The Disingenuous Trolls

There is a new twist in the field of Bigfoot research. New meaning within the last few years.  It is an increase of hoaxers, jokers and downright dishonest bloggers. This new phenomena may have gotten it’s start on the forums where some people would post as if they were sincerely interested in the subject of Bigfoot and the topic at hand, but in reality they were there simply to poke fun at and make fun of those who do take these things seriously. Not all of those who feign genuine interest have left the forums. Some are still there strutting about and posting away with delight things that provoke others, constantly pushing the boundaries of the places where even a modicum of ethical conduct is asked of them.  They will apologize to the moderators and promise to not do it again only to turn around and simply do it again in maybe a bit less obtrusive manner.

Others have graduated to posting their own web site or blog,  probably out of frustration from having to follow a set of rules, where they are even more dishonest in their postings. They make claims that appear to be genuine when they have another agenda. Supposedly, they have “inside information” from a secret informant, or they have made a new discovery of some kind but do not want to reveal it at this time. While this on a rare occasion may be true it is more often than not just a way to keep people coming back to their blogs for the increased number of hits rather than genuine reasons. Not only is their lack of ethics becoming more obvious, they are also becoming more brazen in their attacks and quickly turn to making personal attacks towards those who question their integrity.

Don’t get me wrong, the field of Bigfoot has always had more than it’s fair share of scoffers and ridiculers, but for the most part they were up front with their views and agenda, sometimes irritatingly so, but this new breed of trolls like to masquerade as someone they are not and take a “don’t care” attitude toward others concerns. So why is this a problem?  Well it is pretty obvious but let us consider another field of study for an example.

Let’s say that you are a bit of a rock hound and you like to go out and hunt for quartz crystals or even Thunder Eggs and you come across something that you have not seen before, and from what you do know you believe that what you have found is of value. When you get back home you sit down to check on your computer to find out what this anomaly might be. You do a search for quartz crystals and look for places that give as much information as possible, foregoing the many sites that want to sell you their rocks. 

Would you really expect a web site that talks about new evidence that sounds close to what you found to be a sham? Maybe you have spent some time on a site reading as many articles as you could find related to what you have found only to discover that those articles were a spoof and the geologist who wrote for this site was not a geologist at all. You do a little more digging and find that this person and others related to the web site consider you to be a fool for getting as far as you did in your searching and reading before finding out that they were spoofing the whole time.  

 OK, now translate that kind of an experience to a Bigfoot sighting, which has already caused no small amount of a reaction in you personally and the whole net search experience is exacerbated a great deal, and these people think it is funny?

Yes, unfortunately they think that doing such is humorous. These are the kind of people who like to come up behind someone who is using crutches and yank the crutches away from them thinking it is funny. I’m sure that you can think of many other examples of this childish behavior. These people simply have never grown up. I don’t know what it is but I think that there is something seriously wrong with these people, and I’m sure that they even find that funny. For some reason the subject of Bigfoot draws them like moths to a light.

For the newcomers to the Bigfoot phenomena, be careful who you communicate with over the internet and if you happen to be a witness be especially careful. While there are people who are genuinely interested in your experience, find out who is trustworthy before divulging anything to them, otherwise you might get something that you never bargained for and never expected because these phonies were giving you assurances in the beginning. 

It is to the loss of all of those who are serious that people who have had a sighting or some kind of an encounter have been dissuaded from saying anything at all because of the actions of the disingenuous researchers, bloggers, trolls or whatever they call themselves. They often have an overinflated view of themselves thinking that they have some kind of place of power. 

While humor and satire have their place, these people who are trying to pass themselves off as someone who is serious, even after they may have started out “just joking around” or doing satire and in some cases even doing an out and out hoax, are definitely a scourge to us all. 

I would urge that when you find these phonies that you don’t allow yourself to be baited into arguing with them, or answering their questions, they become gleeful at this. If you see where they have wronged someone else don’t be fooled into thinking that they are your friend, in fact it is best to simply “unfriend” them and never look back.