What Are People Thinking?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on February 10th, 2007
I was gone most of yesterday, on the road, and returned very late last night. Yes, I don’t live here in front of this screen. š
I came back to find an email inbox filled with the strangest messages. Two topics with similar themes popped out.
First, one group was about someone in the field who had put a “bounty” on me despite the fact that what this person was disturbed about had nothing to do with me, wasn’t posted by me, and the foundation for any concern was not coming from me. But since it was here on Cryptomundo, I guess the assumption is that I am responsible.
Then, I also found an upset and apparently angry email from an eyewitness I interviewed, well, about 27 years ago. It seems the individual, who now is famous in their own right, had viewed an appearance of me on a cable television program this week. The person had seen me, a photo they had taken, and apparently some archival film, which I have to believe must be from an old news report about this witness.
What words did this individual email me? This person expressed “disappointment” in me because I had “used” their “photo and footage” with “no credits and not a word of” the site where the photograph was taken.
Needless to say, I was an interviewee on the reality program this person mentioned. But, hey, I am not the show’s producer, director, or have any connection to the people behind that production. I wasn’t the source of anybody’s photographs or footage for that program.
Of course, I was merely interviewed by a television company for a possible program, just as the eyewitness has been over the years. I don’t own, produce, edit, or assemble these television programs, any more than other eyewitnesseses, cryptozoologists or skeptics shown do.
While being filmed, I have been treated royally, tricked, lied to, and taken advantage of by various producers since I first appeared in a television interview in 1969. You give your interview, and then walk away, hoping for the best. What you get from the company and your relationship with producers are just like life, indeed, and very reflective of the human condition.
For me, the payback of being on documentary programming has been a more popularized acknowledgement of cryptozoology, and the ability to use the magic of the media to educate widely about many cryptic subjects. For all the bad producers, the incredibly friendly, good, and enlightened ones I have met along the way outweigh all those negative experiences.
But I am constantly surprised and floored that now that I am a minor celebrity in the world of cryptozoology, if I am associated with a program, a conference, a blog site, or a written work that I might be part of, I am then automatically given this supposedly imagined incredible power to be in control of everything that goes into the production. What are people thinking to not understand that so many others make the real decisions?
It is remarkable, down through the years, how many people have come to think that just because I appear in a program I am to be held responsible for the entire content. Or how photos were added or footage chosen. Do people really forget about all the production components, the editors, and the other people involved?
It is as silly as people blaming me for everything that happens here at Cryptomundo, and then try to invade my privacy (if they don’t like what they see).
I guess it is time for a “cease and desist” order, humm, as the down side of cryptocelebrity is the reality that death threats, stalkers, and harassers do exist.
Enough is enough.
If anything happens to my kids – or an ex-wife, for that matter – or to me, due to the fact someone has placed a “bounty” on me, especially as the intelligent person behind this “bounty” must be aware I am “not” Cryptomundo…well, let’s hope it doesn’t go there.
It is a bit disturbing to hear someone thinks that placing a “bounty” out there, in this day and age, via the internet, is a smart thing to do.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the worldās leading cryptozoologists, some say ātheā leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sandersonās Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Colemanās daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Good morning Loren…
I think in this case the parties involved are not thinking clearly…rather reacting foolishly…JMHO
Who knows…perhaps it’s an elaborate publicity stunt to promote a forthcoming higher resolution video….or an eco-tourism promotional strategy.
In the final analysis…it’s about Bigfoot…not us…JMHO
live and let live….
ole bub and the dawgs
This is the typical foolishness that has become the “norm” in the field circa 2007.
All of us have disputes about theory, etc. However, it is the height of ignorance to offer a bounty. Whoever did this is placing you in incredible danger.
Loren, if I were you, I would (at least) notify local law enforcement about this “threat.” I think it would be the safest thing to do. The internet takes a on a life of its own.
Anyway, what’s so funny about peace, love and understanding? What about we all giving each other a break? Geez!
That old saying, “No good deed goes unpunished…” applies. What lunatics we share the world with.
Lock and Load, Loren…
We share the planet with other humans that have fewer brain cells than a fossil, chin up Loren, the majority of us are perfectly normal and thoroughly respect your work and the rest of the team at cryptomundo. Best wishes.
Looks like they removed the post on the message board asking for your address. Not surprising, of course, given their history of deleting things that make them look bad.
Maybe it was done as a joke? A tasteless one, but hopefully just a joke? That is the kind of joke that can be misinterpreted or get out of hand so even if it is a joke it is out of line.
Of course if it is not a joke it is criminal and could possibly be considered terroristic threatening.
Either way it’s just plain stupid.
It was not a joke, and several addresses that were not mine (but were of real people’s) were posted there. The purpose was apparently confrontational. People were expressing delight in tracking me down.
But I am happy to hear those message have been removed. They live on in cached entries, however. The entire “bounty” call was totally unjustified and way off-base.
As Loren pointed out, it is harmful and unjust to assume that one person has control over another person’s actions, and I think this applies to both sides of the Kentucky situation. People often put words in each other’s mouths, even people ostensibly on the same “side.” Just because you disagree with something one person says, it doesn’t mean the views of that particular person are shared by others on the same side of the debate. Each side has their cannons, and not all of them are bolted down. If people don’t take care to avoid unfair generalizations, then things will quickly degenerate into a witch hunt.
This kind of behavior by goofy people is probably not going to do anything except make you, your family – and your many friends – nervous and paranoid, but the earlier poster was correct in suggesting that you contact the authorities and advise them of the threats. You need to be cautious.
Sad, very sad. Unfortunately, the search for cryptids and Bigfoot in particular has captured a place in pop culture. It’s a “happening thing” and there’s money, money, money to be made if you can sell the right video, tell the most exciting story, and if Paris Hilton hits a Bigfoot while driving DUI – and you get it on tape – well, name your price.
Bigfoot is a tabloid celebrity and many of these so-called researchers are nothing more than cryptid paparazzi looking for the next big score. If you ever get in one’s way – watch out.
Unfortunately my friend, your success (although I’m sure you would say it’s modest) and talent in sharing the cryptic world with the public, has drawn it’s camp followers. And as we all know, camp followers are mostly an unsavory bunch of prostitutes, gamblers and carpet baggers. (Sorry for all the archaic Southern terms.)
The only good thing to come of this is we now know who the prostitutes, gamblers and carpetbaggers are. I for one will avoid them like the plague.
Best wishes.
Stupid is as stupid does…
Perhaps if this person that placed the bounty is interviewed by a detective their tune will change quickly. Many people today are tough when they are behind a computer screen – but cower in the light of being exposed in real-life.
Don’t really know what I can say of any use or real wisdom here. Just that I am apalled, not surprised just apalled, at the actions of supposedly intelligent people.
At least the owner of the page in question removed the post, even if only for legal reasons. Nobody wants their newspaper/web page/etc made a forum for encouraging actual violence against anyone. At least I hope they don’t.
I agree with the above, take this to the police. I would also inform those people whose address was mistakenly given. (it looks like they have screwed up to where they have posted wrong addresses, that are now open to harassment) So if harassment does happen, there is a police case already open. This has gone too far. And may have already passed over the line into criminal activity.
Amazing how much of our collective energies are wasted in dealing with whackos.
To visitors reading this, please realize that there are fringe elements in any Quest, the wild, off-the-wall, idiosyncratic (āDeviating from the customary: bizarre, cranky, curious, eccentric, erratic, freakish, odd, outlandish, peculiar, quaint, queer, quirky, singular, strange, unnatural, unusual, weirdā¦ā Answers.com), unscientific, unprofessional side of the whole band of āenthusiastsā, the extreme end of the bell-curve, if you will.
There are also true scientific intellectuals on the other end of the curve, obscure folks who gather information for years and then write laborious tomes in a garret somewhere in Illinois, which are printed by tiny Psychology publishers in Portugal eleven years later, and which nobody ever reads.
Then thereās the rest of us, gathered in a disorganized heap forming the middle of the curve, serious and educated and intense and curious and creative folks who are sincerely interested in the Quest, in one way and to one degree or another – people who are just as shocked as newbies are at the unbelieveable antics of both fringe elements.
One would hope that we all understand this factoid, and that we maintain a holistic (āEmphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts. Concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation into partsā¦ā Answers.com) viewpoint, as we enter this mystic realm.
It is a sad fact of life that if you are anywhere in the public eye you take a chance of someone who is mentally unstable becoming obssessed with you and creating havoc for you. It is a very scary world out there.
If they do capture you Loren, we will all chip in and pay the $17 million they will be asking for on Ebay. That is, provided you are docile and they can tie you to the role bar of their vehicle and drive you to New Jersey………… Of course, if you don’t want to be captured or harmed, dress up in a gorilla suit and roam the back country. Not only will they not capture you, but any photos of you will be out of focus and shaky……OR, if they are intent on harming you, rather than capture, simply claim you are a MOA, then run across a creek. They will stop to take pictures of your wet footprint, (that no one will see), and you will have time to get away.
Failing all that…CALL THE COPS.
fuzzy-
There are also true scientific intellectuals on the other end of the curve, obscure folks who gather information for years and then write laborious tomes in a garret somewhere in Illinois, which are printed by tiny Psychology publishers in Portugal eleven years later, and which nobody ever reads.
What do you mean here?
Shovethenos: Ummm… was I really that vague?
My entire comment, not just that one paragraph, was a light-hearted attempt to illustrate to Visitors, as I said – newbies who may be shocked or disturbed or nonplussed at the nastiness permeating recent postings and comments here on Cryptomundo – that there are weirdos aplenty at one extreme of our audience, and I provided a clever array of defining terms for readers’ edification (“Intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement; enlightenment.” Answers.com).
Your paragraph of concern was an equally whimsical attempt to describe a hypothetically typical resident at the other extreme of Cryptozoological interest, the super-intellectual whose sole intent is to create a somber, deadly comprehensive summary of every datum ever compiled about cryptids (or UFOs, ghosts, aliens, ESP – whatever mystical venue obsesses him), thereby establishing the vivid gap between the two groups.
Then, in an unrestrained stroke of brilliance, I described members of the “bell shaped pulse” populating the gap, the “normal, sane, sincere, rational and socially concerned” average folks who form the stable base of Cryptomundo’s readership, followed by my feeble assurances that WE are the average, NOT the extremes, in the hope that they would not judge these recent conflicts as unacceptably rude, and depart in disdain.
Like this…
I’m pretty sure you could have a warrant for arrest taken out against the individual who put a bounty out for you …..
Anyway, like a few others have said before, I would definately contact the proper authorities and let them take it from there.
I wish you well Loren and hope this maddness ends soon!
Loren: This “threat” could be real so call the police and file a complaint..If it is just a lot of blowhard BS then so be it but protect your self .
It is to bad that we can’t agree to disagree with out this kind of stupid stuff..
This all started over a (very) bad video of a possible Bf that is really nothing at all in the end it need’s to be flushed.The Bounty part is obviously the ranting’s of a person of Questionable _______ fill in the blank spot with our choice of word š just another day Paradise !
Maybe you should run for President on a ‘Loren Order’ ticket!
part of this started over the bfro and mm seeking help in their message boards. they very publicly asked for anyone who had addresses and phone numbers for Loren and Craig. apparently they thing that cryptomundo,s showing of the video with light and dark grey pixels as damaging to a release of a movie.
they claim the original is crystal clear and as such they took away the reason anyone would by the documentary for.
this is a sign of the instability of the people at that org. besides even though cryptomundo takes down pics and video when someone complains it would probably fall under the fair use. the fact the folks at cryptomundo arent making money at all from the site really hurts a lawsuit.
Loren and Craig are of better character than mm and the folks of bfro. that speaks volumes in and of itself.
the thread degenerated into wolves circling and talking about how much fun it would be to serve the papers and get at them. they took joy in the thought of Loren and Craig being hurt by the legal action.
Hi Loren,
My humble suggestion, much as during the time when threats were flying during the “Yarwen” incident, is to report any threats to your local authorities, as well as the authorities from the the locality of the wingnut placing the bounty.
Wishing you safety, and that your “foes” lose interest in you, get a good night’s sleep, and have a nice pancake breakfast tomorrow. Comfort food can do wonders to soothe a troubled mind.
MM reads this board and bff and every other bf related board. regardless of how much he says he doesnt care and doesnt read them. he told me personally one time he doesnt read the other boards because they dont contain anything that matters to him. in other words were all a bunch of ignorant folks who wouldn’t know a Sasquatch if one ate pancakes in front of us. obviously he lied.
My account on anything bfro related has been suspended . i asked to reactivate it so i could post 2 days ago. and again today it was deleted.
it seems that MM doesnt like my opinions on this and other bfro stuff.
i guess you could say he gets sore in the back side when people express their opinions about him and the bfro.
as with ther threats and the law suite i think it is ignorant to take these steps.
i will say some at the bfro are adult. below is the response to why i was again deleted at the bfro message board.
i asked why i was deleted and Derek Frell responded with the following;
It may have something to do with your account on cryptomundo. If that is the case, and that is the ONLY reason you are being disabled then you are being disabled by Navigator. If that is the case there is nothing I can do.
Due to the lawsuit and what not we are going to be taking a hard line on cross over accounts…
I re activated you last night, it looks like someone does not want you on the board…
My apologies
—————————————————
so if you post on the bfro board be sure to kiss a little tail in your posts on other boards so you dont irk the childish ego of navigator aka MM
this is what Loren and Craig has to deal with. you cant interact on an adult level with childish and immature ego centric people.
It’s illegal to make threats and you have a right to take legal action against anyone who does. Once a cartoonist issued a public death threat against me and Fantagraphics made him apologize. Death threats do not come under “free speech,” death threats get filed under “harassment,” which is quite illegal and for good reasons.
Loren,
Don’t sweat the “bounty” too hard, I am law enforcement and back in what seems to me as the distant past when I was working dope for another P.D. some mid-level punk dope dealer put $1,000.00 on me. There is only one thing to do, hunt them down, seize their drugs, money, and assets then charge them under the RICO Act and make them serve 10-20 in the Federal Pen. For a civilian however, call local law enforcement to inform them (you will not get a uniformed armed guard unless you pay well), go to your local firearms store, I suggest something in a .45 ACP (Glock, S&W, Beretta, or 1911 clone) stay away from anything under $400.00, and I saved the most important thing for last; if you are not familiar with firearms, take a self defence class with the firearm of your choice, usually included in this type of training is safety orientation class, so you do not collect the bounty on yourself. It is serious enough to be prepared, but do not stress out. Do not depend on law enforcement to protect you, we are sworn to protect the populace at large, not the individual. Remember the old saying “a gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone”, this actually makes sense if you think about it, as law enforcement we are generally cleaning up the mess not stopping it from being made. Hope I helped and not made you any more concerned, I take a realistic approach to situations, not the P.C. approach. Despite the “civilized society” we supossidly live in, there are monsters out there and the most dangerous are two legged, but not covered in hair running around in a remote region of the Rockies.
The use of the word “bounty” was first used over on a forum that made a mistake targeting me, having people try to track down me, my address, and such.
They didn’t get close, and they should not have been talking about me at all.
It seems like they have caught up with this fact.
Thanks to everyone for all the support, but I won’t be going after anyone with a gun, won’t be buying one, and actually am in the “no-kill” school for seeking Bigfoot too.
Best wishes to all, even those that wish to be my enemies. They can make errors too.
I am merely hoping at this point, all the people who live at the incorrect addresses that were published do not get bothered by zealots who wish to invade my privacy.
I was just completely speechless when I first heard about this news. Placing bounties? This is cryptozoology, not cloak and dagger CIA stuff. I mean how many bounties are offered for mainstream scientists? Perhaps this subject attracts some rather extreme fringe groups because I have read of threats and whatnot directed against Loren on Cryptomundo before. I find it ridiculous and disturbing that there are people out there who would go to these kinds of extremes or get so worked up about this stuff. I sincerely hope that this does not lead to anything serious and that Loren’s family remains safe and his privacy intact.
Several of us have stored screen shots of their rantings….in case you should need them later.
Placing a “bounty” on someone, anyone on something so trivial is patently absurd and outright criminal. It’s a sad and pathetic commentary and no one should have to experience such idiocy. Still, one has to be wary and cautious with such things. Take care Loren and be safe.
I am one of the people who also is a member of the bfro discussion board. I read that post just after it was posted. I thought it was in very poor taste for them to even post something like that.
So if i get deleted over there ill know why.
This latest episode proves the BFRO detractors correct. To post such a stupid and dangerous post on a public forum is the height of arrogance and stupidity. Saner heads must have prevailed because the post has been removed but the damage is done.
The man who posted this bounty on his forum is a disgrace and does not reflect well on the bigfoot community.
Sometimes you just have to shake your head in disbelief. Some people’s kids.
Take care Loren.
And watch the kids.
Good luck.
We’re with you.
I feel for you, Loren, I really do, especially if you do take the proper steps and inform your local authorities, which like the others I too recommend. I can only hope they’re good folk who take these things in stride, rather than ones who might just roll their eyes and dismiss it after paying you some lip service. All the more so because, heaven forbid anything SHOULD actually come of this, I should hope you WOULD have the support of your local police.
When I first started posting on Cryptomundo, I kind of thought that maybe you took things too personal sometimes, but time and again my initial impression has been proven wrong as you have remained nothing but polite, friendly, cautious, understated, even-tempered, and patient with your detractors, who have repeatedly proven themselves to be anything but. I very much respect your ability to maintain your calm and stick to your principles in the face of such unjustified attacks, and indeed envy you for it.
Keep up the good work, Loren, and when incidents like this happen, remember that for every one of THEM, there must be at least a few dozen of US here as Cryptomundo who will back you up.
Don’t sweat it, Loren.
MM is also someone who likes to think he is a bully, but he is really a fraudulent, pompous airbag.
His day of reckoning is on the horizon.