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4 Alien Abduction 4 Alien Abduction ALIEN ABDUCTION When Strieber was having an anxiety attack he that Dr. Mack and his patients were deluded or ALIEN ABDUCTION “A Realistic View” consulted his analyst, Robert Klein, and Budd frauds. Of course, the good doctor could hide “A Realistic View” behind academic freedom and the doctor/patient Hopkins, an alien abduction researcher. Then, Continued From Page 3 under hypnosis, Strieber started recalling the privacy privilege. He could make all the claims Continued From Page 3 horrible aliens and their visitations. he wanted and refuse to back any of them up on Hopkins demonstrated his sincerity and the grounds that to do so would be to violate his investigative incompetence on the public patients' rights. He could then publish his stories television program Nova ("Alien Abductions," and dare anyone to take away his academic first shown on February 27, 1996). The camera freedom. He was in the position any cheat followed Hopkins through session after session would envy: he could lie without fear of being with a very agitated, highly emotional "patient". caught. Then Nova followed Hopkins to Florida where Dr. Mack also appeared on the Nova he cheerfully helped a visibly unstable mother "Alien Abductions" program. He claimed that inculcate in her children the belief that they had his patients were otherwise normal people, been abducted by aliens. In between more which is a debatable point if his patients are sessions with more of Hopkins' "patients", the anything like Hopkins' patients who appeared viewer heard him repeatedly give plugs for his on the program. Mack also claimed that his books and his reasons for showing no patients have nothing to gain by making up their skepticism at all regarding the very bizarre incredible stories. For some reason it is often claims he was eliciting from his "patients". Dr. thought by intelligent people that only morons Elizabeth Loftus was asked by Nova to evaluate are deceived or deluded and that if a person's Hopkins' method of "counseling" the children motives can be trusted then his or her testimony The alien abduction story that seems to whose mother was encouraging them to believe can be trusted, too. While it is true that we are have started the cult beliefs about alien they had been abducted by aliens. From the justified in being skeptical of a person's visitation and experimentation is the Betty and little that Nova showed us of Hopkins at work, testimony if she has something to gain by the Barney Hill story. The Hills claim to have been it was apparent that Mr. Hopkins encouraged testimony (such as fame or fortune), it is not abducted by aliens on September 19, 1961. the creation of memories, though Hopkins true that we should trust any testimony given by Betty first "remembered" her abduction during a claims he is uncovering repressed memories. a person who has nothing to gain by giving the series of nightmares, which she told Barney Dr. Loftus noted that Hopkins did much testimony. An incompetent observer, a drunk or about. Barney claims the aliens took a sample of encouraging of his "patients" to remember more drugged observer, a mistaken observer, or a his sperm. Betty claims they stuck a needle in details, as well as giving many verbal rewards deluded observer should not be trusted, even if her belly button. She took people out to an alien when new details were brought forth. Dr. Loftus he is as pure as the mountain springs once were. landing spot, but only she could see the aliens characterized the procedure as "risky" because The fact that a person is kind and decent and has and their craft. The Hills recalled most of their we do not know what effect this "counseling" nothing to gain by lying does not make him or story under hypnosis a few years after the will have on the children. It seems we can safely her immune to error in the interpretation of abduction. Barney Hill reported that the aliens predict one effect: they will grow up thinking perceptions. had "wraparound eyes," a rather unusual they've been abducted by aliens. This belief will One thing Dr. Mack did not note was feature. However, twelve days earlier an be so embedded in their memory that it will be that his patients gain a lot of attention by being episode of "The Outer Limits" featured just difficult to get them to consider that the abductees. Furthermore, no mention was made such an alien being (Kottmeyer). According to "experience" was planted by their mother and of what he and Hopkins have to gain in fame Robert Schaeffer, "we can find all the major cultivated by alien enthusiasts like Hopkins. and book sales by encouraging their clients to elements of contemporary UFO abductions in a come up with more details of their "abductions". Dr. John Mack 1930 comic adventure, Buck Rogers in the 25th Dr. John Mack Mack received a $200,000 advance for his first Century." book on alien abductions. Mack also benefited The Hill's story has been repeated many by publicizing and soliciting funds for his times. There is a period of amnesia following Center for Psychology and Social Change and the alleged encounter. There is then usually a his Program for Extraordinary Experience session of hypnosis, counseling or Research. Dr. Mack, by the way, was very psychotherapy during which comes the impressed by the fact that his patients' stories recollection of having been abducted and were very similar. He also believes in auras and experimented on. The only variation in the has indicated that he believes that some of his abductees' stories is that some claim to have had ex-wife's gynecological problems may have implants put in them and many claim to have been due to aliens. Harvard kept him on staff in scars and marks on their bodies put there by the name of academic freedom. aliens. All describe the aliens in much the same way. Whitley Strieber, who has written several books about his alleged abductions, came to the realization he had been abducted by aliens after psychotherapy and hypnosis. Strieber claims that he saw aliens set his roof on fire. He says he has traveled to distant planets and back during the night. He wants us to Another alien enthusiast was the believe that he and his family alone can see the Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Mack (1929- aliens and their spacecraft while others see 2004), who wrote books about patients who nothing. Strieber comes off as a very disturbed claim to have been abducted by aliens. Many of person, but one who really believes he sees and Mack's patients had been referred to him by is being harassed by aliens. He describes his Hopkins. Dr. Mack claimed that his psychiatric feelings precisely enough to warrant believing patients were not mentally ill (then why was he he was in a very agitated psychological state treating them?) and that he could think of no prior to his visitation by aliens. A person in this better explanation for their stories than that they heightened state of anxiety will be prone to were true. However, until someone produces hysteria and be especially vulnerable to physical evidence that abductions have radically changing behavior or belief patterns. occurred, it seems more reasonable to believe ALIEN ABDUCTION - Continued on Page 6