I am sick of the term believers. I use it myself, but only because I can't think of another word. You see I understand what it is suppose to mean, basically there is a group of people who believe there are strange objects flying around in our skies and that is it, but debunkers twist it. The debunker meaning is that we all believe that same things, we believe any UFO story that surfaces and even worse that there is some form of religious belief along with that.
We can't use UFO researcher because certain people think that only means people who do field research -- some are very snobby about that. Lately I have been trying to use UFO or Ufology community because I think that describes it better, a community can encompass many people of different beliefs. The problem with that is that it can also encompass debunkers and I am looking for a term to describe only those that aren't debunkers.
So if you have any ideas -- send them my way.
Of course, probably there isn't any words or terms we could come up with that the debunkers wouldn't twist to mean something different.
Good luck there because that is a toughy.
ReplyDeleteThe 'believer' believes in the 'possibilities' and/or 'theories'. I guess you could call them a theorist but who's going to buy into that at this late date.
Technically, the term believer as it is used by those who say "I'm a believer in UFOs" but do not have the proof themselves, actually falls into the worship category. Again there are too many definitions and synonyms for worship, which could make matters worse but those that worship based on trust or faith (faith that UFOs exist based on the words of others) would put make it a faith based belief.
This question you ask is one I've asked myself time and time again. What I did was never use it when I post. When I post the words of others and they use the words, "I believe" but the experience is not that of their own I remove that too simply because nobody can truly believe anything unless it was their own personal experience (observation) or has been tested by science as a fact. They can say the possibility is there but they truly cannot say that they believe.
I've always gone the way of science by never saying "I believe". Even if it is my own personal experience I still don't say it. I know it, I just don't repeat it.
Maybe you can get some help this way
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the debunkers are kinda like hardcore creationists; no matter how much proof there is (even if a saucer was sitting on the debunker's lawn, or in the creationist case, something evolved right in front of them), the debunkers will always hang onto the littlest shred they can use against UFOs, just like the creationists hang onto every little bit they can think of against evolution.
ReplyDeleteSo even if we had a better name for those of us who "believe" (for lack of a better word), the debunkers would still find someway of using it against us or to their advantage.
Like you said the all encompassing terms like UFO community work better, but do have their disadvantages. However it is better then calling oneself a "believer" and giving everybody the wrong idea.
Well Leslie, you could always start another new meme. We could all push it along pretty good to make sure it sticks.
ReplyDeleteOh wait, we can't do that because that might push Ufology forward and I forgot that you're the destroyer. Oh well, it was a thought. :)
klasskurtxian — Philip Klass - Paul Kurtz
ReplyDeleteMcHynekcan — James McDonald - Allen Hynek
[g].