MUFON — love them or hate them, you’ve gotta admit they’re the 900-lb. gorillas of the American UFO scene. And since working on UFO-related projects is so stigmatized by the mainstream media, we’re even MORE shocked that Forbes magazine, mostly known for its news about CEO lifestyles and business deals, sat down with MUFON’s executive director, Jan Harzan
(part 1, part 2). I’m assuming the interview happened because of the popularity of the History Channel’s Hangar 1 show, all about MUFON and its work.
Jan Harzan mentions his picks for the two most compelling UFO cases: the Travis Walton affair of 1975, and Rendlesham Forest. He vouches for Roswell’s authenticity as a bona fide UFO crash site. Disappointingly, he offers the boring standard explanation for the lack of disclosure:
they believe, rightly or wrongly, that Earth’s population is not ready for such a revelation. Other thoughts are that the knowledge would create widespread panic, cripple the stock market and end religion as we know it. Another possible reason is that the technology these beings have is so far advanced – whether it be faster-than-light travel, time travel or other far-advanced technology – that it poses a national security threat to America, especially if these capabilities were to fall into enemy hands.
Unlike virtually every journalistic effort that touches on UFOs, this interview doesn’t leave Harzan looking like a wild-eyed lunatic. Shocking, right? Instead he comes across as a grown-up, stable professional who has atypical opinions.
Color me amazed. Maybe Forbes didn’t get the memo that anyone who publicly admits even the possibility of UFOs must be mercilessly mocked?
There are a lot of “Tin Foil Hat Crazies” in the industry that make it easy to dismiss the serious nature of the subject. Our ranks also include scientists, engineers, doctors, pilots and a host of other professionals that wear many kinds of hats.