292 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
292 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: HANSEN ON CLARK FILE: UFO3303
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Date: 11-27-92 23:31
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From: Don Allen
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To: All
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Subj: Hansen on Clark
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* Forwarded from "UFO"
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* Originally by Don Allen
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* Originally to All
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* Originally dated 27 Nov 1992, 23:27
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This is a response from George Hansen regarding Jerome Clark's earlier
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reply to Hansen's claims. It came in the mail (unsolicited) as an ascii
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file on a 5 1/4 disk and with Hansen's handwritten permission to post
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to the BBS's . You be the judge.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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M E M O
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To: Those interested in the UFO problem
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From: George P. Hansen
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Princeton Arms North 1, Apt. 59
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Cranbury, NJ 08512
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(609) 426-0927
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Date: 23 November 1992
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The enclosed paper is one in a series constituting a public debate on Budd
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Hopkins' Linda Napolitano case (stage name "Linda Cortile"). You may have
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seen
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my report "Attempted Murder vs. The Politics of Ufology: A Question of
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Priorities in the Linda Napolitano Case." In order to fully understand the
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present paper, you may wish to obtain a copy of that earlier article as well
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as
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the response by Jerome Clark, if you have not already seen them. Clark's
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address is given in the first footnote of the enclosed article.
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The ufological community has recently been given an important article from
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Clark, and I believe that it merits your close attention. Clark is a
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prominent
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leader in the field and familiar with some of the secret details of the Linda
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Napolitano case. His piece should raise serious questions of professional
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judgement and responsibilities.
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Walter Andrus, head of MUFON, has yet to respond. This is most disturbing.
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Both Clark and Andrus are in positions to control the information that is,
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and
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more importantly, is not, presented in their UFO magazines. Many of you pay
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good money for memberships and subscriptions in order to obtain that
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information. I urge you to contact the boards of directors of MUFON and
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CUFOS
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and request an explanation for the behavior and statements of their leaders
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in
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regard to the Napolitano case.
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As with my previous article, please feel free to copy and distribute this
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memo
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and enclosed paper, publish them in any periodical, and post them on
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electronic
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bulletin boards.
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"TORQUEMADA" RESPONDS TO JEROME CLARK
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George P. Hansen
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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ABSTRACT: Jerome Clark is thanked for correcting a misinterpretation of his
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position reported in the paper "Attempted Murder vs. The Politics of
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Ufology."
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Clark has now provided, in writing, his reasons for opposing a federal
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investigation of the purported kidnapping and attempted murder of Linda
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Napolitano. This rationale and other writings of Clark are examined in order
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to gain insight into his thought processes.
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This paper primarily discusses psychological factors influencing the
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investigation and interpretation of the Napolitano case. A paper is in
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preparation devoted to the substance and evaluation of the claims. This
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affair
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provides a wealth of material for those attempting to understand the field of
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ufology from a psycho-social perspective. In the long run, the actions and
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beliefs of the leaders of ufology may be far more important than Linda
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Napolitano's UFO abduction claim. As such, this may yet prove to be "The
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Case
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of the Century."
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------------------------------------------------------------------
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My article "Attempted Murder vs. The Politics of Ufology: A Question of
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Priorities in the Linda Napolitano Case" has been published in a number of
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newsletters and posted on electronic bulletin boards. In that piece I
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reported
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that Budd Hopkins, Walter Andrus, and Jerome Clark had urged that the
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reported
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attempted murder of Linda Napolitano not be communicated to law enforcement
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authorities because such could be damaging to ufology. Clark has recently
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issued a response correcting my interpretation of his remarks, and I am
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grateful to him for now doing so ("The Politics of Torquemada; or, Earth
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Calling Hansen's Planet" by Jerome Clark; 612 North Oscar Avenue, Canby, MN
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56220; October 24, 1992). I should mention that I had sent Clark an earlier
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draft of my article and invited his comments before publishing it (Clark did
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not avail himself of this opportunity and sent me a note only saying "George
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--
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Please do not call or write me again").
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The comments and reasoning of Clark should be of special interest to the
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UFO
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research community. He is vice-president of the Center for UFO Studies and
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editor of its magazine International UFO Reporter. He writes a monthly
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column
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for Fate magazine, has written books and even an encyclopedia on UFOs. The
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Fund for UFO Research gave him the prestigious Isabel Davis Award for 1992.
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Clark has placed himself in a prominent, public role and is now in a position
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to determine what many persons will chance to read about the topic.
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Clark's explanation
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I am pleased that Clark now acknowledges, in writing, that he did indeed
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urge UFO researchers to suppress evidence of a series of felonies. He
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apparently wishes to impede the process of justice. His rationale is even
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more
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intriguing than I had imagined, and I will quote his entire paragraph
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explaining his position:
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"I urged the critics to refrain, over the next six months, from
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pursuing the investigation, which they had indicated now consisted, or would
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soon consist, of knocking on the doors of government agencies looking for
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evidence of the elusive Richard and Dan. I stated that, if this story is
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true,
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it is not just a UFO case but a `politically sensitive' event because it
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supposedly involves a political figure of international stature and therefore
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has consequences far outside the tiny world of ufology. If that is indeed
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the
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case, we would never find Richard and Dan (if they exist as who they say they
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are) because banging on the wrong doors could alert the relevant agency that
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two of its agents were leaking a huge secret. They would then be effectively
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silenced, and we would never learn the truth." (From page 1 of his paper
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"The
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Politics of Torquemada")
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This is a candid, and remarkably revealing, explanation, especially because
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Clark told me that he accepts Linda's story of being harassed, kidnapped,
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sexually molested, and nearly drowned by government agents. Clark's
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statement
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provides insight into his mindset.
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First, we are urged to stop investigating the case (even though the affair
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has been discussed in Omni, the Wall Street Journal, Paris Match, the Mufon
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UFO
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Journal, and the New York Times). The statement displays Clark's true belief
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about the appropriateness of internal review and criticism in ufology.
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Second, though the critics should refrain from investigating, presumably
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Hopkins should continue. One can only surmise that Clark believes Hopkins to
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be qualified to investigate kidnapping and attempted murder. He urges all
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outsiders to remove themselves from the case, and Clark would allow Richard
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and
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Dan six more months of unobstructed opportunities for kidnapping and murder.
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But concerned citizens should remain silent. This has led some to question
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Clark's grasp on reality.
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Third, Clark suggests that "banging on the wrong doors could alert the
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relevant agency that two of its agents were leaking a huge secret." Clark's
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suggestion about "alerting the relevant agency" is ludicrous. Hopkins
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himself
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had already visited a number of agencies and made inquiries. He had even
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sent
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a picture of one of the agents to the United Nations. Further, Hopkins had
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spoken publicly numerous times about the case, including presentations for
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BUFORA, New Jersey MUFON, New York MUFON, the Abduction Study Conference at
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Massachussetts Institute of Technology, the 1992 MUFON symposium in
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Albuquerque, and even the television show Inside Edition. If there actually
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was a conspiracy, the perpetrators would be fully aware of Hopkins'
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investigation. One can only wonder how Clark could rationally offer his
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idea.
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Fourth, and most revealing, Clark suggests that it is plausible that a
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conspiracy at the top levels of the world's governments is suppressing
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evidence
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about this UFO abduction and the subsequent kidnappings, sexual molestation,
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and attempted murder. Not only was the United Nations Secretary General
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reportedly involved, but during a meeting I attended on October 3, 1992,
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Hopkins' partisans made allusions to the involvement of other world figures,
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though they were not named. Hopkins and Clark seem to think that they
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possess
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secret, crucial knowledge of the international political situation regarding
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the UFO abduction phenomena. Clark, living an isolated existence in a small,
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remote town in Minnesota, seems to believe himself to be in a position to
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make
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important recommendations affecting public disclosures by governments,
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revelations that would have a profound impact on world affairs.
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Clark's earlier writings on conspiracy theories
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It is worth briefly reviewing some of Clark's earlier writings on
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conspiracies because they provide additional illumination of his thinking.
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For
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instance, he calls Jacque Vallee's book Revelations "the ultimate conspiracy
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book" (International UFO Reporter, September/October, 1991, p. 3) and
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describes
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Vallee as having an "ability to detect connections invisible to the rest of
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us
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[and it] reaches its most bizarre extreme..." (International UFO Reporter,
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January/February, 1990, p. 8). He attacks John Keel, saying "that his
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speculations were laced with paranoia" (UFOs in the 1980s by Jerome Clark,
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Detroit: Apogee, 1990, p. 175). These writings suggest deep, visceral
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reactions. For Clark, notions of conspiracies have a high psychological
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charge, and he appears unable to grapple with such ideas in a dispassionate
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frame of mind.
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Unlike many vague conspiracy ideas, Clark's and Hopkins' are exceptionally
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specific. Hopkins claims to have a massive amount of evidence, and that
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material could be used to identify and convict the culprits. Times, dates,
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and
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places of the purported crimes are known as well as the license plate numbers
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of cars involved. But Hopkins and Clark refuse to divulge information. In
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any
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event, their conspiratorial notions are having a dramatic impact on the
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investigation of this case. We now have a stark instance of some of the most
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prominent leaders in ufology actively attempting to impede the enforcement of
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criminal laws they believe to have been violated. Their actions are guided
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by
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a belief in the existence of a powerful international government conspiracy.
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By any measure, Clark's own suggestions are far more extreme than those of
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Vallee or Keel, but because of Clark's prior vehement denunciation of
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conspiratorial thinking, I failed to grasp his present views on the Hopkins-
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Napolitano case. This was the reason for my misunderstanding.
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Summary
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One of the unexpected benefits of the Napolitano case is that it provides
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remarkable illumination of the mentality of a prominent authority on UFOs.
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Because of his influence and control over a significant amount of popular UFO
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literature, this is of particular consequence.
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If we accept Linda's claim, Richard and Dan are menaces not only to Linda
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but to society at large. Yet Clark vigorously opposes reporting them to the
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authorities. He seems to believe that he has special insight into the world
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political situation that justifies his position.
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Neither Clark nor Hopkins has provided even minimal evidence for such a
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notion. That being the case, there may be a plausible explanation for their
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behavior. They imply that they possess secret knowledge of a conspiracy
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within
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the highest levels of the world's governments; such thinking can be termed
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"grandiose"; the word "paranoid" might even apply. Ironically, Clark's
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previous writings display a loathing of and revulsion toward much tamer
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conspiratorial speculations. Clark's "Torquemada" article is again emotional
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and self-laudatory, and I urge those interested to obtain a copy in order to
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verify that. After such a review, the reader will be in a better position to
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assess Clark's mental state and deduce the plausible cause of his behavior.
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23 November 1992
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** End of file **
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Well guys, throw another log on the fire of speculation.
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Don
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* Origin: ** I tried to contain myself but I escaped ** (88:4205/1.1)
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*********************************************************************
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* -------->>> THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo <<<------- *
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