Jan Harzan

[Randall]

Moseley put "J.S." on his masthead till his dying day, as an inside joke. That took humor and guts, and a what-the-hell stance that is sadly missing from Harzan and his pal Greer, not to mention their minions.

How about explaining that to those who don't get it?

 

[Rizla]

Sorry to be so late responding to your post, USI Calgary. It was explained pretty well on a recent PCast, basically "J.S" was the lowest slot on the totem pole, and Jim barely qualified for that in the eyes of MUFON, so he thought it was funny to print the fact on the 'Smear masthead. It was a dig at the whole pseudo-corporate hierarchy of MUFON, and a bit of flipping them the bird at the same time, if that makes sense? Best regards, Ufology Calg.

 

[LennyfromMaine]

I like Jan, as far as he seems very nice. But.... I'm not sure what he is the right person for what he hopes to accomplish. Meaning this: I am a perfect example of the type of person Mufon hopes to attract. I am a young (32), tech savvy, business professional. And I take the UFO/Paranormal activity ect topics very seriously. For me, there are still so many mysteries. But any organization that has SG speak at any event... I just can't take them 100% serious. And to be completely honest, when Jan spoke of his child hood experiences... I don't know, something just didn't seem right. I don't know, I wasn't there. But didn't he state that at age 9 he was doing anti-gravity research? And that was what likely what attracted and facilitated the contact experience? I was about that age when My grandfather started sharing his experiences, and started "hunting the sky" with me. And to be honest, anti-gravity research would have been way over my head. Maybe I mis-understood what Jan was trying to say....

 

[Rizla]

I think you understood what he was saying all too well. And I'm sure the PCast isn't the first place he's given that spiel. It didn't seem right to me either.

 

[Randall]

I like Jan, as far as he seems very nice. But.... I'm not sure what he is the right person for what he hopes to accomplish. Meaning this: I am a perfect example of the type of person Mufon hopes to attract. I am a young (32), tech savvy, business professional. And I take the UFO/Paranormal activity ect topics very seriously. For me, there are still so many mysteries.

So may I ask then: As a, "young (32), tech savvy, business professional" who takes the UFO phenomenon seriously, are you more interested in what a UFO interest group can do for you, or what you can do for them? This is the problem because most groups just scrape by and most members are too busy with all things non-UFO to contribute any time or resources. In MUFON's case their dues afford them the opportunity to hire a printer so they can hawk their journal and put conferences together, but I ask you, how much does that really do to advance the cause? It's an insider's club. No membership, no journal. That's why USI is free and our website is free. To use a @Christopher O'Brien - ism, "The message is more important than we are." So I'm listening. Are you content to wait for some billionaire to fund research and maybe disclose it to us? Should it be about getting the latest magazine and seeing what the latest conference gossip is about? Or is there a better way? I think so. I've tried. What are your ideas?

But any organization that has SG speak at any event... I just can't take them 100% serious. And to be completely honest, when Jan spoke of his child hood experiences... I don't know, something just didn't seem right. I don't know, I wasn't there. But didn't he state that at age 9 he was doing anti-gravity research? And that was what likely what attracted and facilitated the contact experience? I was about that age when My grandfather started sharing his experiences, and started "hunting the sky" with me. And to be honest, anti-gravity research would have been way over my head. Maybe I mis-understood what Jan was trying to say...

Sounds like you had a pretty cool grandfather, and will hopefully make one yourself someday. I remember pondering the whole idea of antigravity at around age 7 after being introduced to the subject of UFOs. In fact nobody told me about it. I came up with it on my own by studying airplanes and it didn't take long to realize that UFOs couldn't possibly work like them. Only some years later did I realize it had already been a working theory of Paul R. Hill, and nearly 50 years later, I'm still no closer to an answer. Like other people, I have ideas, but no access to the resources needed for research. So I can believe that kids can come up with such ideas. Their imaginations aren't constrained by what they've been told is or isn't possible. Do I think Harzan's UFO experience was instigated by his childhood musings on antigravity? That's certainly a stretch. But then again, strange things do happen to young people. The two videos posted recently about the classic African and Australian sightings by school children are perfect examples.

 

[LennyfromMaine]

So may I ask then: As a, "young (32), tech savvy, business professional" who takes the UFO phenomenon seriously, are you more interested in what a UFO interest group can do for you, or what you can do for them? This is the problem because most groups just scrape by and most members are too busy with all things non-UFO to contribute any time or resources. In MUFON's case their dues afford them the opportunity to hire a printer so they can hawk their journal and put conferences together, but I ask you, how much does that really do to advance the cause? It's an insider's club. No membership, no journal. That's why USI is free and our website is free. To use a @Christopher O'Brien - ism, "The message is more important than we are." So I'm listening. Are you content to wait for some billionaire to fund research and maybe disclose it to us? Should it be about getting the latest magazine and seeing what the latest conference gossip is about? Or is there a better way? I think so. I've tried. What are your ideas?

It's not about what Mufon can do for me, or anyone else for that matter. It's about what Mufon can do for it's own future. Speaking purely as someone who has to market my own "brand" everyday... Associating with someone that has such questionable attributes as SG does nothing but hurt the Mufon brand. Jan said himself that Mufon is trying to run more like a business. Which in my eyes leads to more credibility. But not calling someone like SG out, destroys much of that credibility gained. I think much of what Jan spoke of doing with Mufon is spot on. And I for one would gladly put my money where my mouth is to support such endeavors. But with all due respect, we should be pushing as far away from self promoting showmen as we can. And giving those snake oil salesmen any portion of the soap box is frankly pointless. His type are the reason many peoples eyes glass over at the mere mention of Ufos/Cripto/ect.. I don't know the man. But I do know that anyone offering to take me out on a tour, contact aliens, and then not let me tell anyone about what I saw... Isn't playing with a full deck. And isn't trying to better the topic/field in any way. My ideas? First off take out the sensationalism, if push forward the research. This alone with help dispel much of the stereotypes. Work more and focus on the facts we know, not the questions we'd like to prove. There are many doing just that. You won't change the hearts and minds of the average person until you change the persona. Instead of seeming line a sideshow, present these topics as a real scientific field. Gene and Chris do this every week. As should everyone else.

 

[Randall]

It's not about what Mufon can do for me, or anyone else for that matter. It's about what Mufon can do for it's own future. Speaking purely as someone who has to market my own "brand" everyday... Associating with someone that has such questionable attributes as SG does nothing but hurt the Mufon brand. Jan said himself that Mufon is trying to run more like a business. Which in my eyes leads to more credibility. But not calling someone like SG out, destroys much of that credibility gained. I think much of what Jan spoke of doing with Mufon is spot on. And I for one would gladly put my money where my mouth is to support such endeavors. But with all due respect, we should be pushing as far away from self promoting showmen as we can.

Well, I guess that depends on the quality of the content and presentation. I have respect for people who can get out and make their own way by responsibly promoting what they believe in.

And giving those snake oil salesmen any portion of the soap box is frankly pointless. His type are the reason many peoples eyes glass over at the mere mention of Ufos/Cripto/ect.. I don't know the man. But I do know that anyone offering to take me out on a tour, contact aliens, and then not let me tell anyone about what I saw... Isn't playing with a full deck. And isn't trying to better the topic/field in any way.

Certainly no argument there. I've recently found myself automatically switching off anything I see with SG in it and picking something else to post instead.

My ideas? First off take out the sensationalism, if push forward the research. This alone with help dispel much of the stereotypes. Work more and focus on the facts we know, not the questions we'd like to prove. There are many doing just that.

Sounds good.

You won't change the hearts and minds of the average person until you change the persona. Instead of seeming line a sideshow, present these topics as a real scientific field. Gene and Chris do this every week. As should everyone else.

Try to bear with me here. I sense your view is well intentioned, but it's not that simple. Presenting ufology as a scientific field sounds like a good idea, but in reality, it isn't responsible. Please review this thread for a more full explanation: https://www.theparacast.com/forum/threads/ufology-pseudoscience.8663/

 

[Sentry]

I finally got around to listening to this show. I'm proud of Gene and Chris for continuing to press about Steven Greer being promoted by MUFON. I thought Jan Harzan's response was shameful, basically defending it because it was popular and that there were other highly-credentialed speakers. Sounds a bit like a hot dog vendor getting caught selling weiners with skunk meat saying, "But look at all the other quality ingredients, besides, we use only the best skunk, and people really like it!"

Harzan cites MUFON's mission of working to "benefit mankind". Presenting speakers like Steven Greer is pulling in the other direction.

Edited to add: I see that cranky old Richard Hall seemed to agree with me and resigned from MUFON over this very sort of thing!

Let me say up front that I have privately protested the inclusion of Dr. Steven Greer as a speaker for reasons that I won't reiterate here, but that are obvious to anyone who has observed, or followed, or participated in his activities. To me, it is a travesty that he is being allowed to speak at a MUFON symposium. However, the leadership of MUFON - for reasons that they have not expressed to me - disagree and are allowing him to be on the program. So be it. We will see what the fallout is.

Richard Hall Resigns From MUFON - Alleges Censorship

 

[Burnt State]

And now the image of skunk weenies is stuck in my head like a bad cartoon sequence.