Are Aliens Racist? Towards a more Inclusive Ufology
by Olivier
www.999oliver666.com
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that erupted across the US in the summer of 2020 prompted millions of people around the world to consider how their own behaviours helped to perpetuate a culture of anti-Black racism, and a range of racial disparities. But while a number of leaders in business, politics, and academia have publicly acknowledged the reality of racism within their institutions, and attempted some reforms, there has been almost no reaction at all from the ufological community. Though several scholars and commentators, including Bryan Sentes, David Halperin, Kenneth L. Feder, and Nick Pope, have previously voiced their concerns about the lack of diversity and inclusivity in ufology, few today have done much to address these concerns, or to build a more inclusive space. As a result, Black folx are underrepresented in UFO organizations, and in UFO reports, leading many to the impression that Black folx don’t see UFOs. Some might wonder with comedian Larry Wilmore: “are aliens racist?”(1)
Since the Black Lives Matter protests began, I have not seen any UFO organisation take a stand against racism, speak out in support of black UFO researchers, or show that they are doing any work to celebrate diversity. While I am not a ufologist myself (I’m a writer and an artist), I am an advocate for UFO research. I am also a trans, queer person of color, and I am committed to finding ways to make the UFO community more inclusive of marginalized peoples.
In this article, I would like to first shine a light on a pattern of ufologists condoning - even embracing - racist statements, ideas, and actions. Second, I would like to argue for the importance of building inclusive spaces, both as a path to social justice, and as a means of advancing UFO research, and enriching the UFO community.(2) I will argue that those of us involved in UFO research and discussion must be actively anti-racist in order to eradicate racism in the community. As the anti-racist sholar, Ibram X. Kendi, argued,
www.999oliver666.com
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that erupted across the US in the summer of 2020 prompted millions of people around the world to consider how their own behaviours helped to perpetuate a culture of anti-Black racism, and a range of racial disparities. But while a number of leaders in business, politics, and academia have publicly acknowledged the reality of racism within their institutions, and attempted some reforms, there has been almost no reaction at all from the ufological community. Though several scholars and commentators, including Bryan Sentes, David Halperin, Kenneth L. Feder, and Nick Pope, have previously voiced their concerns about the lack of diversity and inclusivity in ufology, few today have done much to address these concerns, or to build a more inclusive space. As a result, Black folx are underrepresented in UFO organizations, and in UFO reports, leading many to the impression that Black folx don’t see UFOs. Some might wonder with comedian Larry Wilmore: “are aliens racist?”(1)
Since the Black Lives Matter protests began, I have not seen any UFO organisation take a stand against racism, speak out in support of black UFO researchers, or show that they are doing any work to celebrate diversity. While I am not a ufologist myself (I’m a writer and an artist), I am an advocate for UFO research. I am also a trans, queer person of color, and I am committed to finding ways to make the UFO community more inclusive of marginalized peoples.
In this article, I would like to first shine a light on a pattern of ufologists condoning - even embracing - racist statements, ideas, and actions. Second, I would like to argue for the importance of building inclusive spaces, both as a path to social justice, and as a means of advancing UFO research, and enriching the UFO community.(2) I will argue that those of us involved in UFO research and discussion must be actively anti-racist in order to eradicate racism in the community. As the anti-racist sholar, Ibram X. Kendi, argued,
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there are no nonracists; there are only racists — people who allow racist ideas to proliferate without opposition — and antiracists, those who expose and eradicate such ideas wherever they encounter them.(3)
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Ancient Aliens
There are many racist ideas and memes moving freely in ufological circles. In an article entitled “Sexism, Racism and Ufology” in 2014, the veteran ufologist, Nick Pope, warned that both racism and sexism were rampant in the UFO community.(4) He also remarked on the dominance of middle-aged white men who were also cishet (someone who is both heterosexual and identifies with their gender at birth). Pope noted that Black people and other marginalized groups, including young people, queer people, and other people of colour are often “put off” by this.(5)
The dominance of cishet white men has also meant the dominance of eurocentric perspectives on UFOs and aliens. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the work of Erich von Däniken. The archeologist and writer, Kenneth L. Feder, admitted that the archaeological establishment hardly took notice of von Däniken’s best-selling book, Chariots of The Gods, when it first blew up in the late 60s and early 70s. Though most academics dismissed his now-famous theory of ancient aliens as a joke at first, many young scholars today know it well. While von Däniken is still derided as a crank by most archaeologists, it is hard to overstate the impact of his thinking in popular culture.
Aside from promoting “pseudoarchaeology,” as it's often called today, von Däniken has popularized a set of problematic assumptions about the abilities of historical people of color. By advocating for the idea that all the technologies of the ancient world that exceeded the abilities of the modern Westerners must have been built with the help of extraterrestrial visitors, von Däniken made an implicit argument that non-white civilizations were necessarily inferior to white ones, and could not possibly have achieved greater feats of engineering. Feder felt that this was a eurocentric line of thinking, and others have shown that it shares much in common with radical nationalist ideology.(6) Bryan Sentes, an English instructor in Montreal, compared von Däniken’s theories to the beliefs of the Nation of Islam, an African American political and new religious movement, and the beliefs of Hindu Nationalists, and found that they all shared a similar ideology, especially in their embrace of the claim of technological superiority. Technological superiority features heavily in white supremacist discourse, where it’s argued that white civilization is superior because it reached a higher level of technological dominance than non-white civilizations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Sentes described this “ontotheological foundation” of ancient aliens theory as the most obscured, and ironically, perhaps, as the darkest side of the UFO.(7)
Several ufologists and UFO debunkers, from Carl Sagan to Jason Colavito, have exposed von Däniken’s racist assumptions. And yet, more than 50 years later, the idea that aliens intervened in the history of African and Mesopotamian civilization is as popular as ever. While History Channel publicly announced that they stood with BLM in the summer of 2020, they aired the 15th season of Ancient Aliens throughout the protests. A number of popular memes today suggest that Ancient Aliens has become a joke to many younger viewers, who see the racism inherent in the most common arguments for extraterrestrial intervention.
The Black Experience of Abduction
Though “alien abductions” remain an extremely popular subject of investigation, ufologists have rarely explored the black experience of the phenomenon. This oversight is so apparent that it’s often joked that UFOs are for white people only. Jon Jon Moore, a Doctoral student at UC Berkeley, said that they plan to teach a course called “Only White People are Abducted by Aliens” in Spring 2021. But of course, there are many Black experiencers, or abductees, and many of them have experiences that are different from white folx. David Halperin asked,
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In a society split by race, is there a distinctively black American UFO experience? I think the answer is yes, and I think the abduction paradox is one facet of this mostly unrecognized and unexplored issue... The paradox of UFO abductions: introduced into the culture by a black man (Barney Hill) who gave every sign of having been horribly traumatized by what he’d undergone, they quickly turned into a trauma for whites only. African-Americans are almost entirely absent from the standard narrative of the abduction phenomenon—a commentary on the phenomenon? Or on the narrative?(8)
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Stephen C. Finley has also commented on the unique experiences of Black abductees:
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Think about Africa during the slave trade, and all of a sudden, here come these beings from these ships who have come across the ocean and all of a sudden they capture you and wisp you away to a new land where you become the alien of, so it could that’s [sic] one of the reasons why these narratives get described the way they do, but the other reason is because these UFO traditions are also closely related to Black supernatural traditions. For African Americans generally, the supernatural isn’t spooky. Ancestors hang around. They help us. They participate and break into this reality in sort of a regular way.(9)
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Seeking out more Black experiencers may reveal new dimensions to the abduction phenomenon. It may also encourage other Black folx to share their own experiences, and participate more fully in the UFO community.
MUFON and Structural Racism
In her 2020 article, “True Alienation,” Olga Segura described her father's feeling of belonging in ufology, and how she worried about him participating in MUFON as a Black Dominican among mostly white believers.(10) Black experiences in ufology are rarely discussed, and Segura had cause for concern: the US’s longest-running UFO research group has been accused several times in recent years of condoning racism in their administration. In 2018, John Ventre, the MUFON State Director for Pennsylvania, had made a string of racist posts on social media. Despite portraying the “F’ing blacks” as hopeless primitives saved by white Brits, and reacting with disgust to the prevalence of same-sex couples on TV, Ventre remained an active member, paid consultant, conference coordinator, and treasurer of the Pennsylvania chapter.
MUFON and Structural Racism
In her 2020 article, “True Alienation,” Olga Segura described her father's feeling of belonging in ufology, and how she worried about him participating in MUFON as a Black Dominican among mostly white believers.(10) Black experiences in ufology are rarely discussed, and Segura had cause for concern: the US’s longest-running UFO research group has been accused several times in recent years of condoning racism in their administration. In 2018, John Ventre, the MUFON State Director for Pennsylvania, had made a string of racist posts on social media. Despite portraying the “F’ing blacks” as hopeless primitives saved by white Brits, and reacting with disgust to the prevalence of same-sex couples on TV, Ventre remained an active member, paid consultant, conference coordinator, and treasurer of the Pennsylvania chapter.
While there was a wave of anger and resignations within the organization - Dr. Chris Cogswell, MUFON’s Director of Research, resigned from his position - and many people protested on social media, MUFON’s leadership did next to nothing to address the situation. Jan Harzan, who defended Ventre, remained on the board of directors for another two years until his arrest on July 3, 2020, for allegedly soliciting sex from a detective posing online as a 13-year-old girl.(11)
Though Harzan is out at MUFON, most of the same staff remain. How many people who supported Ventre, or failed to speak out against him, are still at the organization? How many of these people are working at other UFO organizations, where they are still managing people of color? MUFON’s official statements on the incident have since been deleted from social media, and the current leadership seems to hope that everyone will simply forget that anything ever happened. Because of their low profile in pop culture media, UFO organizations seem to be flying under the radar of most anti-racist activists and cultural commentators.
Although Segura’s article ended on a positive note, when she asked the guests at a MUFON meet-and-greet if they were familiar with Ventre and other allegations of racism within the organization, they all said no. Is MUFON doing enough to address its failings, both to the public, and to its members?
Incidents like Ventre’s racist behaviours have a great effect on the way that ufology and other disciplines are perceived by the general public, and not just by Black folx. It is well known that ufology has a shortage of young people. Is it because, as Pope suggested, the younger generations are “put off” by the culture?
Confronting Injustices
While racial justice should be pursued for its own sake, ufology as a discipline also stands to benefit from being more inclusive of Black folx. In an article from 2014, Kendra S. Cheruvelil et al. postulated that when organized into “high-performing collaborative research teams”, researchers could hold themselves mutually accountable with their research goals and methods. With diversity in ethnicity, gender, culture, career stage, discipline, and point of view, research teams are more likely to generate and publish transformative knowledge, create innovative training and education, and engage effectively with the public.(12) Unlike in ufology where solo researchers tend to dominate, most academic disciplines involve a high degree of collaboration, and the most highly cited papers in any field are usually authored by multiple researchers, not lone scientists.(13)
The lack of diverse, collaborative research teams is detrimental to ufological research. To bring much-needed reform, leaders in ufology need to take the initiative, and educate themselves on critical issues. At bigger institutions such as MUFON, leaders could look into resources like “A List For Those Considering Diversity When Complacency Wasn't Enough.”(14) This short guide document can act as a starting point for further engagement with issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.
In an interview with Virginia Gewin, Nikea Pittman, a Black structural biologist, argued that it would help for individuals at larger organizations to take the initiative in starting conversations about race. Pittman feels that it is hard for Black folx to initiate these discussions out of fear of coming across as aggressive, so he encourages white colleagues to step up and start them on their own.(15)
And of course, as individuals, we all share in the responsibility of making spaces more inclusive. There are many individuals confronting racism in the UFO community by calling out racists and holding them accountable. But how many of us are confronting bigots, racists, and extremists?(16) How many of us are being truly anti-racist? Are we listening when people of color say they are not comfortable with certain assumptions in the ufology discourse? Are we addressing the problems at their roots? Are we acknowledging our wrongs? Or are we being defensive towards criticism?
Far to Go
For my advocacy of anti-racism in the ufological community, I have already received some backlash. When I posted a list of anti-racist resources on my social media page, people left hateful comments, such as “Stop this load of virtue signalling bullshit,” and, “Stupidest shit I’ve seen on Instagram.”(17)
Clearly, there are still far too many people who take no account of racism in the UFO community, and who get defensive when it’s pointed out to them. We all have lots of unlearning and un-whitewashing to do in our private and professional lives. From researchers to debunkers, to believers to skeptics, we must all take action in our communities. It is time to embrace new norms and practices, and to hold each other accountable for doing so. It is a time to stand against racists; to empower marginalised folx; and to reform our institutions from the inside out.
To continue to contribute to this conversation, access this Google Spreadsheet that I made showcasing some suggested readings on social justice and racial problems in the UFO community.
Nature Research and Scientific American published a collection of articles that address diversity in scientific research. A resource list for archivists can be accessed here.
Notes
1) TodayShow, “Comedian: Why Don't Black People See UFOs?,” January 30, 2009, Accessed January 24, 2021, https://today.com/popculture/comedian-why-don-t-black-people-see-ufos-wbna28933664.
2) In summer 2020, I have been actively communicating with a couple of respected UFO researchers, and I am very thankful for the ones who have replied, and at the same time disappointed that none of us are actively anti-racist.
3) Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist (NY, USA: One World, 2019).
4) Nick Pope, "Sexism, Racism and Ufology," UFO Digest, July 1, 2014, Accessed January 24, 2021, https://ufodigest.com/article/sexism-racism-and-ufology.
5) Pope, "Sexism, Racism."
6) Kenneth L. Feder, Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology (CA: Mayfield, 1990).
7) Byran Sentes, "The Dark Side of the UFO: Racisms, Nationalisms, and Extremist Politics," Skunkworks, February 2, 2019, Accessed January 24, 2021, https://skunkworksblog.com/2019/02/02/the-dark-side-of-the-ufo-racisms-nationalisms-and-extremist-politics.
8) David Halperin, "Black People, White People, ET People – Race and the UFO," David Halperin, February 21, 2020, accessed January 24, 2021, https://davidhalperin.net/black-people-white-people-et-people-race-and-the-ufo.
9) Stephen C Finley, “Close Encounters: UFOs in American History- Mothership Connection,” Backstory, Podcast audio, September 21, 2018.
10) Olga Segura, "True Alienation: When a Person of Color Tries to Fit in with UFO Enthusiasts," The Guardian, March 6, 2020, Accessed January, 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/aliens-ufos-olga-segura.
11) Huntington Beach Police Department, Facebook, July 14, 2020, 13:28, Acessed January 24, 2021, https://facebook.com/HuntingtonBeachPolice/posts/3391470090897532.
12) Kendra S. Cheruvelil et al., "Creating and Maintaining High-performing collaborative Research Teams: The Importance of Diversity and Interpersonal Skills," Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12, no. 1 (2014): 33, Accessed January 24, 2021, doi:10.1890/130001, https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/130001.
13) Stefan Wuchty et al., “The increasing dominance of teams in production of knowledge,” Science 316, no. 5827 (2007): 1036-39, Accessed January 24,2021, doi: 10.1126/science.1136099, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/316/5827/1036.full.
14) Emanuel Admassu, Anita Batment, Becci Davis, Odette England, Sarah Pfohl, Sarah Smith, Jay Simple, “A List For Those Considering Diversity When Complacency Wasn't Enough,” Google Drive document, Accessed January 24, 2021, https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/11PCIgEsvqTBjJbERb7O1LmakoX_XDrPTm9EYzBe35dA/mobilebasic.
15) Virginia Gewin, “What Black scientists want from colleagues and their institutions,” Nature Research, June 22, 2020, Accessed January 24, 2021, https://nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01883-8.
16) For further reading please see Torre, iamnottorre, “A Guide For Silencing Bigots, Racists, and Extremists Online,” Instagram, July 12, 2020, Accessed January 24, 2021, https://instagram.com/p/CCjNFcgJ2TL.
17) Oliver, Unhappyflyingobject, “Anti-Racist UFO Research,” Instagram, June 26, 2020, Accessed January 24, 2021, https://instagram.com/p/CB6XCa3gaT4.