skullfunk

Here is an "abduction" story that I hope might spark some discussion:

My best friend at school is a conspiracy nut. He fervently believes in UFOs and government intelligence cover-ups and whatnot. I am agnostic. We have had many meaningful discussions that always end in a stalemate because UFOs have neither been proven or disproven to be alien.

Two spring breaks ago, we went down to his NC house to enjoy the weather. He had been going through a UFO renaissance, meaning he was talking about them more and rereading books that he liked about them. Let me stress that he is very professional about his belief. He does try to sort the nutjobs from the genuine stories, and through it all he remains unwavering in his belief.

One night, after we had smoked a little pot after coming home from the bar, we decided to chill out for a bit and watch TV. I soon retreated to my bed, because I was going to pass out--I mean, fall asleep--anyway. He and his girlfriend decided to go on a walk out in the nature trail behind his house. Moments after going upstairs, I realized that I had the munchies, so I went back downstairs to get a quick bite to eat. While down there, I instinctively turned off the TV.

Fifteen minutes later, my friend and his girl returned. After making a little noise, they came up to my room and told me to come outside. He was serious. He told me that they had only been outside for what seemed like a few minutes (i.e. they felt they had lost a few minutes of their lives). He thought they might have been abducted. He was so paranoid that I had to take him seriously, even if he was high and had a few beers in him. I felt like his girlfriend was just going along with him but couldn't be sure. The clincher for him was when he realized that the TV was off when it clearly had been on before they left. To know why the state of an appliance meant so much to him, you'd have to know as much as he knows about "typical" UFO encounters. The thing is, I felt this really strong empathy for him at this moment. I didn't want to squash his big moment with one simple explanation. It would be like telling a three year old there's no Santa Claus. So, I told a white lie and said I didn't remember. I had to deal with him talking about this night for the rest of the trip, but to me it was easier than telling him the truth.

Was I wrong? Evil, even? And how many UFO encounters do you think start when an alpha male convinces the group to believe very dubious evidence like this?

StickODynomite

Hmm i would've told him lol

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68galaxy

Ohhhh.... you're fucking evil!!!

That's way too hilarious to tell him!!! Thanks for the laugh!

cosmoknight

I wish many UFO's could be this easily explained. Seriously I would have told him.

Nunquam_Idem

Poor guy! That is kinda mean.

You better hope he doesn't discover Tilted Paranoia in his research!

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Oh no, not again.

ManWithAPlan

i'd have told him just to be objective...

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In the end we are but wisps

cheeterbo

well, the fact that you offer us a choice to call you evil means to me that you thought about it a little bit before you decided to not tell him.

you should have told him

whocarz

Hey man, you didn't want to shit all over his "reality", it's ok.

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Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else. -Marcus Aurelius

Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever? -GySgt. Daniel J. "Dan" Daly

ManWithAPlan

except what happens if now he throws his life away into trying to find UFOs like a lunatic claiming to have been abducted

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In the end we are but wisps

jaco

You have to wonder how many other UFO "encounters" are at fault of someone not wanting to crush their believing friends ideas by telling them the truth.

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"How soft your fields so green, Can whisper tales of gore"
"Thou art god"

Jadedfox

lol that's pretty funny and evil at the same time. Good job!

--jaded

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BlueBongo

It is funny, but I have to agree.. for someone with such an avid belief in UFO's, it would have been better..because for the rest of his life he'll believe something that never really happened, and though it may be funny... I'd feel kinda sad for the guy. But in some way, maybe it helped him?

But, as I said, in my honest opinion, you should have told him the truth.

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"Things can only get so bad before they have no choice but to get better.."

skullfunk

Maybe I just hate confrontations with people who have very strong beliefs, but there is a guy at my work who is very religious and has probably been brainwashed his entire life to believe in a literal translation of the bible. So, of course, he believes in creationism, that evolution does not occur, and that the big bang is phony.

Do those of you who think that I should tell my friend the truth about our "UFO encounter" also think that I should destroy this guy's faith just to prove a point? Maybe he's one of those people who needs to believe in religion to be a good person. Then I would make the world a worse place by sticking my nose in someone else's business!

ManWithAPlan

totally different scenarios. you LIED to your friend, you didn't make the guy believe in god.

besides, whereas religion (in any form short of zealism) can be helpful to a person, thinking that you were abducted by aliens and devoting your life to it on false pretenses is a waste.

Right now, telling him would just piss him off, i think we were saying that you SHOULD have told him.

__________________
In the end we are but wisps

68galaxy

I'm sure you could blow your friend's mind, but I doubt that you would 'destroy' the faith of the one who believes in God. I have faith in God, even though I believe in the big bang, and evolution. How I manage that one, I don't know... I just think God doesn't work on man's time table.