Thursday, June 14, 2007

Editorial: Should we be neutral on Tom Biscardi?

I can already predict I will take some heat for this editorial, but I am willing to take it anyway. I have a neutral stance on Tom Biscardi because I do not know the man, so I cannot say whether or not he is a hoaxer or an alleged hoaxer or a fraud or whatever. Sure, most of the Bigfoot Community has their own opinions on Mr. Biscardi, but some people go against the grain and have a neutral stance on him until they meet him. Some like myself have decided to make up our own minds about Biscardi rather than following along with the rest of the Bigfoot Community. Of course, what happens when a credible researcher associates with Biscardi or goes on his radio show is, most of the Bigfooters jump on the person that decided to associate with Biscardi or say that person is a sell-out. That is utterly ridiculous and absolutely unprofessional. People choose to associate with Biscardi or go on his radio show to get out the message of Bigfoot, not because it's the Tom Biscardi show. Why don't certain individuals in the BF Community let others make up their own minds about somebody before they condemn someone? Am I defending Biscardi? No, although it may seem like I am. He has made his share of mistakes and goofs in his time, but haven't we all? Biscardi's detractors tend to harp on the "Capture story" from two years ago and use that against him, but perhaps they need to re-examine that before they condemn the man. Now, am I trying to tell people to change their hostile stances towards Tom? No, because I cannot make people do anything they don't want to. But, at least back off on publicly bashing the man until you have the absolute facts on him. Bash in private all you want, but bashing someone in public can come back to bite you, so be careful. Now, to close, I will say this-he can come off as a bit of a slick, used-car salesman type to those who don't really know him, and that can be detrimental to Tom, but let's not forget, Roger Patterson was also a used-car salesman type, and look what he did. A lot of people ask "What has Tom Biscardi done for the Bigfoot Community?" Well, I say he has promoted awareness for the studies of these animals and has given people the opportunity to tell their stories of their sightings without fear of ridicule. No matter what one thinks of Tom, at least he gets out there. There is an old saying-"Sweep around your own front door before you sweep around someone else's."

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