I am not, nor have I ever been a believer in the Bigfoot mythology. Now, I have heard the rumors, seen the videos, read the articles, watched the reality shows, and heard the long winded explanations of the vast mountain of evidence for the existence of a large furry ape like creature that lives either in upstate New York, the woods of Oregon, or possibly right in my back yard.
I’ve also seen the adamant witnesses to sightings of the abominable snow man, yeti, Sasquatch, Big Foot, or whatever the fuck you want to name the creature. These folks will jump up and down screaming that they have seen this creature or had some sort of personal intimate encounter. Often they throw up a fuzzy shaky video by some dude named Roger Patterson as incontrovertible evidence of the existence of Sasquatch.
Now the question is …. why?
From National Geographic I pull these thoughts, which have an aura of factiness to them
Sasquatch stories go back centuries. Tales of mythical giant apes lurk in the oral traditions of most Native American tribes, as well as in Europe and Asia. The Himalaya has its Abominable Snowman, or the Yeti. In Australia, Bigfoot is known as the Yowie Man.
Bigfoot advocates hypothesize that the primate is the offspring of an ape from Asia that wandered to North America during the Ice Age. They believe there are at least 2,000 ape men walking upright in North America’s woods today.
An adult male is said to be at least 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall, weigh 800 pounds (360 kilograms), and have feet twice the size of a human’s. The creatures are described as shy and nocturnal, and their diets consist mostly of berries and fruits.
National Geographic October 2003 “Forensic Expert Says Bigfoot Is Real”
I have a few theories, and as always, a conclusion as to why. The first and most obvious is that they actually did see a creature and it was real. I sort of throw this one out the window since no one has ever produced a pelt, tooth, or bone from a Sasquatch to my knowledge.
Theory number two assumes the worse in humanity. That theory is that there is a cabal of evil Sasquatch hoaxers out there wishing to perpetuate the myth of Sasquatch for some nefarious purpose. I have no idea what the purpose might be, but I also have no idea what the true hidden purpose of the Moose, Elks, Mormons, Republicans, or Democrats are.
I think we can throw that one out the window as well, since any motivation that I might come up with would be some bullshit tinfoil hat conspiracy theory. I am sure that there are some hoaxers in the mix because some have admitted as much. But those folks were just in it for kicks and giggles, kinda like Candid Camera or Impractical Jokers.
Theory number three is the most likely, in my humble opinion. I don’t know why. That theory goes like this – there is no Sasquatch, but there is a contingent of folks that want to believe. They saw something in their backyard or some scintilla of evidence on a YouTube video and they want to prove to themselves and the world that they are not crazy. They might be in a tribe that believes the Sasquatch stories and disbelief would cause them to be cast out. Either way, belief is part of their identity, and to disbelieve would mar their self image.
Belief is impossible to disprove to a believer. The evidence of this statement goes back to the beginning of time. Remember the Roman persecution of Christians? Yuh it’s kinda like that. Those dudes died for their beliefs.
In a side journey down crucifixion lane, all religions have a belief system with adherents that would die for those “truths”. And yet, there is no way that they could all simultaneously be true, except maybe in the multiverse. There are 12 major religions in the world comprising 80% of the population. And that list does not include Atheism. Yes the lack of any religion is also a religion in this bloggers humble opinion.
For the sake of completeness and for the humble readers homework research assignment, I give you the list of the 12 major world religions. I do note that Sasquatchism is not in this list, but I think that the number of adherents to that religion is small by comparison.
Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.
12 Major World Religions: The Beliefs, Rituals, and Traditions of Humanity’s Most Influential Faiths – Jason Boyett
Would a Sasquatchian die for their beliefs? I got a friend who I think would and I have no idea why. I’m pretty sure he thought about killing me when I ridiculed the whole Sasquatch thing.
In the words of Kurt Vonnegut – “So it goes.”
