From: Judith Dale <judithdale@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 01:05:08 -0800
Fwd Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 12:25:08 -0500
Subject: Re: Firmage: Statement Regarding Stephens-Hoagland

>From: Joe Firmage <jfirmage@uswebcks.com>
>To: updates@globalserve.net
>Subject: Statement Regarding Stephens-Hoagland
>Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 22:46:32 -0800


Joe Firmage wrote:

>Hello everyone,

>We have been presented in the past few weeks with a spectacle
>remarkable even on the scale of the ridiculousness common to
>UFOlogy. Robert Stephens emerged some months ago and began to
>share some provocative information concerning the subject of
>UFOs. He was about to be engaged in a debate on Art Bell's radio
>program covering 200 questions concerning claims made by Richard
>Hoagland, when his participation was cut from the air. In the
>midst of the firestorm of debate that followed, he bowed out in
>a "confession" that labelled himself a "Fraud". Many have said,
>with some justification, that Stephens' final radio comments
>were somewhat disjointed, though others have reported that he
>was particularly cogent in his other appearances. In any case,
>he has taken his agenda to the written word, and is publishing
>the "200 questions" he's been talking about.

>Whether you agree with Stephens' tactics or not, his points are
>well grounded, and this is a critical issue and must be
>addressed for the health of our movement. I thank him for his
>diligence and courage to confront our weaknesses. Those of us
>who seriously study the UFO issue are convinced that it is the
>most important single question facing humanity at this moment in
>time. It is far too important to have the entire UFO community
>subjected to derision from Hoagland's unchallenged and
>unsupportable claims.

After reading Joe's comments above, I felt compelled to add my
voice to his in support of Robert Stephens. I admit to being
quite new myself to the world of Ufology, via the Web. Although,
the subject itself is not new to me, my current interest was
piqued after listening to the personal experiences of close
friends.

I am a Psychiatric/Mental Nurse, and as I listened to my friends
tell me of their experiences, I was struck by the very long
lasting impact these experiences have had on their lives. I
found myself hearing of experiences  that were intensely
traumatic in nature. I realized then, that many of their
feelings, behaviors, and thoughts were indicative of people with
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I became terribly concerned
about the nature of their experiences. As my  research has led
me through the Web, I've noticed how many others are suffering
from PTSD following traumatic encounter experiences. This
troubles me greatly. I've thought about what seems to be going
on, and decided it does not often bode well for us humans. I
realize that there are some people who've had experiences that
were, perhaps, not traumatic. In fact, it seems that some have
found their experiences to be powerfully life changing in many
positive ways, but these appear to be the minority.

My Web explorations took me to Richard Hoagland's site. As I
read the many pages, I was struck by two thoughts. The first was
that this man truly believes this stuff, and the second was that
the connections he made between events and ideas seemed,
perhaps, paranoid and somewhat delusional. Yet, there was his
forum, for anyone to happen upon. Further, he was speaking
publicly, via the airwaves, about his theories. I found this
frightening. I thought, this man is perpetuating more trauma on
those who've already been wounded. I didn't like what I heard.

Now, I've also come upon sites by many who provide information
that seems sound and helpful. I've also heard many speak,  and
present information via the airwaves that is sound and helpful.
When I first heard Robert Stephens speak, I thought, now this
guy is saying something important, I've not heard this before.
He was certainly coherent, and made great sense. I believe he
has much to offer this field of Ufology, and I am particularly
interested to see the questions he will present for Richard
Hoagland to answer. I've not spoken personally with Robert
Stephens, but we  have email dialogue. I've found his answers to
my questions to be helpful, clear, and thoughtful. I will only
comment thus on the fast fury of words that have flown over the
wires of the Net, how disturbing at this crucial time, that
there has been so much vehemence and attack. Let's not shoot
this messenger.

Thank you for your attention.
Cordially,
Judith Dale, RN, C