SUBJECT: ENTER THE GRAY ALIENS FILE: UFO3144 excert from _GRAY ALIENS BITE THE DUST_ by Alison Davidson from BORDERLANDS, Vol XLIX, No. 2 ENTER THE GRAY ALIENS The two main images in the lurid ufology sweeping into public consciousness today are _ gray aliens and abductions of humans by these aliens. Together they form the key components of a cosmic conspiracy theory with elements of high level government involvement and mass genetic manipulation, to say the least, and it's a conspiracy that's spreading. A postcard just received in the mail from Paramount Pictures states that "2.5 million Americans claim they have had an alien abduction experience", as part of their promotion for the upcoming release of a major movie called Fire in the Sky very loosely based on the Travis Walton incident well known to ufologists, one of the early abduction cases which has been neither proven or refuted. The image of gray aliens is infiltrating the gray matter of the public like the sinister shadow reflex of those ubiquitous little troll dolls, insinuating itself into every level of the media. Grays are finding mention in television shows, such as the documentary A Strange Harvest, the TV movie Intruders, a recent episode of Star Trek the Next Generation, that well known prototype vehicle for the New World Order federation propaganda... advertisements, almost every new age consciousness publication, gutter press and otherwise intelligent magazines. Their mutated bland bug-eyed heads have sent ET back to kindergarten. Abductee has become a fashionable state of being and abduction seminars, workshops, support groups and private counselling for abductees are spreading like an epidemic. Here at Borderlands under siege from the stacks of hype from the New True Believers, we have also received information from the other more skeptical side of the story and this article is an attempt to gather together some of the kernels of truth, if truth is to be found, from the bloated fiction being sold by the sensation hungry press to the ever gullible public. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ABDUCTIONS _ WEAK LINKS IN THE chain One of the most rational and scholarly investigations into the claims of human abduction by extraterrestrials is a meticulously researched paper published recently by the International Fortean Organization, titled Demons, Doctors, and Aliens by James Pontolillo, subtitled: An Investigation into the Relationships Among Witch Trial Evidence, Sexual-Medical Traditions, and Alien Abductions. But don't expect to find any serious review of this work in the mainstream ufological press, as James Moseley of the Saucer Smear cynically comments: "If it ain't real-life aliens, true ufologists don't want to hear about it!" The author is concerned about "the central role of cultural misogyny in the origin and development of the alien abduction phenomenon"... the shallow contradictions and misrepresentation of facts in the reports, and the lack of substantiating evidence... as he says, "nothing but the human imagination is required to produce an abduction narrative." He begins by questioning the numbers of alien abduction cases claimed by such prominent researchers as Budd Hopkins (100's of 1000's _ or 1 million last count), or Donald Ware from MUFON (approximately 6 million Americans "whether they know it or not"). The figures claimed are extrapolated from individual cases (including friends and acquaintances) to the general population, and from a poll containing five leading questions that was apparently distributed to several thousand people, and quoted in Fate magazine. Have you ever experienced missing time... felt you were flying... awakened with a strange presence in your room... seen unusual lights... found puzzling scars on your body...? You might be an abductee and not know it. This is the theoretical basis of the abductionists' extravagant claims (but they don't ask if you take drugs, drink alcohol, engage in subtle energy practices, or watch too much TV...) Skeptics, of course, deny that anyone has ever been abducted. Pontolillo goes on to question the evidence of which the overwhelming majority is unsubstantiated eye witness (and alleged eye witness) testimony from the purported abductee. Most abductees are anonymous and the crucial medical and psychological documentation on their cases is inaccessible. He questions the use of hypnotic recall procedures by pro-abduction therapists with little knowledge of the scientific literature on hypnosis and its proper application. Most of the abduction evidence hinges on hypnotic regression and, as Pontolillo points out, "a casual examination of all major pro-abduction books reveals the use of leading questions by researchers on their hypnotized subjects" _ while Hopkins categorically states in UFOs And The Alien Presence: "You can't lead people." (Another question that presents itself here is: How is it humanly possible to conduct in-depth psychological tests for such a vast number of traumatized victims _ if their claimed numbers are true?) As there is no physical evidence or objective testimony the author digs more deeply into the psychological interpretation of the abduction phenomenon to seek out the underlying archetypal imagery. In doing so he draws a compelling thread between UFOs, abductions and ancient folkloric tradition, or as he puts it "The core abduction event, sexual and medical experimentation by extraterrestrials on unwilling human (primarily female) subjects, is only the latest variation in a time-worn cycle of misogynistic folk tradition endemic to Western civilization." ********************************************************************* * -------->>> THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo <<<------- * *********************************************************************