An Open Letter To Ufology

Dear Ufological Players and Interested Public:

When did it become okay for you personally to ignore pedophilia, sexual abuse, mental abuse of women, and turn cancer and poverty into farces? When did that happen? When will you stop?

As I write, podcaster Gene Steinberg is pondering his umpteenth newsletter begging people for money to support his lifestyle. Since at least 2006 he has been begging for money from his listeners, his co-hosts, and sometimes his guests. Not money to keep the show going, mind you. Money for bills and rent. Not supplemental income… income.

First there was a family lawsuit from which he would recoup funds and pay you back. Don’t know what happened to that windfall. Then his wife clicked on some online scam that wiped out their bank account. Now he claims he’s been afflicted with a virus at a time when he can’t afford a single sick day. Sick day from what? Begging for cash?

Poverty is a serious issue. It doesn’t deserve to be marginalized and taken advantage of year in and year out by this man who refuses to get a job. It would be fine if he just told his audience, “Look, I don’t want to work. I want podcasting to be my work and I need you to pay me. Deal?” But he doesn’t. He has sob story after sob story, which may or may not be true–Who can tell? Either way he has been a professional beggar for years now. In my opinion, what he’s doing is dishonest and distasteful and he has no reason to stop if loyal listeners of The Paracast won’t stop listening or at least consistently question him.

As I write, hundreds of Stan Romanek fans are sending their love to a man being investigated for possession and distribution of child pornography. Who among you sends love to the kid(s) in the photos? Why are you sending love to a known hoaxer and possible pedophile? Because you find it easier to believe that a man with a clearly fake alien peeking in his window, who has failed a lie detector test concerning his alleged alien experiences, who has been caught faking audio high strangeness during one interview, and visual high strangeness during another, is a saint?

What?

Well, see, the government could be doing this to him the way they sabotaged Wendelle Stevens, supporter of the Billy Meier hoax, with a pedophilia charge to which he pled guilty and served prison time. Apparently, the establishment really hates it when people fake alien encounters or support them. Those people get illegally locked away for horrendous crimes they didn’t commit. Meanwhile, the people who have made the most positive impact in ufology live in relative peace.

Let me ask you supporters of these men: Is your need to believe so great that you will forgive or deny arguably the most heinous crime a human being can commit just to keep that alien dream alive? Were none of you sexually abused as children? Do you not know of sexual abuse victims in your life?

And in the case of Romanek you say, “Innocent until proven guilty.” And I say you’re right. But I also say “Guilty if found guilty.” Will you say the same or will you hide behind the “people were out to silence him” line?

You know what you’re going to do. You’re going to “win” either way to preserve your beliefs. And you think this is enlightened behavior?

As I write this, I’m remembering back to a time when Steven Greer’s associate and presumed friend died of cancer. And then he said he had cancer, too, but he fended it off through the mysterious powers of being Steven Greer. He tried to convince us that the evil establishment gave them this cancer to silence them forever–although I’m sure if I go back and closely examine what he said, he never outright stated that. He probably said something like, “People have told me this is what happened” or “Close sources told me” or “My good friend Europe told me….” Something that misleads you and affords him deniability.

Cancer. Really? He beat cancer through meditation and a Joker smile? He’s a hero fighting government-sponsored assassination? This man is still allowed to profit around here, why?

Are there no cancer survivors offended by Dr. Greer’s statements? None?

As I write this, two whistle blowers are being stalked and harassed over the internet by zealous fans of David Jacobs and Budd Hopkins. They are both women, so naturally they are called hysterical and crazy by sexist pigs who would rather not see their heroes’ reputations tarnished by some anonymous bitch and a vengeful ex wife.

I guess we just need to forget all of the clear, well-presented and damning evidence that the anonymous woman was ever mentally abused and used for a book project and as a pawn in a delusional fantasy by David Jacobs and the fact that his entire –ENTIRE–defense is that she’s crazy because she used to believe the evil alien-hybrid fiction he was prepping her with under hypnosis and now she doesn’t? Overlook all that, do we? And continue to heap abuse after abuse on this woman who has kept her rational calm for years against the raving lunatics who would sooner see her die than help her?

Because why? Because they read his books and liked them? Saw him speak and thought he was a charming professor? You choose liking books about aliens over helping a fellow human being bring the author to some kind of justice? She can’t afford to seek justice through a court. How about excising Jacobs from the “community”? That would do. Never give him another speaking engagement or media platform to speak. That would do. But no. No, he’s the victim because you like his books.

Meanwhile, the other woman hears this woman’s story and actually does want to do the human thing. She wants to make sure this never happens again. So she speaks her truth–backed up with similarly well-presented facts–that her ex husband, the late Budd Hopkins, willingly allowed himself to be taken for a ride by hoaxers and did some pretty awful research, more-so than he ever admitted. And what does she get for her efforts? What does she get for doing the right thing in ufology and exposing the terrible science that effectively came to define abduction research and changed the lives of the subjects involved in his work? She gets censored and harassed and has sexist insults slung at her. For years. By adults.

Oh, she’s the angry ex. Oh, she’s crazy. Oh, this is a woman scorned getting revenge for… we don’t know because we aren’t in their lives, we just like his books and assume she’s out to get him because that’s what we’re told to think by his friends. So let’s try to get her videos banned from youtube and her web presence shut down. Let’s ignore all of the factual evidence presented and make this about personalities. Let’s erase reality.

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Interested Parties In Ufology, tell me this: Is it possible that we’ve been searching for aliens in a D-list celebrity culture for so long that we’ve lost our humanity?

Look, I don’t really think any of you set out to ignore pedophilia, sexual abuse, and mental abuse of women. I don’t for one minute believe you find the turning of cancer and poverty into farces for applause or a buck acceptable behavior in a serious study of UFOs and related topics. I think the problem is that you never saw it that way–but it is that way. That is what’s happening. When you read it here, is it not sobering? Just slightly?

I think when we get wrapped up in hero worship or a show that we listen to so often it becomes a part of our lives, we tend to lose track of what’s actual. As Jeff Ritzmann once taught me, these things become a part of us and any voice that speaks against them is speaking against us. At least it feels that way, right? Like there are two sides and now you must pick one and so you’re going to pick the one you’ve been on all along. The problem with that is, there are not two sides. There’s the reality that sometimes even the personalities we’ve accepted at face value or welcomed through our radios and televisions and books–sometimes those people screw up. And sometimes they are screw ups who never did anything good to begin with. But that doesn’t mean you have to act like them or defend them to the last. And it doesn’t mean the topics in ufology are rendered invalid simply because a hoaxer was identified or the guy promoting himself as a spiritually advanced partner of the alien turns out to be a sociopath. It doesn’t even mean you have to stop listening to your favorite show–just tell the host enough, already. This behavior stops or you’re flipping the dial.

At the end of the day you can’t control the sanity of the person on the other end of that media divide. You can’t control their truthfulness. You can only be responsible for you. Like I said, I feel certain that most of you don’t want to support sexual abuse, sexism, cancer hoaxes, hoaxes in general, and deceptive poverty claims, because this isn’t the movies and you’re not evil villains. I just think you might not have thought about these things this way. But try to now. Imagine being a fresh face wanting to examine ufology and this is what you find. Hoaxes and abuse. The putting on a pedestal of fake military whistle blowers while real ufological whistle blowers are covered up. That’s what we have now.

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As I write this I know I will be attacked six ways from Sunday for doing so. Someone will try to take this website down; someone will plot their revenge. But you know what? Somebody’s got to say it out loud. Hopefully next time it’s you.

Maybe there won’t be a need after that.

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NOTE: In the interest of fairness, I edited these lines regarding Gene Steinberg from the original: He lost his last known job many, many, many years ago because he begged a coworker for cash to the point where, apparently, his boss stepped in and canned him. I know this because he told me.

While I maintain this is true, Gene says it is not. (Please see comments section for our exchange.)  I hope it is obvious to most readers that I’m not going to sabotage my own article about morality and ethics by lying–especially when editing it out does nothing to change the situation: year in and year out Gene begs for money to pay his bills giving an evolving set of reasons. This he does not deny. Or stop.