Why the Continued Interest in Bigfoot on This Forum

Jungle Jim

Graduate Poster
Jungle Jim
Joined
Dec 16, 2008
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1,274
I am curious as to why the construct of a “Bigfoot’ creature has so much resonance on this board. As of today the following Bigfoot threads are active on the first page of the General Skepticism and The Paranormal page:

Bigfoot Anyone Seen One? – 26 pages
Bigfoot PG film Bill Munns Report – 67 pages
Dr Jeffery Meldrum Americas’ “Bigfoot professor” - 2 pages
Bigfoot: The Patterson Gimlin Film – part 3 – 59 pages
The PG Film – Bob Heironimus and Patty – 42 pages
Bigfoot on video? Memorial Day 1996 – 9 pages

There are also many other older threads covering the same topic.

According to the predominate scientific position, a Bigfoot like creature (greater than 5 ft tall, weighing greater than 200 pounds) does not exist in North America because of the following:

• No hominids (other than humans) are found in the fossil record in North America.
• All nonhuman ape species are found in the tropics of Africa and Asia, not in temperate latitudes like North America.
• No material evidence of a Bigfoot exists (e.g., hair, bone, teeth, etc.).
• No Bigfoot corpse has been produced; either by being hunted, or the found remains due to natural causes or accident.
• The size of the breeding population required to sustain the species in the areas where supposed sightings occur (i.e., most of North America) would be so large that many more sightings and interactions with humans would have occurred.

The point of this thread is to try and understand why a subject that should have been resolved long ago (with respect to JREF) receives such continued interest by the members of said forum.
 
• No hominids (other than humans) are found in the fossil record in North America.
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That is true, and is basically going to remain true forever


• All nonhuman ape species are found in the tropics of Africa and Asia, not in temperate latitudes like North America.
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•

Who is to say It must be an ape? What if it is a Hominid instead, particulary, belonging to the Homo Genus? Remember, Neanderthals survived FINE in cold weather, not hot weather, until there species couldnt adapt to the new world.

No material evidence of a Bigfoot exists (e.g., hair, bone, teeth, etc.).
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Of course there is evidence: The question you should be asking is if any of it is good evidence? There has been hair found of something STRANGE, heck, but that hair could be from a Dragon or a Unicorn as far as we know!

No Bigfoot corpse has been produced; either by being hunted, or the found remains due to natural causes or accident.
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Correct

•
The size of the breeding population required to sustain the species in the areas where supposed sightings occur (i.e., most of North America) would be so large that many more sightings and interactions with humans would have occurred.
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Sightings would have occured if the media and society in general werent so harsh to people's experiences. I can understand someone like Kitz talking with WGBH regarding their sighting, and understanding their experience, all of it done while not poking fun at the individual. I can not stand people who poke fun at people because of societys view.
 
Makaya: Thanks for your thoughts, but I think you missed the point of this thread. I am particularly curious as to why, given the scientific exception to the existence of Bigfoot, people on this forum are so eager to participate in the various threads regarding it.
 
It helps that there are a good many bigfoot believers who are around to argue with JREFers, while the UFO crowd seems largely silent, comparatively speaking. I haven't been on here very long, but I have yet to see an impassioned defense of crystal therapy or homeopathy, however, the cryptid crowd seems ready, willing, and able to argue endlessly.
 
jasonpatterson said:
It helps that there are a good many bigfoot believers who are around to argue with JREFers, while the UFO crowd seems largely silent, comparatively speaking. I haven't been on here very long, but I have yet to see an impassioned defense of crystal therapy or homeopathy, however, the cryptid crowd seems ready, willing, and able to argue endlessly.
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Ageed. There are a few "enthusiastic" bigfoot proponents and a troll or two who keep the threads alive.
 
the BF thread fascinate me. I go there not for BF itself, but for the people arguing there. Particularly the so called proponent which will go at any length to "prove" BF exists.
 
Aepervius said:
the BF thread fascinate me. I go there not for BF itself, but for the people arguing there. Particularly the so called proponent which will go at any length to "prove" BF exists.
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Even outside this forum, on my own and elsehwere, I've run into the Bigfoot enthusiasts. They're very passionate, almost cult-like, and will keep threads going forever.

I have no idea why Bigfoot inspires such feelings (not even UFO's inspire that in my experience) but there is a certain number of people who are heavily, heavily emotionally invested in Bigfoot being real.
 
As far as putting in my own two cents here (JREF), I blame Kitakaze for arousing my attention enough and (mostly) unwittingly luring me back into the fray...at least a little. I gladly got out of the Bigfoot discussion gig about a year and half ago because it was over and done. And I had been doing just dandy without it. For now I'm 'with' Aepervius, since there's nothing genuinely Bigfoot happening, and with no real hope there ever will be, watching the Bigfoot Arguing™ is where it's at. Like the proverbial train wreck...just can't not look. I'll be more rude than the OP. It's really almost stupid (nowadays) to be 'discussing and contemplating' Bigfoot. Bigfoot...HA...yet for whatever the reasons, it seems to be an almost completely civil and respectful Bigfoot debate going on here. I mean, it is a Skeptics & Poopooers Superstore™. I've been pleasantly surprised.
 
Jungle Jim said:
I am curious as to why the construct of a “Bigfoot’ creature has so much resonance on this board.
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well i was on my way to work one day when i spied a rocket ship
some aliens abducted me and took me on a trip
to a previous existence on another astral plane
i met a real nice lady there name shirley maclaine

the truth is not an obstacle for someone such as me, she said
because you see we all create our own reality
and if a problem should arise
the best thing you can say is
dont worry, be happy, and have a nice day

well i thanked her very kindly for the excellent advice
she said she'd bill me later at a reasonable price
then the aliens brought me back and beamed me down into this bar
but i could not go to work because bigfoot stole my car

"Truth Is Out of Style" - MC 900ft Jesus with DJ Zero
 
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Thanks to everyone for your responses.

Aepervius said:
the BF thread fascinate me. I go there not for BF itself, but for the people arguing there. Particularly the so called proponent which will go at any length to "prove" BF exists.
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As the saying goes, "It takes two to tango." The BFers would not be able to carry on multiple threads for numerous pages if people were not engaging them. I guess the consensus here at JREF is that it's "fun" to do. That position just seems rather silly and a waste of time to me.
 
Jungle Jim said:
As the saying goes, "It takes two to tango." The BFers would not be able to carry on multiple threads for numerous pages if people were not engaging them. I guess the consensus here at JREF is that it's "fun" to do. That position just seems rather silly and a waste of time to me.
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I made my sig a long time ago to represent the ridiculousness of the whole thing.

There still would be plenty of Bigfoot threads and posts in this forum even if no proponent ever came here to argue. Bigfoot belief can be considered irrational, unreasonable and not properly supported by the presented evidence. Skeptics can and will talk about Bigfootery even in the absense of posting Bigfooters. There is always something going on in their world, and each incident or event or whatever shows skeptics how they attempt to justify their belief and various pursuits.

It is fun for me. I'm continually intrigued at how the Bigfooter subculture defines and defends itself in modern times. It's also sympathetic to witness the passion and devotion of the Bigfooters and appreciate it for what it is - misdirected as it may be. The world of Bigfootery produces many interesting characters and you can follow their adventures and views in almost real-time as if they were actors in some pansocial public performance art. It's a good show.
 
Speaking personally, the subject interested me for years because I thought the animal might be real. Recently, after discovering this forum and its wealth of resources for self-education, I realized that the belief I had harbored for so long was illogical, and did not properly explain the facts. Now that I understand this, I feel it's important to try and counter what I deem to be an irrational, emotion-based belief system with evidence, logic and reasoning.

It also occurs to me that all three of the PGF threads -- the Munns report, the Heironomous thread and the PGF 3 -- could and should be combined into one uber-thread. That's just one thinly-contributing member's opinion.

Finally I feel I must note the irony that a thread complaining that there are too many BF threads is itself... an additional BF thread. Now we're talking about the hobby of bigfootery, our motivations, the attraction of the subject, etc. Make no mistake, Jungle Jim, you have now created a bigfoot thread, in which BF proponents and detractors can and will discuss the viability of bigfoot. Congrats! ;)
 
Jungle Jim said:
Thanks to everyone for your responses.



As the saying goes, "It takes two to tango." The BFers would not be able to carry on multiple threads for numerous pages if people were not engaging them. I guess the consensus here at JREF is that it's "fun" to do. That position just seems rather silly and a waste of time to me.
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It is my free time. 1) Why should I do an activity which is NOT fun for me and 2) taste are various. What you see as silly and waste of time is not to your next man. I am sure some of the activity you do, other find silly and a waste of time.
 
Aepervius said:
It is my free time. 1) Why should I do an activity which is NOT fun for me and 2) taste are various. What you see as silly and waste of time is not to your next man. I am sure some of the activity you do, other find silly and a waste of time.
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The trouble is that if you don't respond to nonsense there are some out there who accept the nonsense as no-one has refuted it.
Also poking kooks with a sharp fact stick is fun
 
As someone said earlier, there are enough passionate BF proponents to keep the threads alive. For the rest, I think it provides daily examples of how some people view facts and evidence without sufficient critical thinking skills. It really is fascinating to read some of these threads, even if I don't participate. Fortunately, there are those like William Parcher who do the heavy lifting for the critical thinking crowd.
 
...by the way. Now we have one more Bigfoot thread on the first page! :)
 
David Wong said:
Even outside this forum, on my own and elsehwere, I've run into the Bigfoot enthusiasts. They're very passionate, almost cult-like, and will keep threads going forever.

I have no idea why Bigfoot inspires such feelings (not even UFO's inspire that in my experience) but there is a certain number of people who are heavily, heavily emotionally invested in Bigfoot being real.
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It's the human factor. Proponents can seem themselves in Bigfoot and some probably daydream about getting to hang out with Bigfoot. The idea of a species that's closely related to humanity seems to appeal to many in Bigfootery; you'll often find statements likening them to "big brothers."

Over in this thread, William Parcher noted

That element of Bigfootery in which you have a male dominated sub-culture of people who see themselves as maverick thinkers swimming against the current of a clueless, comfortable in their recliners society in pursuit of a greater truth is everywhere in Bigfootery now. Many of these guys are devoutly religious which seems at odds with the evolutionary theories floated about regarding Bigfoot's origins.
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He also posted a quote related to Joshua Blu Buhs' book, Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend:

To the white working-class men who are his biggest fans, Buhs contends, Bigfoot is an icon of untamed masculinity, a populist rebel against scientific elites, the last champion of authentic reality against a plastic, image-driven, effeminate consumer society.
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Similarly, kitakaze posted a quote from an Amazon review of Michael McLeod's Anatomy of a Beast: Obsession and Myth on the Trail of Bigfoot:

The myth of self-reliance is big in western American, and so is the Beast. McLeod's depiction of the Bigfoot fanatics is tough love, he sees himself in them. And his fondness is palpable. But they cause him to worry about himself, the possibility of being carried away, a phenomenon he researched rather carefully.
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BTW, I loved John Dies at the End.
 
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