excert from _GRAY ALIENS BITE THE DUST_ by Alison Davidson
from BORDERLANDS, Vol XLIX, No. 2

ENTER THE GRAY ALIENS
The two main images in the lurid ufology sweeping into public
consciousness today are _ gray aliens and abductions of humans by
these aliens. Together they form the key components of a cosmic
conspiracy theory with elements of high level government involvement
and mass genetic manipulation, to say the least, and it's a conspiracy
that's spreading. A postcard just received in the mail from Paramount
Pictures states that "2.5 million Americans claim they have had an alien abduction experience", as part of their promotion for the upcoming
release of a major movie called Fire in the Sky very loosely based on the Travis Walton incident well known to ufologists, one of the early
abduction cases which has been neither proven or refuted.
The image of gray aliens is infiltrating the gray matter of the public
like the sinister shadow reflex of those ubiquitous little troll dolls, insinuating itself into every level of the media. Grays are finding mention
in television shows, such as the documentary A Strange Harvest, the TV
movie Intruders, a recent episode of Star Trek the Next Generation, that
well known prototype vehicle for the New World Order federation
propaganda... advertisements, almost every new age consciousness
publication, gutter press and otherwise intelligent magazines. Their
mutated bland bug-eyed heads have sent ET back to kindergarten.
Abductee has become a fashionable state of being and abduction
seminars, workshops, support groups and private counselling for
abductees are spreading like an epidemic.
Here at Borderlands under siege from the stacks of hype from the
New True Believers, we have also received information from the other
more skeptical side of the story and this article is an attempt to gather together some of the kernels of truth, if truth is to be found, from the bloated fiction being sold by the sensation hungry press to the ever
gullible public.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ABDUCTIONS _ WEAK LINKS IN THE chain
One of the most rational and scholarly investigations into the claims
of human abduction by extraterrestrials is a meticulously researched
paper published recently by the International Fortean Organization,
titled Demons, Doctors, and Aliens by James Pontolillo, subtitled: An Investigation into the Relationships Among Witch Trial Evidence,
Sexual-Medical Traditions, and Alien Abductions. But don't expect to
find any serious review of this work in the mainstream ufological press,
as James Moseley of the Saucer Smear cynically comments: "If it ain't
real-life aliens, true ufologists don't want to hear about it!"
The author is concerned about "the central role of cultural misogyny
in the origin and development of the alien abduction phenomenon"... the
shallow contradictions and misrepresentation of facts in the reports, and
the lack of substantiating evidence... as he says, "nothing but the human imagination is required to produce an abduction narrative."
He begins by questioning the numbers of alien abduction cases
claimed by such prominent researchers as Budd Hopkins (100's of
1000's _ or 1 million last count), or Donald Ware from MUFON
(approximately 6 million Americans "whether they know it or not"). The
figures claimed are extrapolated from individual cases (including friends
and acquaintances) to the general population, and from a poll
containing five leading questions that was apparently distributed to
several thousand people, and quoted in Fate magazine. Have you ever
experienced missing time... felt you were flying... awakened with a
strange presence in your room... seen unusual lights... found puzzling
scars on your body...? You might be an abductee and not know it. This is
the theoretical basis of the abductionists' extravagant claims (but they
don't ask if you take drugs, drink alcohol, engage in subtle energy
practices, or watch too much TV...)
Skeptics, of course, deny that anyone has ever been abducted.
Pontolillo goes on to question the evidence of which the
overwhelming majority is unsubstantiated eye witness (and alleged eye
witness) testimony from the purported abductee. Most abductees are
anonymous and the crucial medical and psychological documentation on
their cases is inaccessible. He questions the use of hypnotic recall
procedures by pro-abduction therapists with little knowledge of the
scientific literature on hypnosis and its proper application. Most of the abduction evidence hinges on hypnotic regression and, as Pontolillo
points out, "a casual examination of all major pro-abduction books
reveals the use of leading questions by researchers on their hypnotized subjects" _ while Hopkins categorically states in UFOs And The Alien
Presence: "You can't lead people." (Another question that presents itself
here is: How is it humanly possible to conduct in-depth psychological
tests for such a vast number of traumatized victims _ if their claimed
numbers are true?)
As there is no physical evidence or objective testimony the author
digs more deeply into the psychological interpretation of the abduction phenomenon to seek out the underlying archetypal imagery. In doing so
he draws a compelling thread between UFOs, abductions and ancient
folkloric tradition, or as he puts it "The core abduction event, sexual and medical experimentation by extraterrestrials on unwilling human
(primarily female) subjects, is only the latest variation in a time-worn
cycle of misogynistic folk tradition endemic to Western civilization."

Carol,
telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
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