For the most part, I have reserved my opinion of the latest media fiasco of the Georgia boys and Tom Biscardi, the hoax of all hoaxes. When the whole matter became completely apparent that it was a genuine hoax, there was a true blend of disappointment and relief from our public and our own internet community. There was much more to it than the public lie, this possible revelation of a bigfoot body caused a total upheaval in our community. Friends parted, others who had not spoken in years came together, people did not sleep, while others wondered where their research was going now. It has been called the shaking of the grand rug and all the fleas are hitting the ground. People who thought that by mere notoriety were exempt from judgment and they could change their minds from forward to reverse going along with the flow of the community. For the first time, it did not happen that way. Emotions ran so deep and the deception so clean to the bone, that there is little forgiveness for wishy washy opinions and apologies. For once, the monolith of honesty, integrity and plain good judgment prevailed. The sentiments have not weakened even at the pitiful cries at the sinking ships. We are not going to stand for this betrayal that has given all those devoted to this research a public black eye. If anything, it is more resounding, be careful who you associate with, trust your instincts and keep true to the calling.

    Yes, there were many instances of poor judgment. I myself received numerous distracting and disturbing phone calls from people who told me that they had it from a reliable source that the dead body was real. To compound matters, there were offers of money, fame and fortune, be a part of an elite team. I received a total of five phone calls leading to this all in the utmost secrecy. My friends absolutely believed their sources, again poor judgment, and when it was all revealed, there was not the first phone call admitting their lapse in judgment and at least an apology for spreading false information. The blame went straight to the initial perpetrators that were on the public gallows. Yes, I was on the fence simply because I was in emotional turmoil over these calls. I would not have believed if I went by the pictures only. I even had several trying to convince me that the hoax was an elaborate ruse to conceal the real body unrevealed. Had I not been a part of this hidden agenda, there would not have been a fence issue and I would have stuck solely to the evidence. Honestly, I did not care about the elite research team or the money, I just wanted to know if it was real. I, like everyone else, wanted the truth.

                                                                       Going Down in the Face of a Lie

   The community is not divided on this issue. There are but a small minority that have taken the side of all those associated to the fraud. Guilty by association has always and will always be the creed. We all live by that standard, it matters not who we are. Where the level of credibility is so crucial in this field, we all have made tough decisions and used our best judgment. We have tried to stay focused on learning what we could about Bigfoot, and diverting ourselves away from the fame game.  When a researcher forgets what he or she is out there for, forgets the initial passion and gets taken away by the promise of notoriety  and money, then all good judgment is lost as well. Before you realize it, you have sold your reputation, your credibility and your integrity down the river. Saying you are sorry and made a mistake is not enough. If the shoe was on my foot or someone else's, I can guarantee, it would be curtains, game over. Pleading bad judgment is even worse. The best out there must have good judgment otherwise there is a total lack of credibility. Personally, I would not want to be in the field with anyone that did not have good judgment. Not only would they be useless but they could by their character flaw put you and your associates in danger.  Their lack of good judgment could put you in association with a perpetrated hoax or similar destruction of your reputation. You can make mistakes outside this community but with the stakes so high, it will never be acceptable to be part of such a disastrous mistake and continue to go on as if it will be alright. It will never be forgotten, EVER. From this day forward, you will be marked as unreliable and incredulous. We are, every single one of us, bound by honesty and integrity. In a world where we fight for credibility, we resent the public ridicule that has been forced upon us. No, we don't feel sorry for those who used poor judgment. Do we forgive, we must do that but we don't have to support their foolishness. To do so would damage our own reputations.  Poor judgment is the worst excuse there is in this field where lives, reputations and personal associations are concerned.

                                                                     Where do We go from Here?

   The Bigfoot community has come to an impasse. I know of several that were enlightened by this experience, realizing that they themselves had become lost and are now resuming their initial passion, research. Others are re-evaluating, deciding that the public and the big foot community wants the truth now more than ever. Researchers are dusting off their equipment and once again responding to the call of the wild after months and even years at the computer. Many realized that if a real body had been found, that their love of searching would have compromised by new laws. It may well have been that it would eventually be against the law to research without consent of the government or scientific deities. Maybe we realized, that bigfoot would not always be there any time we felt like looking for him. It's a relief, there is no body and everything is the same as it was, but is it. This experience has affected all of us and catapulted us all into a new era, the Post Hoax era. We will see more significant findings than have ever been revealed before in the next years. Those who stayed relentlessly on the path of truth and discovery will finally have their time of recognition. Because the burn of the hoax was so bad, no one  that is marked will be taken seriously and they will eventually disappear. A different research community is rising from the ashes of this latest disaster. Once there was a tremendous pull to be recognized and it became so consuming that many of us gave little thought to what we used to do or what actually brought us to this place. Now we are all reflecting back to our origins and finding that discovering spirit that had been lost in the media struggle. We are facing a new world with genuine leaders. These people will be believable, honest and focused on the truth. Imperfection of character will not be tolerated. We have had enough. We will make even better decisions and put distance from those who might bring us down. We will believe in ourselves because we know we are doing it right, ignoring the chant of discontent. For the first time in our history, we will begin to band together, based on earned respect and hard work. We were once pitted against one another but this tragedy has changed us all. Credibility, Integrity and Honesty  are the way of our new horizon.