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UFO UpDates Mailing List

From: Gary Alevy <galevy@pipeline.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 00:58:46 -0500
Fwd Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 14:48:28 -0500
Subject: Re: Sherman J. Larsen and Ufology


In reviewing the body of work I have put on the list over the
last couple of weeks, and then the body of work posted by my
critics, I see two things:

1) I have made several substantive points which have not been
addressed, at all, by those who purport to be criticising me.
Like Mark Twain's neighbors in Hannibal, they seem to think it's
sufficient to say, "It's just sin and I'm agin' it!"  This is
justification enough on their part not to engage in any effort,
above that of name calling or insults, which would demonstrate
to any neutral party on this list that I am in error.

2) I have to consider why this might be true:

        a) Failure to comprehend due to lack of time, etc.;
        b) Inability to understand due to, well, let's not go
           there.

I would summarize the major points of my various messages but
they are right there in the archive.

Once again, thanks again for participating.  I continue to await
the arrival of a significant response to my messages.

The following will focus on the role in ufology I have ascribed
to Sherman J. Larsen, former member of the Army
Counterintelligence Corps (CIC).  I only ask that you judge him
by his own public actions.

You must have rules when you do UFO research and one that I
invariably observe is this:  Whenever I see a former member of
the CIC comment on the record about UFOs then I am going to pay
attention.

Thus it was that at a UFO meeting some years ago, in the
aftermath of the Condon Committee report, Mr. Larsen, late of
the CIC gave a paper on UFOs.  He is worth quoting at some
length, belying the "Babbit-like" impression ascribed to him by
one well known UFO researcher.  In fact, Larsen has sage advice
applying to many, if not most, of the posters to this list,
bogged down as they are in the unimportant piling up of sighting
reports ad infinitum.  No distracting "watch the skies" for Mr.
Larsen!

In his presentation Mr. Larsen, who obviously knows what he is
talking about, speaks to one of the chief bugaboos of ufology:

	documentation.


But Mr. Larsen is NOT talking about documentation of UFO sightings,
oh, no.  He is talking about documentation from four sources:

        1) The Government, including the military;
        2) The scientific community;
        3) Industry; and
        4) What he calls "study groups", now known as
           'think-tanks'.

Mr. Larsen says that ufology must move the public where UFOs are
concerned and that the public will then move the government,
which is the source of real authority in our country.  I must
quote him directly: "We believe that sighting reports in any
quantity will never be enough to sway the public."  How true,
how true, and the last 50 years have proven it again and again.
But what do so many in ufology waste their time on even today,
hm?

The bulk of Mr. Larsen's presentation is most interesting,
concerned as it is with hard-to-get documents, procured by the
author from unnamed sources.  Most of these documents were not
officially classified -- officially.  But like many other such
documents they had been made very hard to obtain -- very hard.

It is certainly curious that Larsen's "close" friend a "noted"
researcher would not acknowledge this work performed by Mr.
Larsen of whom he claims to be so knowning.  Larsen himself
presented this information at a public presentation of a well
known UFO organization.  Yes, Mr. Larsen could obtain self
described "hard to get" documents from secret sources he could
not divulge.

As Larsen states,

	"Over the past five years we have developed a technique
	to secure credible sources who have provided us with
	documents that have previously been unknown, priced out
	of the market, or while not classified, were
        nevertheless, unavailable."

This "close" friend, poster on this list had maintained of Mr.
Larsen:

      Nobody who knew him would ever mistake him for
      anything other than what he was: a hard-working,
      unimaginative George F. Babbitt type of average
      intelligence and conventional views, an insurance agent by
      profession and a living personification of every stereotype
      associated with that calling.


I ask.

Does your insurance agent collect documents from sources he
cannot name, documents the government does not make available to
John Q. Public?

Well the facts belie the propaganda that Mr. Larsen's "friend"
has spread on this list and would like innocent list readers to
believe.

How interesting that Mr. Larsen had been able to get these
documents, and that he could not name his sources.  Now, let me
see, who was Larsen's good friend, from Chicago, that he would
combine with to found a UFO investigative organization?  Why, I
think that was Dr. J. Allen Hynek, wasn't it.  Hmm.  I wonder.

I think you folks are going to really enjoy my book, with
research backed up as it is by facts, not the propaganda others
have offered on these subjects.  This is just the tip of the
iceberg.  Thank you for your attention.

Gary