'Silly' is not strong enough, really.

In order for a person to 'believe' in something (anything), that
person is stating that there is no evidence (not 'basis' - don't
misinterpret here), whatsoever upon which to build an arguement for
the veracity of whatever it is that the person is trying to make a
case for. It is a matter of faith.  Look it up in a dictionary.

Is it small wonder that many skeptics aquaint many Ufologists' ideas
with religeous belief?

Here's a few FACTUAL points:

1) people see strange things which cannot be explained by commonly
accepted means.

2) many people are mistaken by what they 'see'.

3) some are not.

4) some people tell lies.

5) some do not.

6) UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object.

7) UFO does NOT mean 'alien spacecraft'.

8) saying 'I believe that there are alien spacecraft visiting our
atmosphere/planet' is condemning those who say it to ridicule in the
same way that saying 'I believe in a god' condemns those who say it to
ridicule (and rightly so).

9) people see strange things which cannot be explained by commonly
accepted means.

10) there is no (zero/none) physical evidence of spacecraft alien to
Earth, just at there is no phyisical evidence for a biblical 'god'.

11) most UFO 'researchers' are 'believers'.

12) there are some who approach UFO research with a scientific and
practical bent.

13) only those who have witnessed such anomalous events can be
convinced that they are indeed 'anomolous'.

14) any researcher who totally 'believes' such witnesses is a fool.

15) a researcher can listen, measure, and  eventually be convinced
that the testimony he/she is listening to is a factual interpretation
of what the witness experienced only after discounting all other
possiblities. The key words here are 'what the witness experienced'.

15) people see strange things which cannot be explained by commonly
accepted means.

16) The preponderance and sheer number of people who witness anomalous
events warrants proper investigation.

17) proper(publicly open) investigation (by governmental authorities)
does very rarely take place, because money cannot be seen to be spent
on anything which has no concrete, physical evidence attached to it.

18) blah... blah...blah...


You get the picture.  

While most people are willing to say that 'there must be intelligent
life out there somewhere'...  they will also say in the next breath
that 'ufo people are whackos'.

I guess my point is that until there are concrete 'answers', then the
average person just isn't interested.

The obvious extrapolation of this is that people who spend their time
trumpeting the 'existence of alen spacecraft and government coverups'
are going to continue to be derided and ridiculed and not taken
seriously until proof is privided - and really, going on what's come
to light historically, that ain't gonna happen any time soon.

M.

Wherever you go, there you are.