row. Often I go weeks or months without finding or hearing anything. I see the occasional deer or rabbit. But mostly I see and hear the forest.

When a witness reports to me that she has had multiple sightings, I listen. I would be a hypocrite if I believed my own

Few researchers take witnesses seriously if they claim more than one incidental encounter. Herein lies the double standard.

Bigfoot researchers often claim repeated encounters.

I would venture a guess that about 90% of Bigfoot researchers don't live in their "research areas." They live elsewhere and go on expeditions to state parks or other areas where sightings have occurred in the past. They haul a bunch of gear into the woods, huddle in their tents, and wait for Bigfoot. Then, voila! Bigfoot appears.

Every time the researchers go out, they have some kind of Bigfoot-related experience. They find footprints, hear eerie vocalizations and/or tree thumping, or discern the sound of something "large and bipedal" tramping around their campsite. Yet if a nonresearcher claimed to have such experiences on a regular basis, the researchers would laugh.

I live in my research area, a remote area surrounded by thousands of acres of forest. I walk through the forest every day. Sometimes I'll find evidence of Bigfoots several days in a row. Often I go weeks or months without finding or hearing anything. I see the occasional deer or rabbit. But mostly I see and hear the forest.

When a witness reports to me that she has had multiple sightings, I listen. I would be a hypocrite if I believed my own

"research areas." They live elsewhere and go on expeditions to state parks or other areas where sightings have occurred in the past. They haul a bunch of gear into the woods, huddle in their tents, and wait for Bigfoot. Then, voila! Bigfoot appears.

Every time the researchers go out, they have some kind of Bigfoot-related experience. They find footprints, hear eerie vocalizations and/or tree thumping, or discern the sound of something "large and bipedal" tramping around their campsite. Yet if a nonresearcher claimed to have such experiences on a regular basis, the researchers would laugh.

I live in my research area, a remote area surrounded by thousands of acres of forest. I walk through the forest every day. Sometimes I'll find evidence of Bigfoots several days in a row. Often I go weeks or months without finding or hearing anything. I see the occasional deer or rabbit. But mostly I see and hear the forest.

When a witness reports to me that she has had multiple sightings, I listen. I would be a hypocrite if I believed my own

ry time the researchers go out, they have some kind of Bigfoot-related experience. They find footprints, hear eerie vocalizations and/or tree thumping, or discern the sound of something "large and bipedal" tramping around their campsite. Yet if a nonresearcher claimed to have such experiences on a regular basis, the researchers would laugh.

I live in my research area, a remote area surrounded by thousands of acres of forest. I walk through the forest every day. Sometimes I'll find evidence of Bigfoots several days in a row. Often I go weeks or months without finding or hearing anything. I see the occasional deer or rabbit. But mostly I see and hear the forest.

When a witness reports to me that she has had multiple sightings, I listen. I would be a hypocrite if I believed my own

claimed to have such experiences on a regular basis, the researchers would laugh.

I live in my research area, a remote area surrounded by thousands of acres of forest. I walk through the forest every day. Sometimes I'll find evidence of Bigfoots several days in a row. Often I go weeks or months without finding or hearing anything. I see the occasional deer or rabbit. But mostly I see and hear the forest.

When a witness reports to me that she has had multiple sightings, I listen. I would be a hypocrite if I believed my own

row. Often I go weeks or months without finding or hearing anything. I see the occasional deer or rabbit. But mostly I see and hear the forest.

When a witness reports to me that she has had multiple sightings, I listen. I would be a hypocrite if I believed my own experiences yet discounted those of a stranger. I talk to the witnesses, get a feel for their personalities, and decide whether or not I believe them. That's research. So why do other researchers apply a double standard?

I can think of several reasons—jealousy, fear, arrogance. Witnesses are not stupid. They can tell when a researcher has applied a double standard. They hear the unspoken assessment: My experiences are real because I'm a researcher; yours are bogus because you're a country bumpkin (or a hysterical woman, or a flaky hippie, or whatever).

Bigfoot researchers need to remember the Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In other words, treat the witnesses' experiences the way you treat your own.

©2007 Lisa A. Shiel