Credible Person + Incredible Event = Completely Unreliable Nut-Job Witness
photo by dev nullOr Why I Never Told What I Saw
The problem with being a credible witness to unexplained phenomena is that the is simple act of seeing something outside of the scope of normal human experience seems to instantly negate any credibility you may have with the public at large. In a way, it’s easy to understand why the public is so skeptical of reports of the extraordinary. The Internet has allowed con-men into our living rooms, the mainstream media’s constant quest for ratings had led to more and more sensationalism where their used to evenhanded, responsible reporting, and there are no shortage of obvious paranormal hoaxes that face the public every day. It is no wonder that when an otherwise upstanding individual reports seeing ghosts, a UFO, Bigfoot or an other paranormal phenomena they are almost instantly classified as being “nut-jobs” or worse liars. The public has been conditioned into thinking that nearly everything they hear is at best only a partial truth.
Because of this many credible sightings that have the potential to further paranormal research go unreported. Really, you can’t blame someone for not wanting to experience the public ridicule and potential loss of personal and professional credibility that can accompany speaking publicly about a paranormal experience. I personally know at least two educated, respected individuals that have been witness to the unexplained and have never told anyone but maybe one or two trusted confidants of their experience out of a fear (and a well founded one at that) of being ostracized. People that if they were witness to a crime, would have their testimony held up as the shining truth. If they were to publicly report what they witnessed would be raked over the coals of public opinion and stripped of any credibility without even a thought being given to whether or not they are telling the truth. In the past, I have even thought twice about sharing my own experiences with people because of what I thought they would think of me.
In the end, it is a self perpetuating cycle. The public ridicules credible witnesses without giving their testimony even a passing review and people who would be a protecter’s dream witness avoid reporting sightings. Because of the lack of credible sightings the public perception that anyone who does report an unexplained sighting is either mentally unstable or a liar. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the situation will change until there is an event that is undeniably real and is witnessed by the public at large (like an “Independence Day”-esque mass UFO sighting or someone bringing a Bigfoot to the Smithsonian for analysis).
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