1mo ago

2 Oregon men die from exposure in a forest after they went out to look for Sasquatch

www.nbcnews.com 2 Oregon men die from exposure in a forest after they went out to look for Sasquatch

Sasquatch is a folkloric beast thought by some to roam the forests, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.

Summary

Two Oregon men, aged 59 and 37, were found dead from exposure in Washington State’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest after failing to return from a Christmas Eve trip to search for Sasquatch.

The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office attributed their deaths to harsh weather and lack of preparedness.

A family member reported them missing early Christmas Day, prompting a three-day search involving 60 volunteers, drones, canines, and Coast Guard infrared technology.

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Some of my wife's family are Bigfoot believers and she has a masters in folklore, so she went with them to a Bigfoot convention earlier this year. I don't tell her what to do by any means, but I did tell her I was really against the idea because she's giving money to people (i.e. the people charging admission to the convention) who are exploiting those who might have serious mental illnesses or will end up doing something really stupid because of something they heard at the convention.
And this sort of thing is exactly why.
Do not promote mythology and folktales as reality because some people end up going way too far assuming they'll be the ones to prove it. Anyway, they're just fine as mythology and folktales, which is why very few people go out looking for centaurs and bottled djinn. Yes, mythology and folktales can be based on reality. But you need more than that to go on.
- These guys could have also died going on a regular hike, a hunting trip or any other reason to go into the woods. The bigger issue here is they weren't prepared for the weather conditions they were outside in, that should be the bigger focus on preventing this kind of death in the future. Even if i don't believe in bigfoot, I could i injure my ankle cross country skiing and still die to hypothermia if I wasn't prepared.
  
  Inexperienced people wouldn't go out into the woods in bad weather conditions looking for Bigfoot if they didn't think there was a Bigfoot in the first place. So they wouldn't have been going into the woods for another reason. Not right now.
  
  Inexperienced people find lots of reasons to go into the woods. Drunken bonfires, chasing lost dogs, trying to be healthier by going for walks. Blaming this soley on believing in bigfoot is a little unreasonable.
  
  I'm not blaming it solely on anything. You're right, they find lots of reasons. Don't give them more.
- Meh just let people have their fun and their beliefs. People die doing all sorts of stupid shit.
  It’s not like they’re health quacks or chiropractors who actually take money and can hurt people. It’s not RFK causing an anti-vax measles outbreak.
  
  It's not them, it's the people who convince them.
  
  It’s kinda like religion though right? Who is anyone to say it’s not true. It’s kind of mean to shit on what other people are into or what they choose to believe as long as they’re not hurting anyone else. There’s no evidence on the Bigfoot topic that we know of at the moment, but there are tons of scientific discoveries that happen. They didn’t know about Lyme disease until 1982.
  Should beliefs be separated from state and science decisions - absolutely.
  The paranormal is interesting to think about and discuss. There are grifters but there are grifters everywhere, no matter what topic you’re interested in. These guys took it too far but hey that’s humanity for ya - people also die from autoerotic asphyxiation, bungee jumping, and free solo climbing, none of which I’m interested in pursuing for myself.
  
  It’s kind of mean to shit on what other people are into or what they choose to believe as long as they’re not hurting anyone else.
  The people who push books and TV shows and stuff to convince others that Bigfoot exists are absolutely hurting others. This is literally the evidence of that. Unlike the total lack of evidence for Bigfoot. That didn't stop Animal Planet from running a show called "Finding Bigfoot" for nine seasons.
  I have no idea why you think they aren't hurting anyone. Do you think these guys wouldn't have died if all that media wasn't made available to them (for a profit)?
  
  I think we can go down a really deep hole of all of the dumb shit that people die from because they believed something false that was sold for a profit. Apart from what we as a society have agreed upon as the most abhorrent opinions/beliefs and have legislatively banned, I’m really not comfortable with branding media or books as dangerous (see all the book banning nonsense going on in the US).
  No matter what way you slice it - it’s their choice isn’t it. Adults are allowed to do what they want, even if it’s fringe, and people can’t stop them.
  People are allowed to express and sell points of view that I disagree with as long as they’re not inciting violence or directly causing harm to people. People are allowed to listen. I am only responsible for myself and my choices.
  And just because these people made poor choices, it doesn’t mean that everyone into the topic would do the same. I think it’s less that they believed in Bigfoot and more that they were unprepared for the wilderness.
  No one told them to go into the woods in the dead of winter. They weren’t on a paid wilderness tour. They chose this for themselves and got into trouble. It’s unfortunate that it happened at Christmas.
  
  I have no idea why you think I'm talking about the people who died here. I've tried to make it as clear as I could that I am talking about the people enabling them.
  
  What I’m saying is: adults are responsible for what they believe.
  No one can enable an adult to do anything. They are adults who make choices.
  Who is anyone to tell people that they can’t publish a book or make a piece of media (as long as the topic is not illegal). That’s some authoritarian shit right there.
  
  So then we should not criminally try people for scams and fraud? Bernie Madoff was innocent?
  Also, who said anything about stopping anyone from publishing anything? Please do quote me.
  
  “The people who push books and TV shows and stuff to convince others…” would be the quote.
  I think there’s a difference in liability sure. Financial pyramid schemes are where people choose to invest their money but then that money is misappropriated. The scammer takes money for a service and doesn’t do what they said they will do with it.
  If I choose to bet my life’s savings on GME and purchase the shares then yeah that’s my own fault (as long as insider trading / pump and dump on the other side has not occurred). No matter what people “pushed” me to believe (as long as this doesn’t cause violence or harm to others), the responsibility on following through with those beliefs is mine.
  Just like I said if someone is leading a paid Bigfoot wilderness excursion into the woods then yes I think there could be an argument for their liability if people die on their tour. Just as there’s liability if people die skydiving or bungee jumping.
  If someone tells me Bigfoot is out in the woods on Christmas Eve and as an adult I choose to believe them that is my choice, not theirs.
  I’m just saying we have to be careful calling ideologies dangerous or saying that people are being “pushed” toward things - lots of people argue that LGBT and trans ideology is dangerous. I think they’re ridiculous bigots for saying that but we have freedom of expression in most western countries. If I want to be able to freely express my opinion, other people have to be able to freely express theirs.
  
  “The people who push books and TV shows and stuff to convince others…” would be the quote.
  Where in that quote did I say they should be stopped? I don't see it, because I didn't say it. I didn't even read the rest of your post if you're going to just lie like that. I said no such thing.

49 comments