Book Burning Revisited
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 22nd, 2008
I discussed Matt Whitton’s and Rick Dyer’s Nazi-like book-burning incident before. But a lot of people missed that part of their history, because they removed their video.
Bigfootpolice archived this video, in hopes some legal action might occur at a future date. The Georgia guys took their YouTube contribution to great literary moments down when Biscardi began coaching them. I thank Bigfootpolice for saving these visuals, for historical reasons and more. (Warning, the language is harsh, childish, profane, and reflective of Whitton’s and Dyer’s own homophobic issues.)
As to legal reprisals, perhaps all who were psychologically harmed by this tape could file a class action suit for mental and psychological abuse. I don’t know. Perhaps cable television lawyers have an opinion?
Realistically, this book burning was one of many precursors of this otherwise unfortunate hoax fiasco.
Others have suggested the book should go on annual “books that have been burned” lists. Now, that sounds like a possibility, but who makes room for nonfiction Bigfoot books on such lists? The burning, nevertheless, was a shameful event, whether it is remembered or not. It happened.
For me, the author, considering how this event turned out, I am happy to have been on the other side of the fence from these gentlemen.
Some emailers have challenged that the hoax would make me rich, that donations for the museum would flow in, and this book would become a best seller. Fantasy tales.
With Cryptomundo dark and my museum website down, I’m not sure how the wave of Bigfoot interest really was of any benefit to me. Zero donations have come in for three weeks, and book sales are down. I lost a webmaster due to the hacking, who resigned when it became overwhelming, have had to move my personal pages to new hosts, and these things don’t come for free.
One reason that I doubted my book would sell at all during this five day wonder was because this mess was an internet and television event. The hoax, in general, wasn’t framed in the world of books. Also, if the inability of these Georgia guys to understand what I have written about the biology of Bigfoot (as expressed in this video) was truthful, perhaps it is better if some people don’t buy my books!
Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” 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. Sanderson’s 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 Coleman’s 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.
Loren,
I have empathy for your situation regarding the accusations of profiteering during all of this. The fact is that sometimes windfall profits occur as a result of other, less desirable events and factors. Yet those that might be in line to receive such windfalls are often criticized for that and are summarily held up as evil doers. It is unfortunate that the traffic was so great that, instead of making your well deserved windfall, this site crashed and your personal sites were hacked. Yet, despite all of that I suspect that there are still those that might accuse you of having a hand in this in order to profit.
When I went public with my statement concerning M.K. Davis and what I knew, there was also a stampede to my site…something that surprised me very much. While there a couple hundred of the 15,000 visitors bought Keeping the Watch, my first DVD, which had absolutely nothing to do with the controversy. Yet I still find comments around the web accusing me of orchestrating the entire mess to sell DVDs.
I believe that there might have been a substantial windfall for you if this site and your personal sites had held up to the attacks and the traffic. Maybe next time they will.
Good to see CM back on line looking good as ever.
John Johnsen
Grendel Films
I missed this the first time around. I guess that they aligned themselves with Nazis was a pretty good sign that nothing good was gonna come of this.
Loren, I have your books.
This is the first time in my life that I feel that lawyers will get every penny they can to put these guys and their helpers away. Although the cop lost his job, I have a gut feeling they or Mr. Biscardi will come out of this with no penalty. That will be the shame of it.
As I have said before, these people and others like them have soiled the name of other researchers who have a hard time getting science to look at this animal with an open mind.
Too bad the sight went down; what a loss. Had to rely on other blogs and news.
Someone mentioned a cover-up. That ran across my mind…the initial stories were that the Foot had been shot with a .30-06 and the two fellows tracked it down with dogs. Sounded plausible, expecially with video of a couple of fierce looking canines in their pen. This is standard hog hunting technique in that area: run them with dogs, put some people on stands, etc. This would be the likely method of hunting they would use if they knew Bigfoot to be in the area. Could it be they feared prosecution for murder and had hoped an autopsy would hide the bullet wound? Perhaps they even posed a “hypothetical situation” to some potential medical examiner and the reply was they would not sign off on a bogus autopsy? The possibility of facing murder or manslaughter charges was too much to risk so they produced a costumed body? I realize I am kind of clinging to the hope that this was a real find, but at the same time, if murder or manslaughter charges were likely, it would make sense to do a switcheroo and pass it off as a fraud. What was it that lent credibility in the beginning? As much ridicule as was heaped on the first videos, I coudn’t help but sense they were telling the truth, even wih the bragging (I would have bragged also) and their claims to be “the best bigfoot trackers in the world”. I’ve lived my life around such characters and my pretty well developed B.S. meter didn’t detect any lie. I suppose some people have a natural gift for lying, the sort of talent which requires one to believe his own lie to the extent that he is telling the truth in his own mind. I was 98.5% taken in – I thought this to be THE DISCOVERY. And because of this, I am wondering now if there isn’t an actual body but the hoaxed body was in the wings the whole time as an easy out if the M word arose. For Biscardi to once again be duped or associated with a hoax – even he must have been taken in, knowing another hoax would finish off his already tarnished name in the field. Am I the only one who thinks there may be more to this?
I did find this site because of the incident and I have enjoyed it, and hope to continue to do so.
Also I just ordered your book off Amazon, I should have it in 5 to 9 days =D
I just sent a check for $100. You should get it by Tuesday. Can someone please meet my $100, but if not then give what you can. Let’s help the cryptozoology museum and Loren out.
To all of the good people who come to this site everyday, let’s get together and help him once and for all.
We depend on this site to give us up to the minute events revolving all things cryptozoology. I don’t recall Loren ever asking for anything from us accept for help when it’s completely necessary.
We all sit here wrecking Biscardi and company rightfully so because there all out for themselves, but when the person whom we do admire and respect asks for a hand, all of the sudden funds don’t come in as aggressively as they could. If everyone who commented on the Georgia hoax sent in at the very least $20 each, Loren would probably be close to reaching the goal amount.
When Loren posts an article about Bigfoot {depending on what it’s about} the number of comments can be over 100. When Loren posts an article concerning the other aspects of Cryptozoology the number of comments will probably be under 20.
When Loren posts an article about how he needs help with the museum, the number of fiscal responses are minor. Folks that’s when it really counts, and talk is cheap. Let’s not let it be a fact that the fans of this site are even cheaper.
I buy your books Loren. Excellent books by an excellent author by the way. Sorry to hear things aren’t going so well.
I have been gone for sometime. Squatch researching. Anyway, these Georgia boys are idiots. They couldn’t read the book if they wanted to. No schooling, no morals. Or they wouldn’t of did what they did. When I see these guys I automatically hear Deliverence music. Anybody that hooks up with Biscardi is a FOOL! Biscardi cried wolf one to many times. Now even if he had the best video or what ever around of the real deal. No one will ever believe him. Not that to many believed him in the first place. But his his ship is sunk!!!
The question has been thrown out there: “I still have to ask, even though it is blatantly obvious these were childish morons, does it say in the book that bigfoot is gay?”
Well, I must say, the question is a bit like asking how many times a week does [fill in the blank] beat his wife?
The book details a lecture where I openly discussed the questions of the biology and the little that we know of the mating habits of Sasquatch. I threw out some challenging comments, not any statements of fact, or even assumptions that seem to be underlying the above question. The speech was presented as an analogy of how primatologists discuss the same behaviors in gorillas, bonobos, and chimps – but how Bigfoot researchers generally avoid taboo and react to subjects like sexual activity, as well as breast and penis descriptions.
But what happened was that I was greeted with an internet outburst that completely mislabeled and misrepresented what I said. My point about taboos was thus, heavily reinforced. (Yes, I’m going to say it: Read the book chapter, “Sex and the Single Sasquatch,” to completely understand what I said.
Who did the cover art? I really like it.
I plan on doing just that. Thank you for posting my question and taking the time to answer it.
Loren, I have most of your books and all of them have a prominent and permanent place of honor on my bookshelf. I have always admired not only your level-headed approach, but also your willingness to ask and discuss the tougher questions about all things cryptozoological.
I was born and raised in Georgia, and I while I now live in the Pacific Northwest, I’d like to offer you an apology on behalf of all Georgians who think that the two bigfoot hoaxers should be totally ashamed of themselves. Some of us Georgians were raised right and still believe in behaving like gentlemen. Those two scoundrels are *not* representative of the majority of us.
Curt Rowlett
It is truly my deepest wish that the Cryptozoology Museum will be saved.
If you’re reading this, and haven’t donated yet, ask yourself: Is this site so interesting and meaningful in your life that it’s worth AT LEAST the price of a Frapuccino Venti at Starbucks? If the answer is yes, then surely you could spare $3 or $5.
And if you’re one of the regulars who check out this site everyday, then you might think of sparing a bit more…
Loren–FWIW–when I saw the book-burning video, I went out and bought -ANOTHER- copy of your book just, well, just because. Whenever someone burns a book, it makes me want to purchase it just to support the author who is being denigrated. Book burning just irritates me that much.
So, you did sell a couple of books out of the mess. Not enough to be guilty of profiteering–what a crass thing to think of you!
And as for the fact that you have been hacked and lost an admin and had to move servers–after we pay the bills here this month, our household will be sending in a donation. Things are tight because the older daughter is off to college at the end of this month, but both my husband and I want to help you out as your books have given us great insights, information and sometimes laugh-out-loud pleasure over the years.
Thank you very much.
Excellent. Pure poetry in motion, those two. Its like watching a train wreck, knowing it will be horrible and scarring to see, but inevitably, you just cant look away. Loren, at the first opportunity presented i intend to purchase that specific book, and most of everything else you’ve written. I do this to promote the idea that knowledge of ANY type should never be tossed away, also, to thank you for being a bearer of unwavering logic and reasoning during this entire mess. If those gentleman, and i use the term with a pinch of sarcasm, had been bright enough to save that fire they might have used it to guide their path out of the dark tunnel they now find themselves floundering around in. Heres to hoping my purchases play a hand in keeping the CZ museum running “strong like bull”
Rap
I got your book today, and I was flipping through it, and I was delighted to see the photos of the dermal ridges in close up.
The back story, is that my son and I had been debating that there was no proof that any of the foot prints hadn’t been faked. I brought up the point of the prints with dermal ridges, my son said he had not heard of this find, and would not take my word for it.
And then I got the book.. and there was a photo! Thank you!