# I'm not saying it's aliens, but ... it's aliens **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168 "2023-06-08T00:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/21 "2023-06-08T15:10:48Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Thing is, like Randall Munroe, if I saw promising enough evidence I’d do a 180 as well. Yep. I recall on the X-Files, Fox Mulder’s poster, “I want to believe”. Fuck yeah, I _want_ to believe. I’ve been a science fiction fan my whole life, having actual aliens around would be cool as fuck. The problem is, _wanting_ to believe isn’t enough. I need some actual evidence. Show me that and I’ll be the biggest UFO Fan Geek you could imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/22 "2023-06-08T15:13:48Z")
Now I’m picturing some native of the Moon, ranting about how he has an intact “alien vehicle”, and it’s the Lunar Rover. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/23 "2023-06-08T16:05:25Z")
The Martians are also (slowly) building up a collection of alien ground vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/24 "2023-06-08T16:56:33Z")
My hospital chart(official document) in fact states I have ‘alien’ implants on my person. (A dialysis port, a CGM, a insulin pump, a DBS device and a spanking new tummy valve) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/25 "2023-06-08T16:58:29Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My hospital chart(official document) in fact states I have ‘alien’ implants on my person Becken of Nine. [![](https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/the-untold-truth-of-seven-of-nine/intro-1585054283.jpg) ](https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/the-untold-truth-of-seven-of-nine/intro-1585054283.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/26 "2023-06-08T16:59:25Z")
That’s me, alright. 🤭 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/27 "2023-06-08T23:01:20Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > David Grusch… Well, come on! He did name his band _Foo Fighters!_ The evidence is in plain sight! Oh, wait a minute… Wrong Dave. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/28 "2023-06-08T23:24:17Z")
The Guardian article basically makes the argument that the guy seems to be in full earnest and that he’s putting himself on the line, legally, by taking it to Congress and the Inspector General, but also that people who know the guy are vouching that he’s a very honest, upstanding person. Not to say that it’s impossible that we’ve got alien ship pieces falling the planet, but I’d have to vote that there’s a significant difference between “honest” and “correct”. I might honestly and with all the best intentions state that the guy who robbed my store had black hair. But, when we go to the camera footage and in there it’s a blond guy…then it’s a blond guy. Personal predictions: 1. The guy was put into position or has some connection to John Ratcliffe. (Lower probability, but it would explain how someone a bit nutty got into a region of intelligence that is like Cinnabon odor for UFO believers). 2. While confident that he saw alien hardware, what he actually saw was something terrestrial that he convinced himself was not. He’s the equivalent of that Google guy who decided that his LLM was fully sentient, despite everyone else with the same access and better knowledge understanding that it wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/29 "2023-06-08T23:49:56Z")
I have no doubt he’s making money off this story. It’s not a very good story, so he’s probably made a few thousand so far yet he sees himself doing better than that repeatedly in the future. If it turns lucky for him they’ll make a movie and he can make almost twice what he’s made so far before ending up at nutbag convention where no one wants his autograph. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/30 "2023-06-09T03:26:34Z")
Years ago I had a .mil barracks roommate who in one of our frequent BS sessions was talking along similar lines. Roswell (for example) wasn’t a “weather balloon”, but a genuine crashed alien spacecraft was recovered. Powerful radar at nearby White Sands interfered with the navigation system, causing the crash. Some of the components found were then sent off to different military agencies for inspection, as well as major corporations, and reverse engineering if possible. One of the results was said to be the Transistor, from Bell Labs. Naturally I took the countering view, pointing out that was all BS, and Bell Labs had a team of researchers working on primitive semiconductors for years before the breakthrough. I didn’t realize where my roommate was getting his stories. Other purported technology that resulted were night vision devices. This was right at the time a retired Army colonel, Philip Corso, had released his book on the Roswell, New Mexico thing. I recently read this book (it is available for free online, if you dig around). I must admit, it does make for a good _story_. And try as I might, Corso doesn’t come off as a complete nut-bar as I would have suspected. He served with distinction in WW2 and went on to work at least briefly at the Eisenhower White House. He claims to have seen alien bodies, among other things. I only bring all this up to note what’s old is new again, and to ponder why anyone would do this, then or now. One reason of course, is money. Write a sensational book, and profit. But it does seem a little odd. It isn’t that I believe the claims in the Corso book - nor whatever this latest “whistleblower” is claiming - just that it seems strange they would put so much emphasis on elaborate stories, hoaxes, and lying. A third alternative is they are only partly telling the truth, to try and cover up something else entirely. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2023, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/31 "2023-06-09T13:07:11Z")
The most likely explanation is they were the sort of kid with a vivid imagination who got a reputation as a BSer. And just kept it up. Eventually they persuade themselves they are right, begin to believe their own BS, then turn themselves into a not really self aware BS generating feedback loop. IMO this is pretty much where all the traditional CT starters and a good fraction of CT believers came from. Now that CTing is a big business there’s lots more people in it merely for money, treating it as just another form of fiction writing / publication. A highly profitable form. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/32 "2023-06-09T15:52:54Z")
One of the shows I watch for its amusement value is William Shatner’s _The UnXplained_. Last week’s episode was on UFO Hotspots; in addition to the Phoenix lights it talked about the supposed plethora of UFO sightings around Washington DC and specifically the White House, Someone made the observation that obviously the aliens are trying to make contact with one of the seats of Western Civilization. They must be terribly bad at it, though, as after all their attempts nobody is aware of it. That, or the US government is incredibly successful at keeping their attempts a secret. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/33 "2023-06-21T04:20:02Z")
Grusch hasn’t said that he’s seen anything. He’s testified that he was told these things by people he won’t name. So he could be being totally honest about people telling him those things and he may sincerely believe them. Regardless, we’re basically being asked to accept the word of anonymous sources. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/34 "2023-06-21T04:26:27Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > I’m under the impression that that _Debrief_ piece is the original source the others are quoting. And not that I actually believe the story, but I thought it might have some legs due to the relative respectability of _The Debrief_. More than willing to be disabused of that notion, of course. Is The Debrief respectable? I’d never even heard of it before this. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/35 "2023-06-21T20:25:26Z")
More like: a person I read online, who I consider respectable but whose identify I’ve forgotten, linked to the Debrief in the days before this story hit the MSM, and though I’d never heard of it before either, I figured whoever-that-person-was considered it at least more respectable than, say, the Weekly World News. I meant this thread to be light-hearted, but if needed, I withdraw any claim of the _Debrief_ being respectable. I really don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/36 "2023-06-21T20:42:34Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Grusch hasn’t said that he’s seen anything. He’s testified that he was told these things by people he won’t name. So he could be being totally honest about people telling him those things and he may sincerely believe them. Regardless, we’re basically being asked to accept the word of anonymous sources. I’m sure you are right. He is not lying, but that doesn’t mean he is right. Grusch has spoken to people who have been very convincing, and he believes them. Unfortunately, it is all hearsay, and it seems entirely likely we won’t ever find the truth behind these stories. It has all happened so many times before. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/37 "2023-06-21T20:49:15Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > He is not lying, but that doesn’t mean he is right. Grusch has spoken to people who have been very convincing, and he believes them. It is possible that Grusch is that peculiar combination of being very trustworthy in his **presentation** of what he believes, and extremely gullible in believing other people. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/38 "2023-06-27T16:54:54Z")
WTF is going on with this? Is this some kind of Republican psyop to distract their base from what’s happening with Trump? Marco Rubio claims to have gotten first hand accounts that match what Grusch is claiming. > ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/39 "2023-06-27T18:00:45Z")
In general, Rubio is a reasonable guy. Whether he’s being so here, or not, I couldn’t say. But I do note that so-far, no one has asked any questions like, “How have you identified that it’s alien? Do the people who performed that analysis agree with your view of the matter?” ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168/40 "2023-06-27T19:02:53Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > > [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > > > I’m under the impression that that _Debrief_ piece is the original source the others are quoting. And not that I actually believe the story, but I thought it might have some legs due to the relative respectability of _The Debrief_. More than willing to be disabused of that notion, of course. > > Is The Debrief respectable? I’d never even heard of it before this. It is not. It’s run by people who explicitly say they are on the fringes of science, and the interview article is written by the same two ufologist zealots that wrote the New York Times Pentagon UAP article, Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal. Kean was Budd Hopkins’s girlfriend; Blumenthal is in the middle of writing a John Mack biography. All four are/were associated with Robert Bigelow. This current news cycle comes entirely from _The Usual Suspects_ of the ufo grift circuit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens/985168.md?page=3)