UFOs are in today's news again. Step up DUers. If you have had a sighting, lets us all know.

[flashman13]

Several years ago while at work my son and I saw a craft that's flight characteristics were not explainable by any human technology.

Sightings are very common. You don't have to wear a tin foil hat to have had one. I just put myself out there for ridicule. Join me and make your report right here so we can all see how common they are.

[crud]

1. I saw one when I was in college

but I can't be sure because I was doing acid at the time.

[Ptah]

2. Pictures? Videos?

[flashman13]

11. I wish I had a video. The event I described occured befor the coming of the smart phone camera.

[Ptah]

13. If, as you assert, "Sightings are very common." there should be at least one photo or video.

[flashman13]

22. There are thousands of films and videos from all over the world. One from the early 50s is of a

group of discs flying over Washington DC.

Are some of these videos fake? Of course they are. But many more can't be debunked by qualified experts.

[edisdead]

29. The cell phone camera isn't very good for this.

Go outside and take a picture of a jet flying over in the sky then take a look at it. While mobile cameras have gotten very good for some things they aren’t great for distance phtography.

[Hekate]

37. True, as I have discovered. A gorgeous huge heron landed across the street & hung out...

…around the oak trees. I snapped several photos, but my old iPhone couldn’t capture him at all. The trees, yes. The big bird, no. Same with the cows that periodically wander across our hills. My eyesight shows them as moderate-size lumps — my phone camera shows them as small lumps.

[Rafi]

46. There are hundreds of videos. many quite clear and dating back to the 1930s.

Some research will be enlightening.

[Rafi]

47. There are hundreds of videos. many quite clear and dating back to the 1930s.

Some research will be enlightening.

[Tetrachloride]

3. Crescent moon

just kept looking at me.

Air traffic controllers said nothing was there.

Air Force couldn’t catch it.

Dog barked a lot.

[stopdiggin]

8. winning the thread -(nt)-

[Disaffected]

19. LOL

And don't forget Venus (often implicated in chasing folks in their car rearview mirrors).

[Tetrachloride]

24. Venus is above the moon when setting these days

coincidence?

[Disaffected]

32. Must mean something,

or other...

Coincidentally though, them damned UFOs have been mutilating cattle again:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/22/us/cattle-deaths-texas.html

[royable]

41. Haiku?

First brilliant Venus,
Then streaked the cold Perseids.
Show me UFOs!

[Tetrachloride]

53. ))))

[BlackSkimmer]

73. ...and the dish ran away with the spoon...

[Tetrachloride]

78. ++. i might use that one. )

[BlackSkimmer]

79. Feel free lol!

Not mine!

[BlueLucy]

4. I wish

I want to see one. I do believe. I can't imagine there not being intelligent life out there besides us in the infinite universe.

[niyad]

58. Indeed. Even as a child, that supposed singularity made no sense to me.

"What a waste", I thought. Now I question if we actually qualify as intelligent life.

[raccoon]

80. If they were intelligent, why would they come here?

[BlueLucy]

94. Curiosity, observation?

I have no idea. I would have to ask them. I don't have any answers to any of this stuff. I just think as small as we are and as great as the universe is, there has to be more. That's what I think.

[MiHale]

5. Want to.. look all the time...nada..

I think they don’t want to bother their own kind. All I got.

[Turbineguy]

6. There is intelligent life out there.

The proof is that they haven't tried to contact us.

I hope they are thinking about staging an intervention.

[Delphinus]

9. We sure need one, don't we?!

[Calculating]

34. Lol

Hey zorg, maybe we should help the humans out with carbon free energy before they ruin their world and blow themselves up with nukes.

[2naSalit]

61. I was hoping...

That if someone was monitoring us that they would step in and help us back in 2016!

[LakeArenal]

7. We saw those round orbs of light very often in central WI.

We also were very close to Camp McCoy and Truax Field so we assume they were military.

Mr Lake is an amateur astronomer. He saw UFOs all the time. That just means Mr Lake couldn’t identify it himself.

[roamer65]

14. Same here.

Saw unexplainable light in August 2011 when observing.

[StClone]

81. October of 2001 in Central WI we twice saw a a string of four lights.

The lights were bright (fluorescent white), silent, and not moving. My first thought was some refueling or other military activity. They winked on one, two, three, four, then extinguished one, two, three, four after about ten seconds. In the quiet of the evening (8 o'clock), no sound was detected and they appeared not to move. It is one of my most puzzling observations. As a bird watcher, I have the best binoculars available, as well as 80 power scope, and cameras, yet have never detected anything in the air during daylight hours.

[asiliveandbreathe]

10. 4/11/2023..just hangin' on back patio 12 days ago..we watched the descent...

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/04/11/phoenix-mystery-objects-ufo-weather-balloons/8451681231310/

April 11 (UPI) -- Mysterious teardrop-shaped balloons that sparked speculation of foreign surveillance or UFO activity over Phoenix were identified as weather-monitoring equipment.

Residents of the Phoenix area snapped photos of the balloons floating high in the sky over the city, and some initially speculated they could be Chinese surveillance equipment or UFOs from outer space. LOL...it is AZ afterall..

NO, I do not believe in alien UFOs..

[flashman13]

18. This is a good place to make this point. People believe in fairies, fantasies, and gods with no

factual support. Science is not a belief system. It is a compilation of observed facts which we try to understand.

We make observations. We analyze those observations. We try to postulate explanations of what the observations are telling us. We form working theories that over time are modified to fit with more observed facts.

Please note that I described an event that I observed. I observed a UFO but I did not speculate on its origins. I don't believe I saw a UFO. The fact is that I saw an unexplainable aerial phenomenon.

Of course there are many observations which turn out to be everyday objects such as your balloons. Just because there are many false sightings does not alter the fact that there are many totally unexplainable sightings made by reputable observers and professionals like military pilots.

I don't believe in UFOs. The facts are that they exist. I think we should take that fact seriously and make serious scientific efforts in search of explanations.

[asiliveandbreathe]

28. Okay then, I still do not believe in ALIEN, other life form from outer space..

I don't believe in UFOs. The facts are that they exist. I think we should take that fact seriously and make serious scientific efforts in search of explanations. (Your last sentence)

Belief in UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS..is one thing..I DO believe they exist..and may science one day find the answer to ALL UFOs..science has NOT proven Alien life form UFOs..

I believe in science..my problem has always been, if I can't see it, touch it, sceptic am I..

[MLAA]

42. Agree!

[StClone]

90. Yes, well put...first is admitting there are anomalies that need examination.

It is a starting point and also a separation point between a Scientist and the ever-skeptical, if not cynical, whose position is nearly implacable.

Scientists first admit by saying to themselves "That's odd." Then design and investigate and go where the observations, tests, and theories, take them, and keep building. Even if the answer is ever-elusive (like Gravity, that is not settled, force? Not a force? Which subatomic particle causes it? Graviton?). But we see gravity's effects, at least in how we perceive reality, it does exist. And we can test and examine that but still, it is not settled exactly.

The proclaimed Skeptic is admirable (in regard specifically to the "UFO/UAP" thing) because they do Science by disproving or at the very best "cast doubt" or "debunking." And don't have to do much more than go on the idea, "it is not known to exist therefore it doesn't" and will offer Occam. But often they do not open the evidence wide enough to make the evidence "Occam-izable." There is a great service in questioning, and disproving, a lot of the junk images, stories, and conspiracies out there...fabulists, liars, fraudsters, and clickbait sites. However, there are those who are self-appointed to never face the real phenomena but throw sand in the gears. Donald Menzel is one of the greatest of those debunkers. A giant in the field of Astrophysics he was also been credibly linked to studying the UFO topic seriously, secretly, within the Government.

Take the Navy fighter pilot who sees the same phenomenon which has occurred since the 1940s, he is mistaken! He, the top flight fighter pilot, with 20/10 vision, psychologically tested for stability and mental acuity, is off-kilter. He takes IR videos of the unknown, and is told "It shows a blurred, distant airliner!" The pilot is entrusted with our secret technology in the form of a billion-dollar craft, yet he is misled. On and on.

Yes, we need serious doubt when making a case for the basis of what the "UFOs" are and that threshold is not going to be proven, or disproven, without serious minds "positively" taking on the challenge once and for all. We need to face this while dragging the dead weight of nay-sayers along with us to a more enlightened position. There are effects on people created by this phenomenon and though not testable like gravity, we can find a starting point.

[BluesRunTheGame]

12. I saw one above the White Sands Missile Range...

…so, while we didn’t know what it was, there was a pretty good explanation for it.

[anarch]

15. it seems to me that this topic upsets people in here for some reason

People will gaslight you without even meaning to, and tell you that whatever you saw surely wasn't out of the ordinary, and you're just crazy to think otherwise.

Anyway, yeah, in Arizona, 3/13/1997.

[padfun]

20. I agree

I'm surprised on some of the reactions here. I thought pretty much everyone has seen a craft or two, but if you don't get out of the cities then you might never see one.

The two I've seen were in the Nevada desert (Near Eureka) and Southern Arizona.
My dad was a critic until he saw one about 20 years ago.

[triron]

31. That's what governments want people to think. 'It's crazy...'

Powers that be are afraid of the social upheaval that might ensue.

[niyad]

43. I saw the "Phoenix Lights", as did thousands. I remember the pictures in the papers.

Fascinating.

In my early teens, I saw strange orange lights zipping around the Front Range right over NORAD one night, around 2 am, performing some interesting high speed maneuvers. They told me the next day that it was a weather balloon.

[anarch]

57. I was just outside of Prescott

and only saw a chevron/V-formation of lights that flew overhead and were gone in a couple seconds--I gather people in Phoenix saw it differently.

Most of the pictures I've seen appear to be flares, which seem to have been dropped a couple hours after the V-shape had been and gone.

[Silent3]

50. If someone tells you they doubt your story, that does not mean they are "upset"

You're using the same kind of rhetorical gambit that Republicans use whenever they call anyone who objects to what they do or say "triggered".

[OneGrassRoot]

59. Interesting...

Last edited Mon Apr 24, 2023, 11:42 AM - Edit history (1)

First, forgive me for jumping in here with musings about my observations here on DU. It's not meant as an attack. I don't interact anywhere else these days and do so here rarely. No one pays attention anyway, so I'm just talking into the void at this point so I'm not sure why I'm even apologizing in advance.



I find I'm drawn to threads like this, not because of the subject matter but because of the interactions they elicit which I find curious.

Anarch's post, to which you're replying, makes a great point, imo. There is a pattern. Whenever this topic is mentioned, people jump in with "pictures? videos? or it didn't happen" type of replies. Please note that the OP isn't asking if people believe or not, they're inviting others to share if they have had such experiences, even offering that caveat that they realize ridicule may ensue.

It's when someone here creates OPs of this sort, not inviting discussion from nonbelievers but rather wondering if anyone else here has shared their unexplained experiences, that I find it interesting when, rather quickly, others chime in to indeed ridicule or at the very least reply in a condescending fashion. Why not refrain from replying? I recall seeing "dueling OPs" where someone creates an OP like this one (not being combative or condescending, imo) and someone else then creates an OP stating why they don't believe, which is totally fair, but there is certainly an air of condescension and ridiculue that inevitably permeates the thread.

Now, I pondered your point, about the GOP's rhetoric and how anarch's post may be similar.

I envisioned a right-winger posting about the evils of CRT and how they know of someone who personally experienced their child being brainwashed into believing all white children are evil -- or some similar drivel -- and how a liberal might reply and their retorts would be met with the typical rhetorical gambit, as you said.

Yet the difference as I see it is that the right-winger has an obvious agenda.

DUers discussing their experiences with sightings they can't explain don't have an agenda that I can see.

I've never had such an experience but am open-minded about the possibility because I do think it's the height of humanity's arrogance to believe with such fervor that there is no intelligent life beyond Earth. I, too, believe in science and the scientific method but also believe we're limited based on our current ability to comprehend...anything. Our understanding of everything evolves and our ABILITY to understand evolves.

OPs and comments stating sincere fear that fascism is but one election away are often met with similar condescension, though with good points made about this same fear being voiced since DU's inception under Bush.

Here's an example of this, though the difference is that in this case, the OP did pose a question that was an invitation to everyone to respond based on their beliefs/feelings:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=17850096

[PatSeg]

62. You made an excellent point

DUers discussing their experiences with sightings they can't explain don't have an agenda that I can see.

And clearly, many people choose not to even discuss the subject, as they know they will be confronting ridicule.

[Silent3]

71. Trying to discredit criticism by saying the person doing the criticizing is "upset"...

...has nothing to do with whether the person using this tactic has a "agenda" or not. And although I picked the right-wing use of "triggered" as an example, this tactic doesn't have a political affiliation.

I've seen people here say that a Republican was challenged about an issue, and their response was "unhinged". Then I watch a video of this response, and the behavior shown is nothing more than normal, everyday irritation or scorn.

You ask about this UFO topic, "Why not refrain from replying?"

Regardless of why or why not, what does that have to do with, if you reply anyway, that you must be "upset"?

[OneGrassRoot]

77. So it's use of descriptive terms that you're speaking to here?

Like "upset" and "unhinged"? If so, I get that. I also almost always click on posts with the ALL CAPS and !!! and hyperbolic language, hoping against hope that maybe THIS TIME it will be an accurate description of what I will see. Alas, it rarely is. Hyperbole is the name of the game in content nowadays, I suppose.

But, personally, I wouldn't include the use of the term upset in those examples. I don't know what a better word might be because I can't speak for anarch.

I agree that saying anyone who disagrees is upset or triggered CAN be used to discredit and as an attempt to squash further debate. I really don't think anarch was trying to do that but rather note the pattern of condescension and that people are seemingly invested enough to engage condescendingly about this subject every time it's brought up.

I agree that just because someone replies in agreement or disagreement to any topic, even if not invited to, it doesn't mean they're necessarily upset. And I get your point that it CAN be used as a way to silence voices and further discussion.

[Silent3]

96. As for why to respond ("upset" or not)

Suppose whenever people who wanted to chat about supposed UFO experiences in public forum, expressing these experiences as not merely unknown, but as likely alien encounters, were never challenged, criticized, or mocked. Even though skeptics could comment, they always politely remained on the sidelines.

That would strengthen belief in the alien-visitation interpretation of UFOs. It would create a strong impression that there was no need to make any effort at being skeptical. It would create an impression that the alien-visitation interpretation was more strongly supported than it actually is.

Refraining from commenting is not neutrality. Refraining from commenting is passive facilitation.

I've never had such an experience but am open-minded about the possibility because I do think it's the height of humanity's arrogance to believe with such fervor that there is no intelligent life beyond Earth.

You're using a commonly flogged fallacy favored by many UFO believers right there, linking skepticism about alien visitation interpretations of these events to skepticism about there being any alien life at all. This is frankly bullshit. Most UFO skeptics will readily agree that life beyond our little planet is highly likely. What they doubt is that UFO sightings have anything to do with that life.

[OneGrassRoot]

98. Well...

I realize I'm setting up an us against them vibe in my comment here. That's not my intention but I'm not sure how to phrase things in order not to do that. Please note that I don't have any animosity toward skeptics - skeptics of most any topic. Challenging opinions and even events is important. I'm just noting that how it's done matters.

That would strengthen belief in the alien-visitation interpretation of UFOs. It would create a strong impression that there was no need to make any effort at being skeptical. It would create an impression that the alien-visitation interpretation was more strongly supported than it actually is.

Refraining from commenting is not neutrality. Refraining from commenting is passive facilitation.

Challenging and criticizing are fine. How they are challenged matters, imo. People mock shit all the time. That's different from offering a respectful countering opinion. If there is mocking and condescension, it DOES imply that you think the opposing opinion is only held by idiots. Hence getting to anarch's point about the tone of interactions which are almost always condescending, if not right away then eventually as the conversation continues, as you proved here.

You're using a commonly flogged fallacy favored by many UFO believers right there, linking skepticism about alien visitation interpretations of these events to skepticism about there being any alien life at all. This is frankly bullshit. Most UFO skeptics will readily agree that life beyond our little planet is highly likely. What they doubt is that UFO sightings have anything to do with that life.

You've obviously engaged about this topic more than I. I observe these interactions at a surface level as my original reply to you noted. In these initial interactions I have never gotten the impression that a skeptic who is mocking the topic of UFOs believes in alien life beyond Earth because there is, as yet, no proof of such which is the skeptic's entire argument. It would be very helpful for skeptics to make this more clear if they are wanting to have serious, fruitful discussions about this. (Edit to add: I realize that having a serious, respectful discussion may be of no interest whatsoever but rather mocking and shutting down conversation because some skeptics believe it has no merit and shouldn't have a place here. Ironic, given your reply to this OP.)

Skeptics often get into the semantics game showing their great knowledge of terminology and changing terminology, not dissimilar to gun enthusiasts in conversations involving guns, another topic that often generates mockery and condescension in these discussion threads. I'm not equating the two topics, I'm simply noting that there is a similarity in how terminology and semantics can be used to mock and dismiss, taking away from the core issue trying to be discussed. That is frankly bullshit.

What I have seen are comments to the effect "why would alien life do this or that?" and "do you realize the type of craft required to travel that distance?"

No one has all of the possible information to answer those questions thoroughly and accurately. We have limited knowledge and are working within those limited parameters to speculate, skeptics and believers alike. People simply share their direct experiences; they aren't trying to solve the mysteries of the universe in doing so.

[Silent3]

100. While talk of UFOs results in comments from various viewpoints...

...in my experience, the proof demands you talk about here:

I have never gotten the impression that a skeptic who is mocking the topic of UFOs believes in alien life beyond Earth because there is, as yet, no proof of such which is the skeptic's entire argument.

...are, from most skeptics I encounter, about proof of alien visitation, or that a sighting of a UFO is indeed likely to be sighting of alien activity. Not just about whether alien life exists.

Although we don't really know enough about how life started on Earth to be sure of anything, a good lesson that the scientifically-minded have learned over time, after finding out that one's own people aren't at the center of a flat world, that the Earth isn't at the center of the solar system, that there's a whole galaxy beyond own little not-so-special solar system, and that our galaxy is just one of trillions, is that the safest bet is to bet we aren't so special or unique. If life can happen here, it can probably happen anywhere that conditions are favorable.

This isn't proof of the existence of alien life, just an argument in favor of its likelihood. It's a poor skeptic (or just a straw man parody of a skeptic) who treats lack of definitive proof of X as practically the same thing as proof that X does not exist.

(The biggest thing to give one pause about the existence specifically of intelligent alien life is the Fermi Paradox. While I still would guess intelligent alien life out there somewhere is more likely than not, the Fermi Paradox does make me wonder just how lonely and far from the that life we might be, if it's out there at all.)

On the other hand, proof of alien visitation is quite another thing. With the evidence there being of very poor quality, and with provable cases of people being fooled by much more mundane events, and the known foibles of human psychology, Occam's Razor favors mundane events over alien visitation whenever and wherever solid proof does not exist, no matter how passionately some people believe their own experience "proves" otherwise.

What I have seen are comments to the effect "why would alien life do this or that?" and "do you realize the type of craft required to travel that distance?"

Comments of that sort are the poorest of arguments against alien visitation. It seems a fair number of people get off on decrying how terrible humanity is, and will use UFO talk as an opportunity to vent their disdain for our species with comments like "why would they bother visiting us?" -- which even misses the point that a visit might be necessary first before even forming an opinion if we're "worthy" of attention or not.

It's also not wise to project human levels of patience for possible long-term projects, or human conceptions of what constitutes "too much effort" onto alien life that could have greatly advanced technology, especially since it's not even that hard to extrapolate probing the entire galaxy, and even beyond, from current human technology.

I'll admit I can be disdainful of some UFO believers because I think developing a skeptical mind, and learning that "personal experience" is not the gold standard of knowledge and understanding, is an important element of maturity and of being a good citizen.

[anarch]

97. OK then, without any speculation about anyone's emotional or mental state:

It's been my experience that when this topic gets posted in here in any context, many people seem to have strong reactions that I would interpret as negative, and often respond in a way that seems to me to be condescending and dismissive, often going so far as to imply (or say outright) that this is not a fit topic for serious discussion, with the further implication that people who do want to talk about it are not very bright, or perhaps are mentally unwell. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

[Silent3]

99. You're not wrong that people are critical about this stuff

Some of us feel that being critical is warranted, especially when people blur the line between simply experiencing a thing and interpreting that experience as evidence of alien visitation.

This being a public forum, one shouldn't be surprised when criticism is not always provided in the most careful, delicate, and excruciatingly diplomatic manner possible. Obviously no one likes it when criticism takes the form of ridicule sent in their own direction, but most of use will happily ourselves use ridicule to make our own disagreements known.

[orleans]

51. how in the world do you remember the date??? nt

[anarch]

54. it was (and still is) the strangest thing I've ever seen

Last edited Mon Apr 24, 2023, 05:40 AM - Edit history (1)

I even remember it was a Tuesday evening, just after 8:00 PM local time. (edited to correct this--it was a Thursday, not a Tuesday...I did have to look that part up)

In this case the date is also sort of short-hand for the event itself, which was one of the largest mass sightings ever and got a lot of coverage, so even if I didn't personally remember the date it would be easy to look up, like "11/22/1963" or "9/11/2001" or whatever.

[Goodheart]

16. Sure.

[Beaverhausen]

17. MUFON

If you have seen something, make a report at Mufon.com

[MartyTheGreek]

21. You're good Bro! They are Skared... Here's the Pentagon's UFO Release Last Week

These go back to WW II. They were called Foo Fighters by US and observed by Germany and Japan which thought it was our tech and we thought it was theirs.

Also, it's not a wonder that a UFO crashed at the Trinity Nuc test site not far from the Roswell crash where the bombs were developed for deployment in Japan at the time. Wouldn't you surveil if somebody was playing with matches that could rip space time in your neighborhood?

&pp=ygUMcGVudGFnb24gdWZv

[flashman13]

25. This post jogs my memoires. My dad flew with the 8th Air Force over Europe in 1944. I asked him

about Foo Fighters. He told me that he had never seen any but he had talked to other people that said they had seen them.

[MartyTheGreek]

27. There's WW II pics out there blurry but show them...

My Grandfather was a gunner air crew on the PBRs 1St Emergency Air Rescue Squadron. I never got to know him or inquire.

[Dave says]

23. My experience

I was visiting in South Florida when my cousins and I saw it. It was large, silvery, and moving south at a good pace. We got in my rental car and began chasing it (we were young). We saw red and blue lights flashing on its sides. I ran 2 red lights - we weren’t going to let this one get away without a close view! I almost had an accident after running a stop sign. I was driving pretty fast. Finally, it stopped. We got closer. We held our breaths in anticipation of getting a good look at this otherworldly craft. Then we saw it!

On its side ran something like “Stay at Hilton Hotels”. It was the Goodyear blimp.

[PatSeg]

63. Oh my god, how disappointing!

[Irish_Dem]

26. Military pilots have been spotting them since WWII.

These pilots are familiar with state of the art known aircraft technology.
And what they are seeing is far beyond that.

[edisdead]

30. I cpuld go to church every sunday

I cpuld go to church every sunday commune with an invisible being nobody has ever seen or actually ever heard, and I would be a well adjusted member of society.

If I say I saw something in the sky I cannot explain I am ridiculed.

[Duppers]

52. +1000

[Chainfire]

33. Why would you think that something that you could not identify was a "craft?"

[flashman13]

38. I attach no special connotation to the word "craft". If you are more comfortable with object,

then we will call it an object.

[Lunabell]

35. UFO Unidentified Flying Object.

There's no mention of aliens, folk. Settle down.

Now, they're called UAP's, Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. Still no mention of aliens, folks.

Calm down and let people share their observations without being critical or condescending.

I have actually seen UAP's on two different occasions. As a young kid, we were traveling somewhere in the car. Back then, if you were a little kid you could lay down in the back window of the car. It was broad daylight and as I lay there looking out in the sky, I was mesmerized by what I saw. It was a white/silver cigar shaped object flying in the sky. No, it was not a blimp. It was long and cylindrical, not roundish. It was also a very different color of white/silver than a blimp. Nothing more, no visitation.

The second time, I was 14 and walking to Shakey's pizza with a small group of friends. Five of of us. We saw a large brilliant white star looking light in the sky. Larger than normal stars. It kept flashing in different parts of the sky, zig zagging around really fast, unlike any human made object at the time. (1975) It would flash quickly in one spot of the sky, flash out, and then flash in at a totally different spot in the sky. We were all just in awe of what we were seeing. This all took place in less than a minute. When it was over and we no longer saw it, nobody said a word. We just continued on our way to Shakey's and never ever talked about it.

No aliens. No "lost time". Just weird.

[BootinUp]

36. Humans imagine shit all the time. nt

[Silent Type]

39. Have definitely seen things I couldn't explain, but suspect there is

a simple explanation.

I do believe there is life out there, but way off.

[Effete Snob]

40. No UFO's. Lots of ghosts, though

I’ve seen a few ghosts and I think that’s what most of the UFO observers are actually seeing.

[MLAA]

44. Wow, where did you see them and what did they look like, if you don't mind sharing.

I believe there are plenty of things we don’t have explanations for and do not doubt humans are not the only beings in the universe.

[Effete Snob]

60. In the sky

They look like UFO's, since I'm pretty sure that's what the UFO's are.

People seem to overlook the obvious explanation.

It used to be that people saw a lot of ghosts - including long before people invented aircraft. Since the invention of aircraft, people are seeing the same ghosts, but thinking they are aircraft and spaceships.

It's pretty dumb to see something like that, and then think it is some form of technology which (a) it wasn't previously, and (b) we have only just recently invented.

So, it's pretty obvious to me that people are seeing ghosts. Thinking they are aircraft or spacecraft or whatever ignores the fact that people have been seeing ghosts for a lot longer than they've been seeing UFO's. But people tend to be closed minded that way, and are not open to ideas outside what the media told them to think. So, if the media says "UFO's!" then people stop seeing ghosts and now they see UFO's. It's just silly for people to think they are not ghosts.

[ecstatic]

56. A ghost aircraft, now that's creepy...

And could make a really good movie series, except the ghostly aircrafts with probably need to be shaped like actual airplanes and not bowl shaped.

[Effete Snob]

65. No, not "ghost aircraft"

That's the point. Nobody observing "UFOs" is seeing aircraft or spaceships or anything like that.

They are seeing ghosts, and then because they are led by media and other sources to be narrowminded, they think things like aircraft, spaceships or some kind of technological artifact which then leads them to believe it has something to do with aliens.

People have been seeing ghosts for all of human history. What has happened recently is that aerial and/or atmospheric apparitions of ghosts are now mistaken for things like "alien spaceships" by people who don't have sufficiently open minds to consider the simplest explanations.

[ecstatic]

67. oh I see. That took a moment

Aerial ghosts? I don't doubt that ghosts exist in some format but I never thought of them as being airborne. Interesting.

[Effete Snob]

83. They are frequently described as floating around

It's not as if they have any altitude or speed limits.

The more you think about it, the more you will come to realize that the so-called "UFO phenomenon" is most logically ghosts.

[BlackSkimmer]

82. Lol!

I'm dying here!

Good luck!

[Effete Snob]

84. This is exactly where they come from

It is the people who dismiss ghosts, in the face of countless observations over the course of millenia, who in fact are the most likely to end up haunting the skies.

So, if you really are "dying here" then you might be about to find out.

[BlackSkimmer]

85. Look out on the wing next time you fly!

I fully intend to become a ghost.

[Effete Snob]

86. That's one of the reasons I don't fly

[BlackSkimmer]

88. Slol!

That's not the William Shatner one, is it?

[ecstatic]

91. I love your ideas!

Ghost deniers get stuck in limbo and haunt our skies! Seriously I love it because it's not an opinion I've heard before.

[Effete Snob]

92. I used to think that UFOs were simply time travelers from the future

You see, if a time machine is ever invented, we'd know about it since the future folks would be visiting and trying hard not to be seen or figured out.

Now, sure, there are people who will tell you that time travel is impossible, but they used to say the same thing about having a candy that melts in your mouth and not in your hands. So, you know those people are always wrong.

But, I have realized now that the UFO phenomenon is so big that the time travelers from the future probably would have figured out that they'd already screwed up and would have corrected for inadvertently being mistaken for UFO's. They could do that because they would have the historical record of all of the UFO sightings.

So, realizing that the time travel thing wasn't work, and because I am a skeptical person who uses critical thinking and observation-based reasoning, it is pretty fucking obvious that people are just seeing ghosts - just like people always have.

However, I did cheat a little bit because the confirmation came when I saw one and he told me he was a ghost.

So, case closed on UFO's.

[ecstatic]

93. My critical thinking led me to a different conclusion:

Is another country *secretly* developing technology that's 100 times more advanced that the US? Not likely. If anything, it's a secret program in the US.

Are aliens from another planet in another galaxy sending spaceships to Earth to observe us? I really don't think so because most civilizations probably self destruct prior to becoming advanced enough to unlock the secrets of jumping galaxies, etc.

Have humans explored every inch of the planet and of the ocean? Hell no.

Are there species right here on Earth that we don't know about? Yes, hundreds of thousands, possibly millions.

Is it possible that undiscovered species are large and can fly? Of course.

So.... in my opinion, the simplest answer is that the "UFOs" are originating from our planet: either top secret technology from our own government OR large, undiscovered flying creatures that are smarter than us in many ways.

I love the ghost theory but the problem there is that I don't think a ghost can be caught on film (because they're not really here, in physical form. lol). Also, only highly tuned sensitive adults can see and/or communicate with them. I think many people opt NOT to interact with anything weird or scary due to the anti-ghost / anti "imaginary friend" conditioning that occurs during childhood.

[BlackSkimmer]

74. I have elves in my yard.

And one fairy, but she's very reclusive.

She leaves me treats, but only the cats have seen her.

The elves don't care who sees them...tipping over flowerpots, emptying birdbaths, antagonizing the squirrels...

[Effete Snob]

75. That's why people get garden gnomes

The gnomes scare them away.

But, seriously, it is sad that people reject critical thinking skills and avoid the most obvious explanation for UFO's - ghosts.

[BlackSkimmer]

76. I know, but I have very small garden gnomes, or maybe they're just lazy.

When I remonstrate with them about the evil elves, they ignore me, smoking their pipes, lolling on logs. Sigh.

That aside, you have to love a good DU UFO thread. Here we always thought just some backwoods types in East Tennessee or wherever were the ones to see them!

But here at DU, we have all these intelligent folks!

[MLAA]

45. I've not been fortunate to see an unexplainable object or craft but have zero doubt they exist.

Thanks for posting. I think I may have had a visitation. It was at night while I was in bed and 3 or 4 robed figures were standing around me and I was floating a few inches above the bed and then turning clockwise. I never remember my dreams for more than a few seconds after I wake, though I dream every night. And I certainly don’t remember any dreams hours, days or weeks later let alone years later. This event was 25 years ago and it has remained clearly in my memory.

[Higherarky]

48. I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Just Kidding!!

I've had several sightings, including a couple when the folks who were with me at the time also viewed the phenomenon.

In addition, when I was very young, preschool age, I had frequent, recurrent, very realistic dreams of contact with occupants of UAPs.

The truth is out there.
👽🛸❔

[intrepidity]

49. Sure

It was the late 60s in So Cal. A bunch of us were outside, probably BBQing with neighbors. Saw something strange in the dusk sky, just hovering. A couple other conventional craft (copters) showed up after a bit, flying near it, seemed to be inspecting it.

Then it suddenly took off to the west. We all jumped in the car and headed towards the coast, where this thing was headed. When we got there, we watched from the bluffs as this *whatever it was* disappeared into the ocean (not over the horizon, but *into* the water).

It was pretty exciting at the time.

Years later, some UFO sightings book came out, and this same incident was apparently witnessed by a whole bunch of people who reported it. I hadn't realized until that book how widely it was seen, although I do recall we were not the only ones at Santa Monica watching it at the time.

I was just a kid at the time, but the memory is vivid and I've been interested in the subject ever since.

Those days are long gone. Now there are so many satellites and whatnot, plus bonafide military tech, drones, plus deep fakes etc that I can't imagine taking any sightings nowadays seriously. But back then.....

[ecstatic]

55. Lol. Haven't seen a UFO, but a psychic told me that I was abducted by aliens.

I asked her why I couldn't remember large chunks of my childhood. I thought she was going to say that I had been abused but I was completely caught off guard when she said it was because I was abducted and experimented on by aliens.

For reference, my childhood years were spent in Brooklyn/ NYC (and upstate New York during the summers) in the 80s and early 90s. I assume the abductions occurred in upstate New York. Lol.

[bluestarone]

64. I can honestly say i saw an STAR bight object in the sky, when i was like 11 years old (late 50's)

A really bright star that was moving so fast and maneuvering like NOTHING i've ever seen before! I mean right angle SHARP turns. I was sitting (laying) on a large minnow tank (my father sold minnows) turned over in our yard. Never will forget that. (I believe in ufo's) I won't go as far as to say Aliens, cause i don't know. Enjoy this thread here. TY

[nolabear]

66. No but I knew the guys in one of the most famous "alien abductions."

This happened when I was 18 and living in New Orleans but the two men had frequented my grandparents’ cafe in Pascagoula and I saw them there, just two of the many shipyard workers who came through most days going in and out They tried quite a bit at the time to break their story but never did. One of them (not the one here) had a bit of a breakdown over it. The oddest thing is that where they claimed it happened is very visible from the old two lane highway bridge. At any rate, I don’t much believe, but I think they did. Who knows…

[hunter]

69. My crazy grandma was a shipyard welder in World War II...

... and one of the very few women they didn't send home when the war ended. She retired with a good pension of her own, and that of my grandfather, self-inflicted dead husband.

I'm pretty sure she had Space Alien friends.

She was removed by court order from the home she owned outright as a danger to herself and others. It took half a shift and more for the police and paramedics to accomplish her removal and she was still cussing up a storm and trying to bite them as they strapped her to the gurney.

Lucky she was white and automatically respectable. Otherwise they might have simply killed her. She had some skills with knives and guns.

About half my grandma's neighbors loved her dearly but she terrified the rest.

After that there was no "assisted living" place would keep my grandma for long, not for any amount of money, so she'd end up living with my parents.

My crazy grandma was indirectly responsible for the worst week of my entire life, more PTSD stuff.

[nolabear]

70. Whoof! What a story.

Shipyard workers made my life miserable for the most part. My grandparents’ cafe was right by the gate so that was the, shall we say, clientele. I lived with them in my teens and waiting tables full of those guys was a study in terror. I got VERY GOOD at spilling coffee, iykwim.

[hunter]

68. Stuff I can't explain is stuff I can't explain, nothing more, nothing less.

I learned long ago my mind is an unreliable witness.

My favorite UFO sighting was a F-117 Nighthawk.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk

Saw it heading for home before dawn while I was out jogging, as was my habit then in the early 'eighties.

Later met one of the engineers who built the thing.

I'm also a little bit crazy. Have talked to God and Space Aliens.

God and other random Space Aliens don't need starships.

They already permeate everything.

[Kennah]

87. UFOs and Bigfoot

There are far, far, far more cameras readily available in everyone's pocket today, but we don't see an increase in the number of sightings that are proportional to the increase.

[edhopper]

89. How many UFO sightings

by professional and military pilots that were later explained and showed they were mistaken in what they thought they saw would I need to post to end the "these pilots know what they are seeing" trope?

[electric_blue68]

95. There are UFOs, UAPs. Just what they are?....

Last edited Wed Apr 26, 2023, 12:44 AM - Edit history (2)

I've never seen one - but 95% of my life has been living in NYC, ?3% been in older towns/suburbs (relatives),
?2% deeper countryside.
As a kid we'd sometimes be staying fairly far out between towns in NE in motels on summer vacations.

On my own trips I've been out in deep countryside mostly North, Northeastern AZ, Hopi, and Navajo Nations (Including an overnight in Monument Valley), Grand Canyon, up in The Rockies north of Denver.
Traveling on two long (2 wks, 2 wks + ) vacations by bus between visiting certain cities in the wide spaces of Missouri, OK, TX, NM, southern AZ on the way to CA night, and day.

Looking out 60 miles eastwatd from on a hill in a little village, over fields, farmland, wooded spots towards the Alps in mid but west Switzerland for 2 1/2 weeks in '16.

Now I wasn't looking, and nothing showed up unexpectedly. Since most (all) reports have these things show up unexpectedly.

Are there intelligent sapients checking in on us on occasion. Idk. Still I believe it's possible. Maybe a low probability. Just our galaxy alone is immense. We're just one There are between 100 - 200 Billion ovservable galaxies Yes, I jknow farther away, the further back in time
And we haven't unlocked all the secrets of physics etc all yet. Who knows what modes of space flight might be a decade away. Less?

It's true I'd love to find there's a Galactic Civilization of quite varried sapients out there on the other side of The Milky Way. Of which we could have some allies, and good friends. Get some good advice. Though maybe if we followed more of the best of our own we'd be doing better. (I still believe there's more good people than not).

What can I say - I partly grew up on Star Trek, though I don't think Humanity will have "conquered" all the problems that they have conquered by the time TOS, and NG are are around and "told us ?" we had.

Anyway I"m waiting for a Library book currently on hold by a New Zealand investigative reporter on UFOs/UAPs -
"In Plain Sight" by Ross Coulthart. Looking forward to it too see what his experiences have been.