# Is it me or is there just the tiniest bit of racism in all those ancient alien shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 23, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972 "2015-07-23T17:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/21 "2015-07-23T21:15:01Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > As I answered in a previous thread, I think it’s entirely to do with the amount and clarity of written records. . . . It’s a little like the “God of the Gaps” thing in creationism. A highly ignorant idea can somehow seem more plausible in an area where there is relatively little real knowledge. That said…there are still the loonies who say that The Manhattan Project was secretly endowed with hidden technological knowledge by _modern_ aliens, and the Manhattan Project is pretty damn well documented! We’re examining a phenomenon that rejects truth and evidence in favor of (Leonard Nimoy voice) “Could it be…?” fantasizing. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/22 "2015-07-23T21:55:03Z")
Another CT is that modern technology is reverse engineered from alien technology recovered from the Roswell crash and/or was given to us in exchange for…something. _cue ominous music_ ---
**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:** [July 24, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/23 "2015-07-24T00:41:50Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > That’s _exactly_ the intention. > > …[snip]… Actually, to be fair, Graham Hancock isn’t your typical ancient alien theorist. He gets mixed up with it, but generally he prefers a prehistoric, technologically-advanced _human_ civilization over aliens. Also, something about psychoactive drug use by ancient people as the source for alien imagery, and gods and symbolic thought in general. (Or something. His books are fun, but long-winded, logic-hopping and wrong. I stopped reading a decade ago.) ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/24 "2015-07-24T01:20:52Z")
> [@Dingbang](#): > > Bullshit. Give me 1,000 people, a local ruler with enough power to order them around, and all the time in the world, and I’ll move that statue anywhere you want it. There’s a [demotivator](http://despair.com/collections/posters/products/achievement)for that. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/25 "2015-07-24T01:22:03Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I was speaking strictly about the TV shows. I have not read any literature on this subject because why? It’s bad enough I don’t change the channel when Ancient Aliens, In Search of Aliens, Unsealed Alien Files-- shows like that come on. I came in here to tell you to stop crapping on my favorite crap but, never mind. Did you want any literature, you didn’t rule that out and I have suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/26 "2015-07-24T01:39:19Z")
> [@Stuffy](#): > > I came in here to tell you to stop crapping on my favorite crap but, never mind. Did you want any literature, you didn’t rule that out and I have suggestions? Hey, Stuffy! Long time no see. I’ll trade you crappy ancient alien lit for crappy historical romance. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/27 "2015-07-24T01:46:30Z")
Racism? [Is such a thing even possible?](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/155/594/yesitis2.gif?) ---
**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:** [July 24, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/28 "2015-07-24T01:49:58Z")
Well I don’t hear anything about aliens building the Great Wall despite the fact that is large enough to be the only human artifact than can maintain an unending internet argument about whether it can be seen from space. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/29 "2015-07-24T02:02:05Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Racism? [Is such a thing even possible?](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/155/594/yesitis2.gif?) [I’m not saying it’s alien racism. . .](http://cdn.meme.am/instances/61460882.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/30 "2015-07-24T02:05:18Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Hey, Stuffy! Long time no see. I’ll trade you crappy ancient alien lit for crappy historical romance. I took some time off posting for a while but this was sometime back. I’ve been back several months now. Anyway, one of the biggest books on this was Chariots of the Gods. I’ve been enjoying this type of schlock since age 9 or so. I like historical novels, not sure how I’d feel about a romance slant. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/31 "2015-07-24T03:03:28Z")
A vote for “they’re racist.” Especially _Chariots_. Von Daniken seems to take a dim view of the intelligence of brown people of all shades. Yeah, he has the same view of HUMANS of all shades, but it just oozes the very racist, Eurocentric attitude of archaeology before about 1960. “Oh, look at the monkeys! Can you imagine them building anything without the guidance of white people?” ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/32 "2015-07-24T03:33:48Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Them, or the Windmill Hill\* people are the two most likely groups involved in its early construction. But nobody knows for certain - the groups existed in the area around the time Stonehenge was first being constructed. But pretty much all we know about the groups is that the first made pottery, and the second lived near a hill. They may have had nothing to do with it at all, and it was built by some third, forgotten people. No-one knows who they were, or what they were doing. But their legacy remains, hewn into the living rock of - Stone’enge. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/33 "2015-07-24T04:18:21Z")
Aliens? Nonsense. I have it on good authority that the Pyramids were built with ramps. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/34 "2015-07-24T05:05:11Z")
I think there’s a general assumption that “primitive” meant “stupid” when it really just means they’re just starting to figure out technologies. The people of 6000 years ago were just as intelligent as we are today, they just had fewer resources or ways to communicate progressive ideas to each other. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/35 "2015-07-24T05:19:45Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > But then I began to notice that these ancient alien guys believe the Aztecs were too dumb to build pyramids in the 12th century but have no problem with Romans building underwater piers, coliseums and huge aqueduct systems over two thousand years ago. I don’t think the show “Ancient Aliens”, specifically, does this, as they seem to link every single fucking civilization ever to aliens. Including the [Romans](http://ancientaliensdebunked.com/references-and-transcripts/baalbek/) and probably the Greeks too. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/36 "2015-07-24T07:04:47Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I don’t think the show “Ancient Aliens”, specifically, does this, as they seem to link every single fucking civilization ever to aliens. Including the [Romans](http://ancientaliensdebunked.com/references-and-transcripts/baalbek/) and probably the Greeks too. These are not Roman ruins that are being accused of being built by aliens at Baalbek. It’s an ancient Lebanese site. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/37 "2015-07-24T12:02:15Z")
I do relate aliens to angels who guide us, not exactly 1:1 but I do suspect that they are teaching us and inspiring us even today. What we think we invent or discover what really just the encouragement of those who love us as their children (as we are their children), helping us along our path. In this their is the initial inspiration (build a pyramid, construct a structure supported underwater, discover nuclear energy, rocketry), and our use of it (build more, build weapons, build space stations). That was what I feel the OP was overlooking. The aliens gave the Romans the technology, they then used it for X, the Egyptians were given the technology and they used it for Y. There were parental reasons behind how and why certain people get certain inspirations, and it does not have to be with us being dumb, just young and learning. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/38 "2015-07-24T13:13:07Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > These are not Roman ruins that are being accused of being built by aliens at Baalbek. It’s an ancient Lebanese site. So they are homophobic too? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/39 "2015-07-24T13:46:57Z")
I brought this up in a similar thread in IMHO. I read Chariots of the Gods a dozen times as a kid and that book at least only questions the skills of brown people so yeah I agree there was a twinge of racism. I’m not saying they were White supremacists but the the view of history at the time was Euro-Centric and everyone else were the Primitive Natives so things were written from that point of view. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972/40 "2015-07-24T13:48:48Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I brought this up in a similar thread in IMHO. I read Chariots of the Gods a dozen times as a kid and that book at least only questions the skills of brown people so yeah I agree there was a twinge of racism. I’m not saying they were White supremacists but the the view of history at the time was Euro-Centric and everyone else were the Primitive Natives so things were written from that point of view. That’s about right. I don’t think the racism was intentional, just carried over from the traditional Euro-centric concepts of history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-is-there-just-the-tiniest-bit-of-racism-in-all-those-ancient-alien-shows/725972.md?page=3)