Fear In The Bigfoot Community


Editor’s Note: This is a post by Bigfoot Evidence contributor Vicki W.

Autumn Williams from Oregon Bigfoot posted her thoughts about how the psychology of fear manifests in humans and the role it plays within the Bigfoot community today. She begins by defining the word fear, "a distressing and negative sensation induced by a perceived threat." She proceeds to examine how fear is behind many of the negative emotions and aspects of a person's actions and reactions in day to day life.

The post is a thought provoking and introspective study of fear in general, but her thoughts on the way fear can be at the root of some of the well known drama and infighting that permeates through the Bigfoot community are well worth the read. She touches on what may be behind the accusatory dynamic between researchers and the online bickering common on internet forums and blogs. Here is a snippet from Oregon Bigfoot blog:

In the bigfoot community, especially on online forums, I see truckloads of dysfunction - perceived fear manifesting in ugly reactions. Arrogance, sarcasm, sniping, backbiting, ridicule, threats, shaming, bruised egos, arrogance, arrogance… did I mention arrogance? ;)… Personalities posturing for a position of relevance, feeling threatened by something someone said, cutting down another’s contributions, in-fighting, arguing publicly and attempting to shame one another in front of peers, disregarding the feelings of witnesses or ridiculing them while wanting their “best” evidence, getting angry over perceived slights… Fear of someone else being right, fear of someone else being more popular, fear of being irrelevant, fear of others “damaging the credibility of the field” (in other words, “making me look like an ass…”), fear of being attacked (so people go on the offensive and attack first), fear of someone else being “first” or “better”, fear of being excluded, fear that someone else might actually be the one to solve the mystery or that it might never be solved at all…

Fear directs many interactions in the bigfoot community, because fear directs many things in our lives when we’re unaware of it… and many people are. I want to say that again because it’s important: People, for the most part, live unconsciously in fear. Our interactions with others in the bigfoot community are natural reflection of how we, as individuals, interact with fear in our personal lives. And it is exacerbated online. The internet is a sadly dehumanizing force in our lives; the people on the other end of the line are less real somehow. The whisper of our dysfunction is magnified to a deafening roar when we remove the accountability that goes with face-to-face interaction and hide behind keyboards and computer screens, nursing our fears, holding our grudges, licking the wounds of our damaged egos and gearing up for the next assault on that faceless username which threatened and frightened us.

Some react by bombarding others with intellect, not realizing that IQ doesn’t make a bit of difference, because the EQ (emotional quotient or emotional intelligence level) is the same. Those with expansive vocabularies smite their enemies with wordy, gleeful arrogance, but their reactions are no less dysfunctional than the guy who can’t spell worth a crap and resorts to name-calling or threats of physical violence. It’s all a reaction to fear.

So what does this have to do with bigfoot?

Just as we bring our personal fears and dysfunctions into play when we interact with others in the bigfoot community, we also bring them into our relationship with the subject… and the Sasquatches themselves, if we are out in the field. You can’t leave your personality at home. I’ve personally known witnesses who feared continuing ridicule and began changing their interactions within their habituation as a result in order to attempt to gather “proof” – to the detriment of the habituation and the relationship they had carefully cultivated. I’ve known researchers to commit egregious acts toward Sasquatches in an attempt to prove that they are “right” and that Sasquatch does, in fact, exist. It’s all based in fear.

Fear is the root of dysfunctional behavior and when we feel fear we usually try to gain control of the situation. The Big Guys don’t appear to like that very much. And who would? How would we react if someone approached us and attempted to have a controlling, dysfunctional relationship with us?
Read Ms. Williams entire blog post here: www.oregonbigfoot.com

Comments

  1. I disagree it's a internal competitive drive not fear. It's natural in these situations.

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    Replies
    1. i AGREE THAT YOU KNOW EXACTLY JACK. HOWS YOUR COMMUNITY DOMINATION GOING GENIUS?

      Delete
  2. So...it's being fearful that causes people to challenge stupidity? Total nonsense is supposed to go left unchecked?

    Well...I must be fearful of Autumn cause this article is lame.

    So...I am dysfunctional if I happen to come upon a hungry mountain lion in the woods and try to run away? How should one approach this type of situation so as to be deemed functional?

    Attacking the absurd is not a sign of fear.

    Here is the proper definition of fear Autumn:

    "a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid"

    There is no impending danger associated with your assessment and with the dumbass conclusions and arguments that people make in these forums. Quit being a Jehovah's Witness and presenting only half truths of your definitions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This coming from a hoaxer. Doesn't matter if she was hoaxed for her book, she ran with it.

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  4. I tend to agree with the men above, and as a trained, professional, scareactor I know a little something about fear. All it does is make people drop to the ground and well up in tears or run away screaming like little rabbits! (at least in a haunted house scenario)

    I do agree that emotion and not logic drives most of the comments and replies on any of these posts. Honestly though how much logic and fact can you use in arguments surrounding sasquatch? What is fact and what is fiction nobody knows.

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  5. Autumn WHO???? Why does anyone pay any attention to what she says? That book she wrote was a joke! I feel sorry for anyone who bought that pile of rubbish!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, faceless entity, since you seem to know her book is a pile of rubbish, you must feel sorry for yourself for buying it. You are an example of the subject above.

      Delete
  6. It's a wonder anything gets done when no one is having an intelligent conversation in the midst of a bunch of anonymous trolls who have no lives and want to just go and shit on someone's lawn instead proving their points. It's become a real circus. I will also make another prediction-that every one of those trolls is a right-wing republican. They are so easily frightened of intellect and knowledge seeking. They work to keep everything the same and do nothing to help create understanding and acceptance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trolls are the scum of the earth, even lower than elves in my eyes ;) my favorite way to respond? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5kPUFxXYLs

      Delete
    2. AutumnForest: The shot at conservatives was totally uncalled for and only added fire to the flame. Throwing politics into a bigfoot debate about competition has to be a new low for us all. But here we are courtesy of the redheaded know it all. During every Finding Bigfoot episode you live blog and shit on several lawns with your self important delusional drivel. You are the very thing which you claim to oppose.

      Delete
    3. Fuck YOU autumn, you libtard, you libtards always got to go political. Why on a bigfoot site?

      We are smart enough to determine what something IS before we accept it.

      Everything the tree-huggar mindset does is emotionally based, not rational.

      Give up your house of wood.

      Give up your car and then tell me what to dRIVE.

      Pay for your own birth control and abortions

      Quit teaching relatavism to our students

      truly determine WHAT global warming is befor the whole planet spends billions more on a falsehood
      so on and so forth.


      Ps, 75% of these anona's are libtard's.

      Delete
    4. Someone should mention that Autumnforest is not Autumn Williams. Libtard or not.

      Delete
    5. I was with you until you had to bring up right wing republicans being trolls. The conservatives do not have time to go trolling sites as they are too busy supporting their families and then providing for a good portion of the liberals that will not provide for themselves, but only cry about some bastard that pays over 70 percent of the nations taxes, not paying his or her fair share. Rugged individualism is what made this country the greatest on Earth unlike what has happened most other places on Earth. Each person carries his own weight and when they can't because of physical limitations there is a charity safety net funded mostly by churches, philanthropic charities and those hated conservatives I might add. Also a few government programs in this time are appropriate for the disabled and elderly.

      How has that hope and change liberalism worked for everyone. About the same as it did for Jimmy Carter.

      Chuck

      Delete
    6. Why dont you read about this on the bigfoot forums where it has been thoroughly proved to be a hoax. You're the one who doesn't do any research. Stop posting pictures of yourself from 1992 before you fell off and turned into a fat toad who made Matt Moneymaker look skinny when your ugly used up face was next to his.

      Delete
    7. Woooow, big men republicans really showed that women whos boss. You should be ashamed talking to a women like that "libtard" "fat toad". In the real world do you approach people with different opinions in the same way or you just a mouthy tough guy on the keyboard.

      Your parents did a great job raising you guys i bet their very proud of the respect you show women. Fucking jokes of human beings. One day you might realise how low yous have become, and for what......?

      Stephen.

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    8. Autumn your shot at Republicans just killed everything you were saying. Just because a Republican like myself does not agree with some of the things you say does not mean they are Republicans and as far as knowledge seeking I believe a Republican Eisenhower signed the N.A.S.A. for space exploration. Also most conservation groups are Republican based.

      So just because a Republican didn't make up Global Warming or take the "liberty of creating the internet while in office" does not mean we are scared of knowledge, acceptance, intellect or understanding.

      Also most Govt aide programs were created and signed while a Republican was in the oval office.

      Just saying check some facts because your better than petty name calling.

      Delete
    9. I guess the outing of Autumnforest as a liberal explains why she spends all her time on this blog, uses a glamor shot from years ago and apparently has no boyfriend. Get a life you hippie jackass.

      Delete
    10. Autumnforest tends to drop her turds and never return to clean up the mess. Don't waste your time attempting discussion with her. The exception to that (and her "you don't exist, you nameless scum" rant) is if you'll flirt with her.

      Delete
    11. Republicans are backward inbred wife beating racist fat ignorant scum which most of the developed world hates. Always looking to destroy something to "protect"America. Any fool who stood behind 2 generations of Bushs is a retard. And your treatment of a women on this blog just because She has a different view to you just cements for me how i feel about you rednecks.

      Delete
    12. Liberalism is a Mental DisorderFriday, April 27, 2012 at 8:04:00 AM PDT

      Oh good rant. You must be one of the 437,000 people that watches MSNBC. They are full of the so called intellectually astute, of course only by themselves. More hatred and mindless and shrill voice rants spewed here than planters has peanuts. Of course this comes from the so called "party of diversiveness and compasssion". Of course that is unless you disagree with them and when they can not argue with the facts or what actually works then their message is to frontally attack the messenger. One does not have to look far to see that the only thing Obama can do is create class warfare as his socialist programs have failed miserably. Ever listen to the pure hatred that comes from his mouth instead of actual time tested and proven solutions such as Ronald Reagan enacted that got us out of a much worse economic mess than we have today, or does anyone not remember the 11% unemployment, housing collapse, and 20 percent inflation that he inherited. It only took his program of people solutions and not government solutions 2 years to put this country into the longest economic boom cycle this country has ever had. If the true radical liberals ever get their way, this country will be full of reeducation camps, and when these ranks swell then the Stalin and Mao Tsu Tung final solution will become acceptable for these clowns.

      Go ahead and listen to MSNBC while I tune into Fox News that has a 10 to one listenership that has a much firmer grip on reality. They also have the best looking women by far of any news organization which proves that beauty and brains are quite compatible, unlike the ugly, tired looking, unkept, shrill speaking hags on MSNBC that squawk in mindless dribble. Or you can listen to air america. Oops forgot. They went belly up some time ago when even with government funding they could not make a go of it as no one wanted to listen to those imbeciles either.

      Oh by the way. When did you stop beating your spouse?

      Delete
    13. ha ha ha...wait, really?

      Delete
  7. Could someone give me a diffinitive answer as to the book being a hoax,because i bought it and if it is then i want my money back!!!

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    Replies
    1. Man the truth is nobody knows if it was a hoax. The book was interesting. Is such a habituation site going on? Who knows. Everything was apparently done over the phone and via emails so the credibility can't be determined. As we see in movies these days, folks can have some wild imaginations and therefore the book COULD be a hoax. Its still a good, interesting story and if it is true, the source should be commended for trying to protect them. I also believe that if it is true, the source should prove it in a way thats non-destructive.

      Delete
    2. The guy admitted to hoaxing Autumn Williams on the Bigfoot Forums, go read it yourself.

      Delete
    3. Read it. How could they prove it was the guy? And who says he wasn't trying to further protect the sasquai by bashing the book and claiming it as a hoax? Never read definitive proof that the book is or is not a hoax. Show me the source that makes it definitive please.

      Delete
  8. The biggest fear right now is that the Ketchum farce will end up being a big nothing. The believers have been in this in-your-face mode ever since Ketchum hit the scene, gloating about how they were going to prove everyone wrong and be vindicated. Make the skeptics eat crow, that kind of crap. Now that Ketchum is spiraling out of control with no option but to crash and burn, the believers are
    freak-ing OUT! They are losin' it and lashing out at anything anti-Bigfoot that moves.
    Scared? Ohhh yeah, they are terrified.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I see a bit of fear among both sides to be honest. I think skeptics dont want it to be true. I think advocates are afraid that its false-simply because its taking so long and the whole story is being skewered by both sides. If people would just be patient about it, the truth one way or the other will come. Although, I think Ketchum should not have started a facebook or twitter page for updates and retorts, but thats my own opinion.

      Delete
    2. Sorry Okie, but I think you're totally wrong about skeptics not wanting it to be true. This skeptic and every other skeptic would like nothing more than to see these things proven to be real. I also find skeptics to be easy going and laid back sorts of folks that like a good laugh. On the other hand I have found believers to be uptight, overly sensitive and get their panties in a wad when you dispute anything they say. They just seem to be miserable people that hate everyone and take Bigfoot in a very serious manner. They don't know what it's like to look on the lighter side of things because they don't know how. Hell, they probably hate themselves as much as they hate everyone else.

      Delete
    3. Oh I didn't mean all skeptics lol I shoulda been a little more particular. I'm sure lots of people just want the debate to be put to rest.

      Delete
    4. Your view on believers is not unfounded believe me I see it on here as I read posts. I think a lot of it has to do with either one, theyre credible eyewitnesses (like myself) who are not taken seriously, or two, they disagree with the manner in which many people in general believe that the debate will end-by killing one and presenting the body. Hopefully that does not purposefully happen-i believe that we will gain nothing but an anatomical and physiological description by using the aforementioned method. But you are right believers can be a little uptight sometimes. Skeptics as well.

      Delete
    5. Then you have people like this person down here doing the preteen blah blah bs who probly doesn't want it to be true because, while he or she has never been in the woods, they can't fathom the thought that a large hominid being that can function in complete darkness could be in their backyard as we sit here and chit chat.

      Delete
    6. Why should you care if anyone takes you or what you say you saw seriously. You know what you saw, isn't that enough? And that was kind of my point with the believers. They often go batshit crazy if you say you don't believe them. If I saw an 8 ft hairy man, I wouldn't expect anyone to believe me either and damn well wouldn't care if they did.

      As far as the body goes, it's too late for anything else. everything up to now has either been proven hoaxes or inconclusive, leaning towards hoax. You're either part of the problem or the solution, you choose.
      And whining about murdering poor innocent Bigfoots is a lame ass copout too. If it weren't for the believers being belligerently adamant about their existence we probably wouldn't be at this point. But we are at this point. the believers need to cough up a body or crawl back into their holes.

      Delete
    7. Hey I dont expect anyone to believe me, I do know what I saw and that is enough for me. I dont take up for ketchum, erickson, moneymaker, or any believers that get too radical. And its only my personal belief that they shouldn't be killed. I'm not anti-hunting, in fact I'm pro-guns and ammo and kill if youre threatened ite need to eat. A body isn't the only way to prove the existence. If a person has to see bodily evidence then they should get up off their lazy ass and head out to the woods and look for themselves. I'll accept the paper if it is published-but because I have seen. I dont expect anyone else to except that. Skeptics that run their mouths simply for the pleasure of argumentation likely dont have the balls to get out in the woods at night to investigate the possibility themselves.

      Delete
    8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    9. Whoa easy there fella, don't go gettin' all squirrely on us. Getting upset and calling me hateful names won't solve anything.

      Delete
    10. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    11. I didn't call you anything. Nothing I said was directed at you.

      Delete
  9. From a person who charges to see her web site (Autumn) until you pay her for access, has no business in giving her opinion....

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    Replies
    1. Do not like that fact about the oregon bigfoot website. Credibility is lost through money.

      Delete
    2. Yeah! Anonymous jerkwads don't want to have to pay to act like anonymous jerkwads!

      Delete
    3. LOL!! anon jerkwards also resent anyone with enough tech skill to make money on their research and writing!

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Go easy on the Trolls people! Legends Of Werewolves, Trolls, Goblins and Hermits are all synonymous with Sasquatch folklore. Or have you forgotten this bolg from last month:

    http://bigfootevidence.blogspot.com/2012/03/is-sasquatch-responsible-for-legends-of.html?m=1

    ReplyDelete
  12. I fear that we're arguing about arguing

    ReplyDelete
  13. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes we do cause it would be something to do.

      Delete
    2. Some women want to set the world on fire

      Delete
  14. Wow, we all got the flamethrowers going tonight. It's Bigfoot for crying out loud, not the foreclosure crisis or Afghanistan or nukes in Korea. Chill out and have fun with the big fellas,tomorrow you got to make that house payment and hope your kid doesn't have to die in some godforsaken Asian land war.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Why are Melba's loyalist sooo willing to blindly follow and defend this liar to the death? She believes in fairies and unicorns... she's like oprah of bigfoot

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She believes in Unicorns? That's great, I need to go on her FB page and ask her if they really do poop rainbow skittles.

      Delete
  16. I love unmoderated comments. It's like the bigfoot community just had an anal prolapse.

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  17. What she seems to neglect is that quite often those calling others fearful and dysfunctional are acting out of fear and dysfunction.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I just want to say that Autumn Williams is an intelligent, kind person who contributes greatly to the Bigfoot/Sasquatch community. Not everyone has to agree with her but I can't stand by and watch people say such mean spirited things about her. I've never heard or heard of her speak rudely of others and have only seen her carry herself with dignity and respect, and I for one have great respect for what she has to say.

    ReplyDelete
  19. ok, ralphie boy is here, so everyone can just settle down....
    Judging by the wide ranging but all generally dysfunctional comments (except for a few nuggets of humor in there, and thanks for those and kipps comment above ) i would say the posters have proved autumn's point. i urge everyone to take a moment and reread your posts. are you proud of what you have written? would you be comfortable with your comment being posted along with your name? maybe this blog should make everyone sign in with their facebook login. might keep this type of thoughtlessness and cheap talk down a little.
    because talk IS cheap. and on this and other bigfoot forums speech is of the cheapest. words that hurt are thrown around without any sense of responsibility. have you all forgotten how to be gentlemen? were you ever? ralphie boy

    ReplyDelete
  20. that's it spread it all over the country again so that,some jackass, will have a field day running around chasing his tail [

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  22. I have encountered these "people" on several trips into the Cascades. I speak to them quietly usually in "Salish" tongue and leave them food. I respect them and they know I do not fear them. It has taken me 4 years to ear their trust.

    ReplyDelete

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