• APassenger@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    It wouldn’t though. I’m not saying UAPs are extraterrestrial. I’m saying as long as each person who leaks is met with plenty of, “no, you’re crazy.” It would help contain it.

    Both with pressure and delegitimization. Now… proof is the thing that’s required. Not simply testimony.

    • Nougat@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Asked whether the U.S. government had information about extraterrestrial life, Grusch said the U.S. likely has been aware of “non-human” activity since the 1930s.

      • APassenger@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        If everyone who claims that is a loon (and they may be), then the leakers are auto-discredited.

        Again and with clear emphasis because it looks like it was missed: I’m not saying UAPs are extraterrestrial. I’m making a meta-point.

        If leakers are almost automatically easily classed as loons, then any inquiry isn’t an inquiry. They may be off their rockers.

        And even “super-advanced tech” need not have extraterrestrial origin. But UAPs happen. We all seem to have forgotten O’Hare. Whatever happened was in passenger jet airspace.

        Regardless of what planetary origin, UAPs deserve inquiry.

        This is a thought provoking book. The author was even interviewed by Colbert and presented very cogently. Which is why I bought and read it.

        Before anyone knee-jerks, it attempts to only use the most credible UAP encounters and looks at them with skepticism and a scientific mind.

        • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
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          1 year ago

          To add onto this, iirc the current US policy of, “discredit and ignore” was created during the cold war because they didn’t want it to distract Americans from the red scare and possibility of nuclear war. They actually brought in a team of scientists to take all the project blue book cases and come up with a reason for what was happening, and if they couldn’t think of anything, they were supposed to just make something up. It’s why “swamp gas” and “weather balloons” are meme’d about. The result is that because the public stopped taking it seriously, the military stopped taking it seriously as well. Since then, I think I remember reading that some of the scientists have expressed regret for doing it because they saw reports that they couldn’t explain or even imagine an explanation for; but they wouldn’t have done it if they’d realized how strong of a chilling effect it’d have on the subject.

          To be clear, I’m not saying that it is aliens either, but there was an effort made to discredit UFO reports and it worked extremely well.