UFOs- Reframing the Debate Read online

  UFOS:

  REFRAMING THE DEBATE

  UFOS:

  REFRAMING THE DEBATE

  EDITED BY

  ROBBIE GRAHAM

  www.whitecrowbooks.com

  PRAISE FOR

  UFOS: REFRAMING THE DEBATE

  “Once in a while, when the study of UFOs sinks deep into stale complacency, a breath of fresh air blows in to wake up the participants and revitalize the discussion. This book is just such a refresher. Instead of the perennial standoff between believers, who treat extraterrestrial visitation as established fact, and skeptics, who dismiss the whole subject as obvious foolishness, the contributors to UFOs: Reframing the Debate find nuance and layers where too many others see only black and white or foregone conclusions. These essays honor the full scope of the phenomenon—the material, high-strangeness, experiential, psychological, social, cultural, expressive, mythic, and religious aspects alike—and recognize them as equally important, equally revealing dimensions of a complex whole. Each chapter will fascinate and infuriate readers with fixed ideas of what is true and important about UFOs, as well as set new ideas and connections buzzing in their brains. This brash, rejuvenating effort to lift ufology out of its intellectual morass is an achievement of Fortean thinking that Charles Fort himself might envy.”

  —THOMAS E. BULLARD, PH.D.

  AUTHOR OF THE MYTH AND MYSTERY OF UFOS

  “Robbie Graham’s UFO anthology reframes the UFO from facile tabloid fare into its real challenge—how to interpret strange experiences offering hints of an Underlying Fundamental Ontology. To tackle such a difficult and at times bewildering task, a deep multidisciplinary dive is required. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in this thoughtful and stimulating book.”

  —DEAN RADIN, PH.D.

  CHIEF SCIENTIST, INSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES

  AUTHOR OF SUPERNORMAL

  “Robbie Graham has assembled a set of essays with very subversive insights into the nature of UFO phenomena. If you intend to seriously study UFOs, you must read this book.”

  —GEORGE P. HANSEN

  AUTHOR OF THE TRICKSTER AND THE PARANORMAL

  “More than another recitation of the latest UFO events, UFOs: Reframing the Debate takes one giant step backward to get a good look at where the field as a whole stands in these early decades of the 21st century. Whether you are a hard-core materialist fan of the extraterrestrial hypothesis of UFO origins, gobsmacked and captivated by the frequency of ‘high strangeness’ UFO sighting reports, or a devotee of the ‘space brothers’ camp of UFO enthusiasts, there’s something herein that is sure to delight and offend you, by turns. These thoughtful, critical essays deserve a thoughtful, critical reading by all who have ever wondered ‘what about…’ and ‘what if…’”

  —BRENDA DENZLER, PH.D.

  AUTHOR OF THE LURE OF THE EDGE

  “The UFO, to paraphrase a wise man who may never have lived, is a sphere whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere. It might be a vehicle; it might be a passage between worlds; it might be a world in itself; it might be an intelligent other; it might be an intelligent us. It is a symbol representing everything we don’t yet understand about the worlds we inhabit, and, most importantly, our relationships to them. Collectively, the contributors to this timely volume recognize this; they understand that there is no UFO phenomenon, there are only phenomena, just as there is no UFO story, there are only UFO stories. Despite the best efforts of some luminous minds, many of them included here, the UFO debate has, for far too long, been a circular one—this book should help that circle to become a sphere.”

  —MARK PILKINGTON

  AUTHOR OF MIRAGE MEN

  UFOs: Reframing the Debate

  Copyright © 2017 by Robbie Graham. All rights reserved.

  Published and printed in the United States of America and the United Kingdom by White Crow Books; an imprint of White Crow Productions Ltd.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, copied or used in any form or manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in reviews and critical articles.

  For information, contact White Crow Books

  at 3 Hova Villas, Hove, BN3 3DH United Kingdom,

  or e-mail to [email protected].

  Cover Design by Red Pill Junkie

  and [email protected]

  Interior design by [email protected]

  Paperback ISBN 978-1-78677-023-3

  eBook ISBN 978-1-78677-024-0

  Non Fiction / Body, Mind & Spirit / UFOs & Extraterrestrials

  www.whitecrowbooks.com

  Disclaimer: White Crow Productions Ltd. and its directors, employees, distributors, retailers, wholesalers and assignees disclaim any liability or responsibility for the author’s statements, words, ideas, criticisms or observations. White Crow Productions Ltd. assumes no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, or omissions.

  CONTENTS

  COPYRIGHT

  PRAISE FOR UFOS: REFRAMING THE DEBATE

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE EDITOR

  WITHIN

  FOREWORD

  INTRODUCTION

  ROBBIE GRAHAM

  OUR ALIEN, WHO ART IN HEAVEN

  CHRIS RUTKOWSKI

  THE EXPERIENCE IS IMPORTANT

  MIKE CLELLAND

  THE FUTURE LEADS TO THE PAST

  JACK BREWER

  IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND: MOVING UFOLOGY BEYOND MATERIALISM

  JOSHUA CUTCHIN

  TOWARD A BETTER UFOLOGY: APPLYING SCIENCE TO THE STUDY OF UAP

  MICAH HANKS

  ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT FLYING SAUCERS IS WRONG

  LORIN CUTTS

  WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

  CURT COLLINS

  TRUFO VS. UFAUX: PLANETARY POLTERGEISTS & WEAPONS OF MASS ENCHANTMENT

  SMILES LEWIS

  UFOS AND MODERN CAPITALISM: DISSENT, DISENFRANCHISEMENT, AND THE FRINGE

  MJ BANIAS

  ANARCHY IN THE UFO!

  RED PILL JUNKIE

  MAKING MOUNTAINS OUT OF MASHED POTATOES: UFOS AS A PARAPSYCHOLOGICAL EVENT

  SUSAN DEMETER-ST. CLAIR

  FRANKENSTEIN & FLYING SAUCERS: CREATING, DESTROYING, AND RE-ANIMATING A PHENOMENAL MONSTER

  RYAN SPRAGUE

  THE CO-CREATION HYPOTHESIS: HUMAN PERCEPTION, THE INFORMATIONAL UNIVERSE, AND THE OVERHAUL OF UFO RESEARCH

  GREG BISHOP

  DISCOVERING OUR HUMANITY IN THE ALIEN OTHER

  ROBERT BRANDSTETTER

  ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

  ENDNOTES

  INDEX

  PAPERBACKS ALSO AVAILABLE FROM WHITE CROW BOOKS

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  My deepest gratitude to all those who contributed to this volume: MJ Banias, Greg Bishop, Robert Brandstetter, Jack Brewer, Mike Clelland, Curt Collins, Joshua Cutchin, Lorin Cutts, Susan Demeter-St. Clair, Micah Hanks, SMiles Lewis, Diana Walsh Pasulka, Red Pill Junkie, Chris Rutkowski, and Ryan Sprague.

  Thank you also to Aaron Donaldson, Lesley Gunter, Michael Huntington, Lauren Kott, Regan Lee, Christian De Coninck Lucas, Jason McClellan, Kenn Thomas, and Frank Zero.

  My special thanks to Greg Bishop, who consulted with me closely throughout the editing process and whose perspectives and advice have been invaluable; and to Red Pill Junkie, for his brilliant and original illustrations, and for creating our wonderful cover art. Finally, thank you to Jon Beecher of White Crow Books, for his encouragement, patience, and support.

  ABOUT THE EDITOR

  Robbie Graham has pursued the UFO mystery for more than half his life. He has lectured around the world on the subject and has been interviewed for the BBC, Coast to Co
ast AM, Canal+ TV, Channel 4, and Vanity Fair, among many others. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including The Guardian, New Statesman, Filmfax, and Fortean Times. He holds first class degrees in Film, Television and Radio Studies (BA hons) and Cinema Studies (MA) from Staffordshire University and the University of Bristol respectively. He is the author of Silver Screen Saucers: Sorting Fact from Fantasy in Hollywood’s UFO Movies (White Crow Books, 2015).

  WITHIN

  “Although adherents insist they are on a quest for ‘truth,’ their insistence they already ‘know’ such truth undermines attempts by UFO researchers and investigators to understand the true nature of the phenomenon.”

  “[UFO zealots] cannot be convinced to become more scientific in their approach, largely because they are faith-based and religious in nature. They operate on preconceived notions and a set of beliefs that preclude rigorous analysis. Their worldview is clearly metamodernist, accepting any and all claims and statements without critical examination.”

  —CHRIS RUTKOWSKI

  “If these experiences are what they seem to be, then it should be no surprise that they [UFO experiencers] can come across like fanatical zealots.”

  “This weirder stuff gets ignored [because] some folks feel a need to be taken seriously. I would love to be taken seriously too, but I also feel a need to honestly share what’s happened to me.”

  “This is an esoteric mystery and it requires esoteric methodologies to peel back its secrets.”

  —MIKE CLELLAND

  “The UFO Mythological Zone… [is] the gap between fact and belief, what we see and what we want to see, what we experience and how we interpret it.”

  “People are forming highly personalized variations of the one core belief—the belief in a UFO reality. All else is up for individual interpretation via the UFO mythological zone. In the absence of facts, many people simply choose what they want to believe.”

  —LORIN CUTTS

  “We might consider that understanding someone’s point of view doesn’t necessarily equate to agreement.”

  “A great deal of completely inaccurate—and often, at best, unverified—information is widely accepted, then spread as if it were reliable. We then tend to form beliefs and make up our minds about things which haven’t actually been adequately explained. People subsequently not only reject revisions and corrections, but tend to embrace beliefs even more tightly when those beliefs are shown to be incorrect.”

  —JACK BREWER

  “From materialism’s ashes, a new model of reality will arise wherein the scientific establishment accepts the completely intangible, wholly interiorized phenomenon of human consciousness can manifest measurable effects in our physical world.”

  “Moving beyond materialism is about honestly confronting the fact that we know nothing for certain about UFOs, yet choosing to be inspired rather than frustrated by this realization, leading to a type of non-dogmatic gnosticism.”

  —JOSHUA CUTCHIN

  “I can respect, communicate, and interact with people who do not share my own ideas.”

  “Modern skepticism can, I think, be summarized in many instances as an ideology, around which a social movement has been built—one that, today, also runs tangent with atheism—and as a paradoxically evangelical attitude about the supremacy of science above all other forms of knowledge.”

  —MICAH HANKS

  “I advocate for a multi-theory interpretation of the UFO phenomenon. I don’t think there is any one explanation that accounts for all the data. I think there are a number of things going on simultaneously.”

  “Human belief in alien Others creates cults, religions, and social movements of significance… it is clear that a wide variety of human agencies have manipulated the superstitions and myths surrounding stories of contact with non-human entities—folklore has been weaponized as a means to various ends.”

  —SMILES LEWIS

  “What the Roswell Slides episode did was to expose the serious flaws common in standard ufology research practices… We were told that the evidence had been subjected to expert analysis, but the promoters themselves were the ones deciding which experts were qualified, only presenting findings supporting their existing beliefs that the body in the Slides was something non-human.”

  “By pooling our resources, we each had the best available data, access to the counsel of our peers, and the inspiration and encouragement to keep trying to find the truth. Groups can be great tools, but they have their limitations. Each of us must remain objective, seek the best evidence and ask challenging questions, whether as part of a team or as individuals.”

  —CURT COLLINS

  “There is no future for ufology, and UFO discourse as a whole, in the mainstream. If a grandiose extraterrestrial contact event occurred tomorrow, and the UFO question was forced into mainstream ideology, ufology would die an instant death as the entire subject would become quickly negotiated into the general sciences, and therefore into capitalist ideological structures. If we assume that the status quo is maintained, and there is no public announcement regarding extraterrestrials, ufology will remain where it is.”

  “Many of my colleagues in ufological circles would argue that it is essential for UFO discourse to move away from the theological, and towards the scientific method. I would agree with them; however, the razor cuts both ways, and the ideological mechanisms of the sciences can be as dogmatic as the religious tenets of the UFO believers.”

  —MJ BANIAS

  “Empires bloom and crumble to dust, and yet the mystery of the UFO lingers still—for it perhaps is not a puzzle meant to be unlocked by a consensus, but confronted and dealt with by each and every one of us when the proper time comes.”

  “I have successfully turned my lifelong obsession for UFOs into my personal alchemy, encouraging myself to pursue questions I know full well are without easy answers, and to grow both intellectually and spiritually for it. To assume one is certain of the phenomenon’s true origins and intentions at this stage is beyond arrogant—it is childishly naive.”

  —RED PILL JUNKIE

  “While I can appreciate and respect a ‘nuts and bolts’ approach to the phenomenon, the one clearly tangible vehicle central to any UFO story is the human witness. To ignore certain aspects of the experience that are described as ‘paranormal’ by the people who witness them is an act of folly.”

  “By cherry-picking reports and ignoring or being unsympathetic towards cases of high strangeness, researchers are losing valuable pieces of information and data that could work towards a greater understanding of the experience as a whole.”

  —SUSAN DEMETER-ST. CLAIR

  “To even scratch the surface of the UFO enigma, we must move past the mentality that we are dealing purely with nuts and bolts, past the notion that the key to the UFO phenomenon lies in physical analysis.”

  “Instead of watching a phantom war between realists and dreamers, perhaps we might benefit from standing, if only for a little while, with one foot in each camp.”

  —RYAN SPRAGUE

  “How much do we bring to the dance during a paranormal encounter? In other words, how much of the UFO experience is the result of our subconscious minds trying to make sense of unexpected, startling, and/or frightening input, and leaving us with an insane placeholder when it can’t decide on anything else?”

  “UFOs and anything walking out of them are never expected and always strange. In the act of first experiencing the event, and then, more importantly, in remembering it and telling the story about it to ourselves and others, we are adding many layers of cultural baggage and other input that help us to make sense of the experience. In so doing, we are taking ourselves step-by-step away from our original impressions.”

  —GREG BISHOP

  “If we are to better know the UFO then we must learn first how to disentangle ourselves from the hallucinatory nature of seeing and accept that much of what is reported in closer encounter events is so very strange because
it is beyond the borders of what can be witnessed.”

  In longing to make contact with the alien Other we can destabilize ourselves in ways that are not always healthy in how we endure our lonely existential hours… To dare to know the song the siren sings is to sink oneself into a void of self-design. The pursuit of the UFO mystery offers much of the same. There is a danger in surrendering the ego and identity, and so the call of the UFO may simply be one that is mirroring something much simpler to us. Do not try to penetrate the mystery, for that is not the way, but learn about yourself and what you are at the edges of the capacities of your biology.”

  —ROBERT BRANDSTETTER

  FOREWORD

  In early 2017 I sent a short essay, written in the thirteenth century, to my colleague who works for a contractor for NASA and the U.S. Space Program. My colleague is one of the world’s leading experts in aeronautics, and I am a professor of Religious Studies, specializing in Catholic history. My colleague knew nothing about the source, and what it represented. I knew it was the first written account describing the stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi, the Catholic monk whom the current Pope chose as his namesake. It was written by a witness to the event, Brother Leo, the secretary of St. Francis. It describes an aerial anomaly that crashes through the earth’s atmosphere to deliver what appear to be rays of light that rip open wounds on the hands and side of St. Francis. He later dies from these wounds, with Brother Leo at his side.

  My colleague, who is not Catholic, was not aware that this event is famous and has been interpreted by Catholics as being the first case of the Catholic charism called the stigmata, or the wounds of Christ. He read the account and gave his interpretation. Brother Leo writes, “In the center of that bright whirlpool was a core of blinding light that flashed down from the depths of the sky with terrifying speed until suddenly it stopped.” And there is more. My colleague wrote, “This appears to be a real object that has all the signs that it has broken through the atmosphere, created blue and white sparks, is spinning, and even appears to have given off some type of radiation, judging from the wounds that appear on the hands of the witnessing monk. There is a database of similar types of accounts of contemporary aerial phenomena.”