Scrutinizing Ufologists

Paul Kimball is greatly disturbed that our colleague Anthony Bragalia has, sometimes, checked the credentials of those posting or commenting on UFOs, here at this blog and elsewhere.

Just as ufologists, skeptics mainly, want to know the background and profile of UFO witnesses, and ufologists want to know the background of skeptics, we who are involved with UFOs should know what the credibility and educational backgrounds are of authors, commentators, and UFO loudmouths.

I, for instance, check the credentials of authors whose books I am about to buy.

While I do that for writers, I don’t give a good goddam what the background is of those who comment at this blog. Their comment speaks for itself, usually.

Having been lauded, vilified, and scrutinized by news media – I’ll post the newspaper accounts here sometime – I’m don’t care if someone wants to run a check on me.

I don’t like it when a UFO nut attempts to get closer to me via background data gathering. (I have one homoerotic character hoping to become a close “friend” but I’ve waylaid his advances and warned him I’d note, publicly, his attempts to become a bosom buddy.)

But that aside, shouldn’t we know a little – a little! – about those who hope to mar, corrupt, or enhance our blogs and web-sites?

And when a person excoriates you or me, shouldn’t we be allowed to see what gives them that right or privilege?

Paul Kimball doesn’t like persons sniffing around anyone’s personal information. I understand that, but Paul and I are on Facebook and that service, along with Google, et al. is deep into our backgrounds and personal business. If Paul hates intrusive checking, why is he so prominent on Facebook?

Me? I don’t care what Facebook knows about me. My life is so boring and without significant merit that Facebook or Mr. Bragalia can have all the info about me they want.

The current imbroglio about Mr. Bragalia or anyone who’s checking ufologist backgrounds is a tempest in a tea-pot as the old saying goes.

So, let’s move on, and try to explain the UFO phenomena (sorry, Jerry Clark – it is phenomena) before the topic becomes completely moribund.

RR