An Open Letter to TTSA’s Fans and Critics in the UFO Community
Dear UFO Community,
Sitting down to write this small letter was a long time coming.
I will be honest: Although I have been following To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science since its inception, there was no possible way for me to anticipate the malignant neuroticism present in so many of you who decided to take an interest in the company’s ambitious mission(s). (I did, however, expect at least a few angsty 40 year-old teens to jump at the chance to support one of their favorite punk-rockers for the first time since Enema of the State. But this demographic, as far as I can tell, represents approximately none of you.)
It is this neuroticism and hysteria that has, in part, plagued the company since 2017. I criticized TTSA (and Tom DeLonge) for not providing any new information on their Twitter page in a previous post, but I think I understand why there has been a strong reluctance to publicize anything of substance.
It is because you — a fan and/or critic of To The Stars — cannot resist the insatiable tendency to take even the smallest fragment of information and dig an endless well of speculation around it. I do not need to go into the details of each speculation since you yourselves are the propagators.
Your temptation to extrapolate strange (and oftentimes delusional) realities based on the company’s occasional updates seems without end. I do not mean to generalize here, but your behavior does not bolster the credibility of TTSA’s mission in any instance.
As for those of you in the UFO community who deliberately aim to discredit TTSA for one reason or another, you may be succeeding with the tactics mentioned above, but your own irrational and unsound speculations about the nature of the world is, in many cases, even more laughable. (I would be happy to draw these examples out for you if your own beliefs have managed to slip your mind.)
But all of this speaks to an even larger issue: Most of you suffer from a fatal amount of confirmation bias. It seems there are very few of you capable of drawing reasonable conclusions based on available data. Almost all of you have a good idea about the architecture of reality before analyzing the research and science that’s been done on the subject. (HINT: We do not know much about the nature of reality.) That is not how reason, logic, and/or science works, but, of course, you do not even pretend to operate in those spheres.
In fact, you operate in a way very closely aligned with religious dogma. And to attribute your faulty beliefs onto TTSA is an unfair characterization of the company as a whole. (I do realize that some members of TTSA have thoughts and beliefs that differ from the company’s, but you, again, fail to draw a distinction here.)
But your absurdity does not stop there. It is, for example, understandable that some may not be interested in the Entertainment Division of TTSA. It is not for everyone. (I am familiar with many who are not fans of DeLonge’s artistic endeavors.) But there, nevertheless, needs to be a recognition that the ED represents the bulk of TTSA — at least for the present moment. And granted, perhaps that is a good justification for not supporting their existence.
One thing is for certain: TTSA is not a mechanism for ‘Disclosure’ or ‘revealing top-secret images of little green men’ (or any variation thereof) or ‘acting in a way that violates federal law.’
I have even crossed a couple armchair politicians and armchair oppositionists on Twitter who suggest that members of TTSA violate their NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) in an effort to expose the “truth.” It is easy to suggest that others risk their careers for your ridiculous hunger for conspiracy.
Which brings me to my last point.
You do not hold a mere belief in conspiracy theories. You have a will and a desire — an insistence, even— on believing the conspiracy theories you propagate. And the refusal of others to take you seriously will be perpetuated so long as you continue to let your neuroticism and hysteria seep through the cracks of an otherwise serious discussion about what is really out there in the cosmos.
Some of you are exempt from the criticisms of this letter, but the number seems to be diminishing substantially.
Final Request: Whether you support TTSA or not, at least do it without spiraling into absurdities and non-sequiturs.
Your Sobering Acquaintance,
CJ
