sad moment for your friendly neighborhood Closet Anomalist. But it was then that I noticed there was an email address that you could use to contact the State Director! I set about emailing the director, I asked the director if (1) The local MUFON group was still holding meetings, and (2) if so where/when and how could I attend?
Thankfully the director was able to return my email within about 11 hours, which was really prompt and I was very happy about that. Unfortunately however the answer I got wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. Basically she informed me that my local chapter of MUFON is no longer holding meetings and that if I wanted to do anything with MUFON I would have to join the website. Except that is exactly what I didn't want to do. Remember I wanted to actually meet people in meat space in order to discuss these kinds of Fortean topics. Since I didn't have any alternative I signed up for the mailing list, after all I'm not going to pay their membership fee cause I'm cheap, and so I started receiving emails from MUFON.
That brings me back to today, on Monday I received an email from MUFON describing one of the speakers that they would be having at the annual MUFON Symposium. The particular speaker that they had singled was Barbara Lamb. Now Lamb is, evidently, a licensed Psychotherapist who has had 21 years of research in the Ufological field. The gist of her speech is going to be on the 'Alien-Human Hybrid' problem that is facing humanity. Quoting from the actual email “She will describe the methods used to achieve hybridization, how long hybridization has been occurring, the reasons given by the ETs for creating hybrid offspring, and the success rate and failure rate in creating hybrids who could live successfully on earth. She will give examples of ETs genetically modifying human babies in their mothers' wombs, resulting in exceptional children such as Star Kids, Indigo Children, and Crystal Children. She will mention alleged hybrid people who are already living on earth, some of whom she has met.”
That pretty much sealed the deal for me right then and there. Having just finished writing an (apparently successful) post about the 'First Church of Ufology', I actually almost threw up when I read the email. This was almost exactly the kind of stuff that I think is wrong with Ufology. I mean here is a group that gives off the veneer of being a respectable scientific organization but they are letting a lady speak about what basically amounts to a part of a belief system. The email reads, at least to me, like something you might find in a New Age magazine. Not that there is anything wrong with that necessarily but I mean come on, Indigo Children, really?
The email basically helped me come to the conclusion that MUFON is not an organization that I necessarily want anything to do with. While it may be good for some people, it is definitely not the organization for me. At this point I seem to be stuck on the Internet as my only outlet for my Fortean shenanigans. I'm not complaining, I have loved doing this blog, and its given me chance to talk to some cool people in the Fortean field. I may have to remain a Closet Anomalist a little while longer, in the mean time of course I will continue blogging here and writing for Binnall of America. Well that's all for tonight, this is Tony your friendly neighborhood Fortean Philosopher saying have a good one.
However my need to burst out of my shell and finally be able to speak openly with people about all of these strange topics overrode that initial gut reaction I had, so I sought out to join my local MUFON chapter. As I related in a recent post (see Closet Anomalist/Fortean updates!) when I went to the main MUFON website, it offers you links to your local chapters website. So I followed the links to the South Carolina Chapter of MUFON's home page and for just a few minutes I though I had been transported back to 1998. Seriously check it out and see if you disagree. Go on, I'll wait. OK are you back? Can you believe that? I mean I realize that my blog isn't exactly the most Flash or Java heavy site out there, but at least its better than a block of text that apparently hasn't been updated since 1999.
Even after this bit of disillusionment, I still decided to struggle through. I figured that maybe they had just been so busy with meetings and investigations that perhaps they didn't have time to fix up the website or hire some web builder to do it for them. With this in my mind I called both numbers located on the site, neither one returned an answer. It was a sad moment for your friendly neighborhood Closet Anomalist. But it was then that I noticed there was an email address that you could use to contact the State Director! I set about emailing the director, I asked the director if (1) The local MUFON group was still holding meetings, and (2) if so where/when and how could I attend?
Thankfully the director was able to return my email within about 11 hours, which was really prompt and I was very happy about that. Unfortunately however the answer I got wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. Basically she informed me that my local chapter of MUFON is no longer holding meetings and that if I wanted to do anything with MUFON I would have to join the website. Except that is exactly what I didn't want to do. Remember I wanted to actually meet people in meat space in order to discuss these kinds of Fortean topics. Since I didn't have any alternative I signed up for the mailing list, after all I'm not going to pay their membership fee cause I'm cheap, and so I started receiving emails from MUFON.
That brings me back to today, on Monday I received an email from MUFON describing one of the speakers that they would be having at the annual MUFON Symposium. The particular speaker that they had singled was Barbara Lamb. Now Lamb is, evidently, a licensed Psychotherapist who has had 21 years of research in the Ufological field. The gist of her speech is going to be on the 'Alien-Human Hybrid' problem that is facing humanity. Quoting from the actual email “She will describe the methods used to achieve hybridization, how long hybridization has been occurring, the reasons given by the ETs for creating hybrid offspring, and the success rate and failure rate in creating hybrids who could live successfully on earth. She will give examples of ETs genetically modifying human babies in their mothers' wombs, resulting in exceptional children such as Star Kids, Indigo Children, and Crystal Children. She will mention alleged hybrid people who are already living on earth, some of whom she has met.”
That pretty much sealed the deal for me right then and there. Having just finished writing an (apparently successful) post about the 'First Church of Ufology', I actually almost threw up when I read the email. This was almost exactly the kind of stuff that I think is wrong with Ufology. I mean here is a group that gives off the veneer of being a respectable scientific organization but they are letting a lady speak about what basically amounts to a part of a belief system. The email reads, at least to me, like something you might find in a New Age magazine. Not that there is anything wrong with that necessarily but I mean come on, Indigo Children, really?
The email basically helped me come to the conclusion that MUFON is not an organization that I necessarily want anything to do with. While it may be good for some people, it is definitely not the organization for me. At this point I seem to be stuck on the Internet as my only outlet for my Fortean shenanigans. I'm not complaining, I have loved doing this blog, and its given me chance to talk to some cool people in the Fortean field. I may have to remain a Closet Anomalist a little while longer, in the mean time of course I will continue blogging here and writing for Binnall of America. Well that's all for tonight, this is Tony your friendly neighborhood Fortean Philosopher saying have a good one.
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2 comments:
nce upon a time I made a similar mistake.
If you want to meet up with people to discuss these topics, it might be more beneficial to organize a 'group' yourself, specifying the kind of topics you want to discuss. That will help narrow down (hopefully) the kind of people who attend. Obviously if you don't buy into the whole hybridization crap, you wouldn't want to have a bunch of supporters showing up to talk about just that. But also keep in mind that your area may have limited interest, and you might have to 'take what you can get' as it were.
You could always organize an online webcam group, too if participation is limited in your neck of the woods.
Here in Oregon, I have been considering organizing a group that meets to go out to the high desert and stargaze. I have yet to actually do it, though.
Thanks for the response. And that's great advice I have thought about doing this before, it just doesn't seem like a popular idea where I live. Course I will not know till I try.
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