The Prison of Ufology

The last few weeks have been instructive for me since I've returned to occasional blogging. It has been a stark reminder of the intellectual prison that is "ufology".

Articles posted by me about mysticism, philosophy, spirituality, and even some serious reflections on the UFO phenomenon... nothing. Not a comment, and at most a dozen or so readers. None of the so-called "news summary" sites of the paranormal picked them up. 

That's fine with me. I write for myself - if people want to have a look, or comment, that's great. If not, that's fine too. I have a fulfilling career and a great personal life. This is just one of my many hobbies.

But I'm the exception that proves the rule. I value civil discourse. I cherish open dialogue and serious research. I try to start conversations that will inform, enlighten, and perhaps inspire people to think. The people I care about, like Greg Bishop, Nick Redfern, Aaron Gulyas, and the late Mac Tonnies, understand that. But it's not popular, because the vast majority of people have no real interest in the paranormal, or the mysteries of life. Sure, they may say they do, in the same way that people who go to see cage fighting claim to be fans of the sporting ethos, but the truth is that they want to see blood. 

Mysticism, philosophy, even UFOs? Nope. Not interested.

The cage fight that is Roswell? Sign them up. There have been more hits in a single day for my article on Kevin Randle and the "Dream Team" mess than I've had here in years, well into the four figures. The Anomalist ran it. So did The Paracast (ironically less than a week after having Don Schmitt on their show and giving him a total pass). Others will as well.

But if ever there was a story here that people should have passed by, it's the Roswell / Randle one. I posted it because I felt a moral obligation to do so, and only after I had been dragged into it without asking. But while I viewed it as necessary, in the same way that taking out the trash is necessary every week, it's not something of which I'm proud, or that I consider valuable. It is garbage.

But that's ufology, particularly in the Internet era - a prison populated by conflict addicts and intellectual grifters. The people who read an article like the one I wrote but have no interest in all the others are as bad as the people I wrote it about - maybe even worse. 

Fortunately I am free of the need to be popular, and have no interest in the inmates who are incarcerated in the prison. They can sit in their cells and complain all they want about people not taking them seriously, but they have no-one but themselves to blame.

After all... if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

Paul Kimball