From: Eleanor White <eleanor.nul>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 12:39:58 -0400
Fwd Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 16:47:54 -0400
Subject: The 'Exopolitics Flap'


Last night, on Errol's Strange Days... Indeed program, Stephen
G. Bassett, Errol Bruce Knapp, and Victor Viggiani kind of
'squared-off' on the use of the new term Exopolitics.

Stephen Bassett was in favour of using that term as a useful
"hook" with which to grab public attention to the "truth
embargo" imposed largely by the U.S. government.

Errol, on the other hand, stated that coming up with yet a new
term to add to the jumble of terms already in use in the field
of ufology is not a good idea. And further, Errol decried the
infusion of ideas into "exopolitics" which he feels are
confusing at best, and discrediting at worst. At one point on
this list, the term "space brothers" was mentioned.

As a member of the general public, I don't find a thing wrong
with 'exopolitics'.' Like many other fields of endeavour, it's
not unusual to have different sub-fields within the umbrella
term. 'Medicine' is a good example. Or 'law'.

Ufology has sub-fields too, such as sightings, physical trace
cases, detection by instrumentation, and abductions.

As recently discussed on the List, I see two clearly separate
sub-fields developing within the Exopolitics arena:

- The efforts to break the truth embargo and bring about full
disclosure of everything government knows about UFOs and ETs (my
particular interest)

- Discussion about how humanity might relate to ET
civilizations, at the point where they establish full public
contact.

And _any_ field has quacks, medicine again being one example.

If someone feels that certain individuals who are carrying out
discussion and activity in one of the two exopolitical sub-
fields above are promoting disinformation, how does that render
the _term_ itself as somehow "bad" or discrediting?

I'm thoroughly mystified as to why the term exopolitics causes
such emotional reactions. I'm really delighted that people
within the UFO truth movement have begun to seriously shine the
spotlight on government secrecy, instead of just accepting it.


Eleanor White