Ritzmann and the Sane Person's Guide to UFOs

If you don't know Jeff Ritzmann, you may be on the other side of "Ufology" -- the side that believes the "aliens" are all terribly friendly beings who can't wait to help humanity pull it's head out of its ass. Or maybe you don't support that particular idea, but are apt to believe in a number of cases of questionable credibility (though you may be unaware). Or maybe he isn't as notable as I assume he is, which could very well be the case. However, in my opinion, Jeff is a breath of fresh air in a field that is caked with so much bullshit and ridiculous claims, it makes the whole WMD thing look like a friendly game of Clue.

There is a growing number of individuals within the UFO "community" that harbor what I call a "healthy skepticism". Somewhere along the way skepticism became synonymous with debunking, and that is quite unfortunate. Why anyone would approach any area of study or research without an objective eye and a moderately skeptical mind, is beyond me. But, as many of you probably know, there is a majority of people who so want to believe, that they either forget that an investigation requires a scientific approach, or tune that out because they have based their life or ideals on a certain belief, and wouldn't know what to do if that were suddenly taken away.

And really, there are many different reasons why people tend to take someone's words at face-value without checking out the case history and observations of everyone involved, including those in opposition. Just because you don't like what someone may have to say does not mean it isn't true, nor does it mean that they are trying to debunk the entire subject of UFOs. You simply have to weigh in all possibilities before you can make as close to an accurate assumption as possible.


This is part of why I like MUFON. I know there are complaints about MUFON, but overall, I think they are a great organization (I'm a card-carrying member, myself). Not everyone involved with MUFON may represent the purpose of MUFON as accurately as it's mission statement would hope, but you can't shove off the whole organization based on individual opinions or actions. My understanding of MUFON is that instead of trying to prove a UFO has been witnessed, they try to prove that it wasn't a UFO, looking for a more terrestrial-based IFO explanation. This in no way means that MUFON is part of the disinfo crew. Quite the contrary. MUFON is needed (along with others) to help clean up the complete mess that has been made of Ufology by hoaxers, liars, self-proclaimed prophets, new age "gurus" and doe-eyed believers. People like Dr. Jonathan Reed, Stan Romanek, Jeff Peckman and Billy Meier come to mind. Actually, a lot of people come to mind but don't feel like typing out that gigantic list

Back to Ritzmann: Jeff Ritzmann approaches Ufology and abduction claims with that much-needed skepticism I've been talking about. He has been accused of being a 'debunker' or a disinformation agent, but I do not believe this is the case at all. In fact, I think such accusations are ridiculous. Partly because he isn't a non-believer. Jeff has had some pretty insane encounters - but he makes no claims as to the purpose, location, or origin of these objects and/or beings. It's becoming increasingly common for saucer-heads (I use that term affectionately) to label other's in this field as "debunkers" because they don't agree with their opinions, which is plain idiotic in most circumstances

If you get a chance to hear Ritzmann, give him a good listen. He appears somewhat regularly on the Paracast and is always a treat to listen to. Jeff, and many others like him, including Royce Myers III of UFO Watchdog are just trying to bring some credibility to a subject that has been dragged mercilessly through shit and barbed wire for 60 years.

I bring up Ritzmann today because I recently found an article about him and thought I'd re-post it here for your reading enjoyment. There is an interesting comment about SETI in there, as well as a very brief paragraph about his opinion of 'aliens' and there 'purpose'. It's an older article (2008), but it's a slow news week, and I've been very busy, so deal with it.

Article: Jeff Ritzmann: The Cult Of The Fundamental Skeptic