19 November 2012

Bigfoot: Examine Before You Doubt

The debate over whether or not Bigfoot is real has existed for many centuries. Many people have a similar story of their encounter with this large, hairy “ape man,” but for some reason his existence is denied and belief in his existence if often ridiculed. Many people label encounters with the beast pure coincidence and made up stories. They refuse to accept even the possibility that some unknown primate exits somewhere in the world. Many people may not have seen him physically, however there is evidence that strongly supports the fact that Bigfoot does actually exist.
According to Bigfoot--A Contemporary Belief Legend by Joyce Bynum, Bigfoot is just a legend that has existed for centuries and has transformed throughout the years. Stories of hairy man-like creatures date back to the 19th century and are believed to have impacted the accounts of encounters with Bigfoot today. It wasn’t until the first report of Bigfoot that sightings of Bigfoot began to increase (352). Some people believe that Bigfoot stories arise from the stories of others, and this is said to be the reason why there are so many similarities in the reports of Bigfoot encounters. It is a known fact that as a society many of us tend to deny things that we can’t see for ourselves, and we call others crazy when they come across things that we cannot simply explain. As a result, people tend to keep their supernatural experiences to themselves out of fear of what others might think of them. Bigfoot encounters may have been occurring long before the first sighting was reported, but it wasn’t until afterwards that people felt comfortable enough to share their experiences.

Bigfoot’s existence isn’t accepted because there isn’t “concrete” evidence to prove that he is real. There is evidence that supports his existence, but a carcass is the only form of evidence that will satisfy everyone. “The only ‘hard’ evidence we have of Bigfoot's existence consists of casts of large footprints, some poorly-focused photographs, and some hair, blood and feces samples” (352). If Bigfoot was just a made up character based on legends of the past then how exactly did these pieces of evidence come into existence? You can’t just make fake blood and feces and expect no one to know about it. In any other instance a photograph of a person caught stealing would be enough for people to believe the person is a thief, and blood samples taken from a crime scene is enough to convict a suspect, but why isn’t it enough to prove that Bigfoot is out there somewhere?
“Ray Wallace… started the whole Bigfoot phenomenon. Wallace… had a love of practical jokes, and in 1958 he had a friend carve a pair of 16-inch-long feet, then he put them on and made some footprints” (Goldman 25). The first Bigfoot sightings were reported in the 1800’s so there’s no way possible that Ray Wallace could have started the whole phenomenon. Bigfoot is also spotted in many different parts of the world and the size the footprints are very large, but they vary in length and width. It is impossible for one man to travel around the world and lay down false tracks, especially when some were made even before he even began his pranks, and also before he was even born. “They [members of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization]… also obtained some hair samples that an independent lab found to belong to an ‘unknown primate’” (25). This proves that the world isn’t exactly as we know it, and that there are species out there that exist and haven’t been come across. If the world was what we knew it to be, the hair samples would have been easy to identify and matched to some creature. This is one of the reasons why we should neither throw away the beliefs of others, nor poke fun at people when they claim to come across things that we haven’t experienced or that we cannot explain.  Anything is possible, and it is definitely impossible for us to know every single detail of life, especially when the universe in which we live is so enormous.

The number one explanation for Bigfoot existence is tales of the past. This explanation is prevalent among many of those who deny Bigfoot’s existence. “Hufford asserts that ‘large hair-covered bipeds’ re-ported in different parts of the world under a variety of names might actually exist” (Milligan 83). The name Bigfoot was given not too long ago to describe the creature because of the size of his large feet, and the amount of tracks found as evidence to support his existence. “This consistency cannot always be explained through tradition since many of his informants were un-aware of traditional accounts elsewhere and even were ignorant of the various names given the creature” (84). Tales differ from place to place, and if Bigfoot was simply made up and based on folktales then the stories of his encounter would do the same. Many people that come across Bigfoot have no knowledge of the tales that existed of creatures that may have been similar to Bigfoot. Some people just happen to come across a being that they know as far different from anything they’ve ever seen.
 
The debate over whether or not Bigfoot exists will probably never be settled. Although evidence of his existence highly favors that he is real, admitting he is real years sown the line can cause a lot of disappointment in the world of science. The fact that the universe is so large and no one can possibly know every single detail of it should be the reason why scientists should not cast so much doubt on the existence of Bigfoot. Proving them to be wrong can result in a huge loss of faith by many because if they can be wrong about the existence of Bigfoot, just imagine the great number of other debatable topics they could also be wrong about.
Many pieces of evidence support the idea that Bigfoot does actually exist. Many encounters that people have with Bigfoot contradict the explanations that those who do not believe in Bigfoot make. It is possible for people to dress in Bigfoot costumes, but Bigfoot moves faster than any human and animal that we know today. Bigfoot is large enough to rule out the possibility to mistake him for another animal, especially if he is sighted clearly. Witness account may not be the most credible source, but when there is a great amount of witnesses who are having pretty much the same experience with the same beast, their stories are way more believable. Evidence is the largest and most important factor when supporting Bigfoot’s existence, and although there is a great deal of evidence supporting his existence, unless its Bigfoot's dead body, scientist throws it away.
 
Work Cited:
  • Bynum, Joyce. “Bigfoot—A Contemporary Belief Legend.” ETC: A Review of General Semantics 49.3 (1992): 352-357. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2012
  • Goldman, David. “Bigfoot or Big Fake?” Biography 7.6 (2003): 25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2012  
  • Milligan, Linda. The “Truth” About the Bigfoot Legend. Western States: Western States Folklore Society, 1990. 83-89. Print. Between Pulpit and Pew: The Supernatural World in Mormon History and Folklore. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2011. Print  

9 comments:

  1. Bigfoot is safe to say is something out of the ordinary because it's not seen in a lot of places. It can always be an animal we haven't discovered yet or simply seeing something as quick as we turn our heads. There isn't many evidences as to why Big Foot is always so isolated and never taken a closer look.
    Pictures and videos can be very exaggerated. You never know if it's truthful because it's never taken close up. With our technological advances now, it's easier to take a closer photo and yet people still insist on catching far and blurry photos. Videos can also be shot to convince the viewer that Big Foot is real. It can merely be a person dress in a suit, but we wouldn't know because we are just a viewer watching. As for his characteristics different then human or animals it can simply be video enhancement. Now a days things can be altered and more likable for the viewer. The video above spend more time with slides of words instead of showing real evidences. They used mostly drawings and a film still then actual photos.
    We are known to finding many things that links to our ancestors simply because we find fossils and prints. What's to say it's not just another piece to the puzzle of where we come from and who we are. Instead of it being Big Foot, it could simply be something that we already discovered or know.

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  2. If Bigfoot was real we probably would have discovered him by now. With the technology we have nowadays it is nearly impossible for an unknown species to exist. Maybe in some island uninhabited by humans or deep in the amazon jungle. But here in the US? I don't think so. Also Bigfoot is supposedly on one beast, ape thing, so it's life expectancy can't probably be more than 100 yrs. How can people from the 19th century claim to have seen him? If it is true and Bigfoot did exist in the 19th century he would have died by now. it's not hard to find Bigfoot if he's dead. What if it's a family of Bigfeet (?) Again not possible. They would have been found already. It is also genetically impossible for there to be only one being from an entire species, unless it's an endangered animal which I doubt Bigfoot is. According to the Charles Darwin (survival of the fittest) in order for Bigfoot to even "exist" he would have evolved from some animal. Some people claim that he is the missing link. Again, not possible. If he really is the missing link then why didn't he evolve with the rest of us or died off? It does not make sense.

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  3. I have always been fascinated by this topic. I think you did a wonderful job arguing your point. You had a lot of useful information that made me think that it is possible for something like this to exist. You gave enough information to support that this very well could be a really thing. Bigfoot is such a controversial topic because there is not a body to show the world, there isn’t a body and people can’t say “look here it is and it is real.” That scares many people. But as we all know the world is far too big for everyone to know everything that is in it. New species of animal and plant life are discovered every day. The example the video gives of the fish that was said to be extinct from almost 4 million years ago that was caught, shows that ancient animals can prevail and live in today’s world. So who is to say that Bigfoot isn’t an ancient primate that was able to survive and successfully conceal itself? There is proof that a large unknown primate is out there, and it very possible that Bigfoot could be real. Your evidence strengthened my belief in this creature. If someone who was a skeptic read this I feel they might be inclined to change their view, or at least consider the possibility of the existence of Bigfoot.

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  5. The subject of Bigfoot is one that I find to be highly fascinating. The debate over the existence of the creature is one that I have found to be very entertaining for years now. I found your post to be interesting in that you tried to use the opposing view to make your argument more credible and I found your approach to be new and refreshing. Unfortunately, I still remain unconvinced after reading your post. There are a few things that plague your argument. One is that you state evidence like hair, blood, and feces samples can’t just be conjured up and should lead to the conclusion that they are valid and are solid proof that the creature exists. That is simply just a matter of opinion and can be easily disproven. There are countless individuals out there who could formulate fake evidence such as those samples in order to seek attention or appeal. In my personal experience, people are willing to do whatever they can to make a quick buck and it certainly wouldn’t surprise me if they worked with talented artists or workers that could make evidence such as those samples look fully convincing. Also, I did find it interesting that you mentioned the origin of the Bigfoot legend, which apparently was started by Ray Wallace. The fact you use the claim that large footprints were found all around the world and they date back before Wallace started his phenomenon is a little silly. Those footprints could belong to any number of different species around the world and no concrete proof was found in those footprints revealing that they belonged to Bigfoot. Any variety of animals could roam those parts of the world and leave footprints such as those found and does little to convince me of Bigfoot’s existence. I most certainly open to believe that Bigfoot does indeed exist, but your post doesn’t do much to convince me unfortunately. I do, however, love your approach to the subject and still found it be greatly entertaining.

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  6. The theory of Big Foot has been around for many years, and there is no new evidence of this creature. We have discovered another planet, and many other species of animals throughout the years, yet scientists have not found any new information on Big Foot. The pictures that you used in your blog are very inaccurate. The first picture, could easily be someone dressed up in a costume and someone else took a picture of it. There is no close up and no clues that can make someone perceive that the picture is the actual Big Foot. Everyone has different perceptions of things, but this picture clearly can not be perceived in many ways. The pictures that you also used that look like they are Big Foot's foot prints, are also very absurd. How do we know exactly that this is what Big Foot's foot prints look like? There isn't any solid evidence that could be used to show that it is it's feet. You also bring up that it's hair samples and blood samples do not pinpoint any other animal. Yes, it may not agree with another animals blood and hair samples, but how is it certain that it is then the Big Foot. Scientists are always finding new animals everyday, the samples might be another animal. It is very hard to believe in Big Foot, and the pictures in this blog do not do any justice for the reader.

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  7. I would have to agree with Genesis. With so many examples of evidence in the form of pictures and videos, there should be some conclusive proof that Bigfoot does in fact exist by now. All the pictures mentioned in this post are not substantial proof that Bigfoot exists. Most of the pictures look like they could easily be human footprints rather than that of Bigfoot’s. As of now, there is no scientific proof that Bigfoot exists. I also disagree with many of statements in this blog post, including the following statement: “the fact that the universe is so large and no one can possibly know every single detail of it should be the reason why scientists should cast so much doubt on the existence of Bigfoot”. Just because we don’t know what goes on in deep space doesn’t mean we should disregard scientific theory/evidence here on Earth. If Bigfoot was a real animal, their would be substantial evidence on the species.

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  8. I completely agree with Genesis as well. Our culture is so highly advanced that it is almost impossible for big foot to exist and we don not know about him. I am not saying that there are creatures that exist that we do not know about, because aliens for example would be a little bit harder to find than a hairy creature of this size. I also agree with Genesis' claim that there must be more than one of these creatures for him to even exist and i just think that we would have found out about him by now. Also in the first video, it seemed like there were more paintings made of the creature than anything else. A painting is not proof. Even the pictures shown of big foot were really just blurs and could have been anything; including a tall bundled up hiker. I can see where you thought using the blood and hair samples could back up your argument, but those samples could be of any creature, and if you want to take it far enough, you can say that someone is even trying to play a practical joke and pretend big foot exists. Personally, i don't think there is enough evidence to support the existence of big foot and this idea should be put to rest.

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