I wanted to share with everyone some people I respect in the field of Sasquatch research and to explain how I choose the people I will associate with. Integrity in the field is a rare thing because so many enter it for the wrong reasons. The true "nerds" and "geeks" who enter it for the right reasons are in search of knowledge and understanding, have compassion and willingness to share. Here are some of the ones I most respect -
MK Davis
There are, as I often say, a handful of people in the field I truly hold up into a place of high respect. I tend to not focus as much on what people say or promise, but what they actually do. Researchers' actions speak volumes, from their associations to their motivations, the way they treat others in the field of study and their logic. MK Davis has poured over more film and photographs than any human should ever have to parcel through, on his own time, working to stabilize and give us the best images of any evidence in the field. With these clearer images, we can make our own decisions on the worthiness of the evidence. As the person who originally dealt with the Patterson-Gimlin film and stabilized it, he has gone on to do amazing things in lots of other fields of stabilization and photography, from stabilizing the Kennedy assassination films to astrophotography. He also spends a great deal of the time in the field, learning more about everything from ancient cultures to cryptids, geology to archaeology. Anyone who has viewed his videos on YouTube knows that he's got a gosh-darned pleasant speaking voice, an eye for details, and is just a regular nice guy. Many have tried to spread rumors about people in the field of research and MK has been the target of some because he simply will not engage in angry back and forths. Pay special attention to those who spread the rumors and perpetuate them because THEY are the ones you need to take notice of. It says much about them being threatened by truth, by insight, and by someone who uses their talents and brains instead of big mouths, gangs and idiocy. I wish we had more highly intelligent and respectful people like MK in the field. This is someone who walks the talk.
Jaime Avalos
One of the few folks I can count on my fingers that I have a great respect for in the field of research. Jaime has a highly impressive background and knowledge from survival techniques to martial arts, to medicine. He runs Sierra Sasquatch research and has amazing videos for Sierra Sasquatch on YouTube, as well as a DVD on Amazon ("Sierra Sasquatch Tracking a Legend") that I happily added to my collection. Jaime is logical, practical and has techniques that no one in the field is utilizing. The massive size of the Sierras could be daunting, but he lives, breathes and eats this majestic region with some of the most innovative concepts I have ever seen. He's the type of background, brain and attitude we need much more of.
The Garrett Family and Team
The Garretts and their co-researchers have an exceedingly vast knowledge of the woodlands, creeks, lakes, swamps, nature and survival. They come together as a team that is respectful, inquisitive, and unstoppable at field research. You might want to follow their Facebook Page Texas Unified Natural Research. Be sure to check Bob Garrett's YouTube Channel where you will find some things you never expected to find happening in East Texas. Their approach to research is passionate and energetic. I do wish we had more researchers in the field with their vast knowledge and cohesive directive to work together and contribute to knowledge and understanding of the natural world around us.
Freddie Kanney
It isn't easy to get my attention in the field of research because I do not attend conferences, forums, or other popular local chat hangouts. Instead, I seek out people who are doing things in the field. I let their work and their actions speak for them instead of listening to chatter online. I came across Freddie Kanney, a BF researcher for decades in my own home state of Virginia. I was utterly floored by his commonsense knowledge of the woods and its nuances, his dedication to going out daily and repeatedly for years and years on end. I suggest you follow his videos on YouTube because he is teaching viewers his knowledge. It is the most practical education possible. I wish we had more people who know the woodlands, live and breathe it every day and night, out there in the study of these elusive people.
JC Johnson
JC runs Crypto4Corners team and is pretty much a national treasure in the field of Native legends, cryptids, and creatures of the Southwest. His YouTube channel is admittedly one of my favorites. JC is a guy in the field. He meets the people who have the encounters, he helps them, he studies the land, he talks to the Native People who have great insights, and he keeps it all within the context of dealing with things he can grasp, not ethereal or ephemeral will o'the wisps in the unknown, but things he could wrestle to the ground. He has a great deal of outdoorsman experience and a very open-minded attitude. And, gosh darn, he's amazing storyteller with exceptional experience. I'd say I wish there were more JCs in the field, but it's so much more exciting when there's one romantic figure with a lifetime of experience hiking off into the sunset in search of the next amazing find.
Karl Sup
This researcher has amazing field technique for tracking and finding every clue that we might have overlooked. He is meticulous, highly intelligent, and has contributed several posts and some working theories on this blog. His attitude toward the subject and contributions have been great, including audio expertise that has helped discern details from evidence. He is always open to discussion and research, sharing of information and trekking long hours in the field. It's that kind of dedication that is greatly appreciated. Eye theory. Sasquatch locomotion. Witness reports.
Dorraine Fisher
Dorraine is a person I greatly admire in the field, as an author, researcher, and a human being. She has commonsense, intelligence, healthy skepticism, as you may have noticed in her articles on the excellent CryptoCrew Site. She is also a talented authoress and seriously talented photographer. She respects nature and other human beings, is a humble researcher and a fiercely intelligent mind in the field. I would love to see more calm and logical folks like Dorraine in the field!
I would love to mention other people in the field whose contributions I admire -
Sybilla Irwin (artist/researcher) Her witness sketches are truly riveting and her ongoing field research is admirable and tireless.
David Claerr (artist/researcher) David is not just an artist, but also a serious researcher who studies many facets of Sasquatch, as well as keeping an interest in lots of ancient finds, natural science, and other avenues of understanding of America's history and content.
David Houston (researcher) This Texas researcher has a great no-nonsense, naturalistic view of Sasquatch and their environment. He is someone whose opinion, I highly value, and who possesses a level head.
(I got this Patty necklace in Jason's Etsy Shop)
TheCryptoCrew (online publication) I really like this site. They have some amazingly relevant and sometimes even unsettling and thought-provoking postings handled with logic and curiosity, wonder and enthusiasm.
Bigfoot Encounters (site of the archivist and researcher, the late Bobbie Short, an amazing source of quality information)
The Urban Sasquatch Researcher. Though I have not given his name, this researcher is at the top of my list of most respected, enthusiastic and meticulous documenters I know.
The researchers from the original "tire experiment site. This group of hard-working researchers set the ground running with ahead of their time interactions. They have my highest respect and the landowners, as well, for creating a safe place for human-Sasquatch interactions to take place in what I like to think of as Ground Zero of ongoing interactions.
(art by Thomas Finley)
Thomas Finley
Thomas is an unbelievably talented artist who has done cryptid art of all kinds for many purposes from collectible art to book covers, T-shirt designs to postcards. He carries a delightfully colorful and positive view of the unexplained universe that has been a wonderful way to get people interested in the unknown and to see it in the view of wonder and awe. I wish we had more who inspired mystery and adventure like Thomas. I consider him a goodwill ambassador for cryptids.
- Who to admire and who not to admire -
If they are part of a posse that surrounds a celeb, they will do anything to stay in the "popular circle" and will intimidate, bash, and do vicious things against anyone that celeb thinks could bring them down or make them uncomfortable.
And, just because someone has a publication or is on TV documentaries and shows, has published books on the subject, does not make them the be-all-end-all of authority on the subject. Really evaluate how they approach the subject and whether they spend their time on a convention circuit or actually studying in the field. Just use some of your own personal integrity as a yard stick.
Watch what these people do - who do they hang with? What are they trying to peddle? What actions do they take that help or hurt the field?
My greatest single advice is to take note of those who tear down others - that is a HUGE RED FLAG that they will not only tear you down, but they are threatened by the very one they are bashing.
If a person is tearing apart another researcher, they are not in the field for knowledge but ego!
This is not summer camp, you don't have to pick a team and be loyal to the end. This is research and sharing knowledge and experience, wisdom and insight. It is not about banning people from conventions because a celeb doesn't want them there or snubbing and trying to ruin the reputation of good people. If someone is bashing another researcher, it is time to put the spotlight on them and their little worth and small minds that they cannot focus on their work, but must attack other's work.
Let's all work to make the field of research about true study and understanding, not egos and personalities!
I personally have no issues being independent and if I work in a group, if I have issues with someone in the group, I will either ask them to stop it, step aside, or I will step aside. I do not need to be associated with anyone, I choose to, and I choose to because of their actions, not their public words.
You will notice some "big" names not mentioned in this posting and there is a reason. If I found something worthy of my level of concern for the subject, I would mention them. Enough said.
Many of the people I mentioned above are not heard of widely and there is a reason. They are in the field for the right reasons, doing the right things, and not pimping it. They are truly experts in their own arenas and doing the work without fanfare or adoration, posses and hangers on.
I might have omitted some people because they do not wish their name publicized and it is not always easy to decide which ones should be showcased. There are many good people in the field whose work I do not know, yet, so this list is not the be-all/end-all of my listing of those I admire in the field.
In other words, they are true to their desire to learn, apply knowledge and wisdom, share findings, and open discussions.
Good article
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