# Alien dilemma friend or foe **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 10, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184 "2021-01-10T15:32:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squidsak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Squidsak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squidsak)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/1 "2021-01-10T15:32:02Z")
it’s my humble opinion that when alien life makes itself known they will be of the nice variety for this reason…there is no profit to warp across the light-years in an attempt to concur habitable planets resourses when between there and here you would be passing hundreds of resource-rich unclaimed worlds that have no defenders to fight you might think well the greys would take all our metals! that have been already mined, they want our copper-gold and plutonium, what are the chances these items would be used by aliens? I’m sure they need metals, but would ours be compatible with theirs? or would they have to resmelt? if so I again point out planets closer to homeworld would be cheaper to settle and develop and mine then one already in use and far away, coming to earth killing all the peeps to strip copper wire out of apartment buildings and sending it back home would be a costly endeavour . they cant use our medicins or our foods or automobiles, probably can’t breathe our air, so I think when they do make themselves known it will be for a mutual scientific experience. slave labour you say! well that’s just silly talk interspecies space slaves are never going to happen because you have to provide a breathable atmo for the slaves to work in, you have to feed them, ---
**Author:** ![CoconutPete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coconutpete/32/5294_2.png) [@CoconutPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoconutPete)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/2 "2021-01-10T16:02:40Z")
Ahhh but have you not seen Predator? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/3 "2021-01-10T16:04:48Z")
> [@CoconutPete](#): > > Ahhh but have you not seen Predator? - Of course not. He had optical camouflage. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/4 "2021-01-10T16:37:30Z")
“It’s a cookbook!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/5 "2021-01-10T16:42:24Z")
Would anybody travel Interstellar distance without a compelling motive? Like “gain”? After that question, things get ugly. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/6 "2021-01-10T16:49:13Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Would anybody travel Interstellar distance without a compelling motive? - Maybe they’re fleeing the giant space goat. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/7 "2021-01-10T17:07:55Z")
> [@Squidsak](#): > > if so I again point out planets closer to homeworld would be cheaper to settle and develop and mine then one already in use and far away What if Earth is the closest planet to their homeworld? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/8 "2021-01-10T19:42:14Z")
Any species that has figured out how to propel a spaceship around the galaxy and make turns and enter and leave orbit at will, etc, has tapped into a source of energy far greater than converting the entire planet earth into a source of fuel. And they’ve figured out how to maintain a source of food and other relevant consumables that by necessity would have to be far more efficient than harvesting same from the surface of a planet. That leaves artifacts and works of art and culture. I’ve got my doubts about any species employing interstellar travel (the distances are too huge, the resource requirements are too immense, the speeds are too impractically slow) but if I’m wrong, then the things that would be of interest to them that they might find here aren’t compatible with the interests of conquering types so much as academic studying types. Count me in agreement with Squidsak. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/9 "2021-01-10T19:52:40Z")
We’d basically be an ant farm to them. What kind of cruel being would destroy an ant farm? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/10 "2021-01-10T19:57:26Z")
I agree with @AHunter3 that their motivations won’t be materials. Nor _Lebensraum_. But they may well be motivated by a desire to ensure no upstarts from the hinterlands interfere with their cozy empire. Which they do by identifying planets that have life that _can_ get out of planetary orbit, but can’t (yet) get out of their stellar system. And then incinerating those planets early while it’s still easy. I kill wasps before they get their nest built. Same idea. And aliens may well care less for all humanity than the wistful sadness I have mashing a wasp or two. ETA: must type faster or say it less ponderously. I started out replying to **AH3** and meanwhile **J\_J** slipped in to be answered by **GGB** below. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/11 "2021-01-10T19:57:27Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > We’d basically be an ant farm to them. What kind of cruel being would destroy an ant farm? The neighborhood’s bully. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/12 "2021-01-10T20:58:43Z")
Whether I considered an alien friend or foe would depend on the last SciFi movie I watched. If it was, say, _ET_, I’d welcome him with open arms. If it was, say _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_, I’d kill him immediately, possibly sparking an intergalactic war. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/13 "2021-01-10T21:07:25Z")
If ET ever does stumble upon our shores, I suspect the circumstances and dilemmas of first contact will be so bizarre and unique that we’ll all be screaming, “Why didn’t Hollywood warn us about this?.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2021, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/14 "2021-01-10T23:11:21Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Maybe they’re fleeing the giant space goat. Do you mean The Great Space Coaster? ---
**Author:** ![Squidsak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Squidsak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squidsak)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/15 "2021-01-11T04:00:11Z")
lol 1 and 2 ---
**Author:** ![Squidsak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Squidsak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squidsak)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/16 "2021-01-11T04:02:08Z")
i think your very smart ---
**Author:** ![CoconutPete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coconutpete/32/5294_2.png) [@CoconutPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoconutPete)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/17 "2021-01-11T04:29:52Z")
Well are you Garey Busey crazy or??? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/18 "2021-01-11T19:19:27Z")
I cannot really prescribe the motives of aliens. So, I look to history. What happened when explorers of the past, your Columbuses, Magellans, your Marco Polos discovered the new worlds? Their most valuable resources were taken away, the conquering race moved in, and the natives were converted to the religions of the invaders. Let me see, did anybody altruistic and respectful of the rights of the natives establish power? That would be no. Of course, the visiting aliens could be like ET, wise, vulnerable yet charming munchkins who change lives and bring joy. Like Mickey Mouse. Our world would be turned into a theme park. You must be this tall to ride the Great Wallercoaster. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/19 "2021-01-11T22:28:29Z")
Life is the only rare commodity in the universe. If they are intentionally coming to Earth it is because it has life on it. Just because they are ‘nice’ doesn’t mean they wouldn’t exploit humanity or other life on our planet in some fashion or another. Advent seemed pretty nice while they were healing all of humanity’s diseases. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184/20 "2021-01-11T22:35:25Z")
And then there is that enduring, vitally important, motive for visiting primitive cultures: Religious conversion. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-dilemma-friend-or-foe/930184.md?page=2)