Famed UFO researcher Kevin Randle writes about the late skeptic uber-debunker Philip Klass, and there are those who don't like what Randle has to say one bit: A Different Perspective: Billy Cox and Philip KlassBilly Cox, over at the Herald-Tribune has written a short piece called, "Klass act, no principles," In it he suggests that Steve Pierce, a buddy of Travis Walton, he of Fire in the Sky and abduction fame (see here at the 2011 Roswell Festival), had been offered, by Klass, ten thousand dollars to say that they had hoaxed the whole thing.My first reaction was to reject this idea because, even for Klass, it seemed a bit excessive. And then I thought back to the long article I had posted here about Klass and his attacks on witnesses and researchers and his attempts to make their lives miserable. For a full analysis, see my September 11, 2011 blog entry about Klass' letter writing campaign.Those not liking what Randle has to say -- which is basically offering his opinion that he wouldn't put it past Klass (nor would I) -- are the usual suspects, and won't put up with such blasphemous musings.Cox's article ( A Different Perspective: Billy Cox and Philip Klass) has generated much rallying to the skeptoid cause on several sites and blogs. Why, the very idea that Klass might have done such things in the crusade against UFOs! Cox relates one encounter with Klass which illustrates the late debunkers tactics very well, and, as Cox writes, in a "creepy" way:The next day, I met Klass at a deli for lunch. He repeated his assertion that Strieber was plagued with frontal lobe epilepsy. Then he lowered his voice, drawing yet another reporter into his sage confidence, and said he wanted to go off the record. "Whitley Strieber is a troubled man," he said. He produced a sad smile, like some wise old avuncular Yoda. "Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to take his own life." Goosebumps.
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The Easter bunny is dead. So is Santa Claus and the Boogey Man. All dead. They were gone before you were born, when learned men sat down and pondered on the validity of such fantastical beings and based on the expertise as learned men who learned everything. They learned pretty early on to Debunk. And they've been doing it ever since. Sometimes these are the very same men who invent such preposterous things before they kill them. They've even found a way to kill God. Gasp! And dare I say it, even though Easter is upon us and Jesus was supposed to have been resurrected, is it even possible to be resurrected when you've been killed over a zillion times? Yes, they've debunked Jesus Christ.
Debunking is an old skill...much like banging rocks together, or drawing a line in the sand. Debunking is simply REFUSING TO BELIEVE. I know this, because I have debunked many things in my life. At first it was fun. Imagine looking into the eyes of some lost, poor soul also-known-as the BELIEVER. Poor believers. Believing in everything...faeries, witches, goblins, monsters, aliens, and unicorns. How dare they? Such, such...simple, small people, these believers. But then oneday I realized just how many things I believed in and then I counted the number of times these very beliefs have been debunked. I suppose what goes around really does come around.
That is not to say Debunking isnt a valid sport, like volleyball. Or something like that. Debunking is necessary. I mean, you always need the people who lack imagination to make you realize just how lucky you are to have one. Right?
To debunk is to disprove and there are many things to disprove in the world. For instance, it isn't flat. Secondly, it isn't hollow and third, it isn't inhabited by Amazon women from Venus. All of this is valid, but when debunking gets tricky is when it comes to things that cannot be neither proven NOR disproven. This is why debunking kills. A case can just barely make it off the ground, but if it is obscure or strange in any way, it is debunked. All the science; all the study that could have gone into it is dead before it gets its day in court. Roswell was debunked from day one. So were the Phoenix lights and the O'hare sighting.
Let's make this clear: Debunking helps no one. It doesn't help the people trying to prove a case, and it doesn't help those disproving the case. It only makes a case unattractive and hard to get to the bottom of because of all the red tape.
If ever there were skeptics and debunkers who for once (because it never, ever happens) said, "Ya know, this story is fishy and I am completely biased, but let us pull together our resources and see if we can get to the bottom of this." Well then, imagine what a lovely day it would be. Debunkers and NON-Debunkers sitting down for a cup of tea with the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Faery Queen, elves, Rumplestiltskin, Giants, Wonder Woman...
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