What Does the Jonathan Reed Case Teach Us?

© 2002 Craig R. Lang MS CHt.

 

The readers of the Minnesota MUFON Journal are probably well aware of the strange controversy raging in the UFO community in recent times.  It is the story of Dr. Jonathan Reed – a psychologist in the Pacific Northwest, who alleges that he had a close encounter with an ET.  Far from an ordinary CE4 case, this event began when the alien killed is dog, and subsequently Reed, in turn, killed the alien.  He took the dead alien home and preserved it in his freezer.  The story continues on with the account of how he was subsequently harassed by dark forces within the government, to the point where his career was wrecked and his very life threatened.  In the end, all evidence in the case, was confiscated by these dark forces, and the body of the alien itself, also apparently disappeared.

 

In the end, the Reed story is a story of fear, anger and darkness.  But even more than that, it is a story that has sharply divided the UFO community into camps of believers and disbelievers.  As such   it is with a great deal of wincing and trepidation that I have observed Minnesota MUFON wallowing in the Reed controversy.

 

As I originally learned of this entertaining and spectacular story, I was both skeptical, and annoyed.  I at first wondered “who do they take us for?”  “Who could possibly believe a story such as this?”  However, after listening to an excellent presentation by Bob Schultz of Minnesota MUFON, I decided that, no matter how improbable it sounded, it was necessary to keep an open mind.  Bob’s presentation was both unsettling and convincing.  It grabs your attention, and makes you question the very foundations of the political system we call our own.  In Bob’s presentation and in the tape of the Reed talk which Bob played at the last CSETI meeting, I found myself learning a lot - about the idea of the Shadow Government, about the anomaly community, and about truth claims in general. 

 

Is the story true or false?  I certainly don’t know.  But either way, the ramifications of this case reach deeply into the UFO community.  So let’s imagine what the implications are for either case – true or hoax. 

 

If the story is true, what does it say about the nation in which we live?  In short, if the Reed case is true, then is a powerfully damning commentary on our society.  It shows that we live in a nation in which the bill of rights has become a mere facade.  It also demonstrates that the pursuit of the deepest truths behind the ET/UFO/Anomaly phenomenon is, in fact, a harshly forbidden endeavor.  It tells us that, while we can dig all we want, we are strictly forbidden to actually hit pay dirt.  The truth would appear to be limited to only those chosen few who are within the circle of those who seem to run the western world – apparently from behind the scenes. 

The message is chilling.  And it can do nothing less than instill a sense of outrage in any who hear it.  To make matters worse, past abuses, often occurring within our nation’s government – often covered up in the name of national security - tend to make Dr. Reed’s account seem plausible.  Yet at the same time, one must view the account with a healthy discernment.  While terrible if true, we really do not know that it is.  So “Reed” on…

 

What if the Reed case is indeed a hoax, and a truly spectacular one, at that?  What are the implications of this tale, and of the effects it has had on the UFO community.  For me, there are several reasons why this is just as chilling as if the story had been true.  The first is the magnitude of such a hoax.  There would have to be multiple people involved in the plot, and the more people involved, the greater the chance of the beans being spilled.  There are several aspects of the “hoax” that would require a great deal of money to carry out, such as the very complex phone system that Dr. Reed apparently uses to escape tracking.  These would suggest that Dr. Reed has access to significant monetary resources, perhaps apparently from some wealthy but hidden financial source.

 

The second chilling aspect of this case is the sheer darkness of the tale – and if it is indeed made up, what this says about someone’s imagination.  It is a sinister account, worthy of Chris Carter (author of the X-Files).  It appears designed to instill outrage, fear, and sympathy.  It has a deeply emotional appeal which digs deep beneath our critical veneer, to the emotional core within each of us.

 

Above all, this case seems designed to divide the UFO community.  The final chilling aspect is the willingness of one faction within the anomaly community to believe the story, while another faction equally strongly condemns it.  This suggests that it may be succeeding.  True or false, it has split anomaly researchers like no case so far. 

 

Yet perhaps, out of falsehood truth can emerge.  In the spring of 1997, during the controversy surrounding the Phoenix lights sighting, a comment was made on the Art Bell show to the effect as we get closer to the truth, the more, and bigger the hoaxes will appear.  If the Reed case is a hoax, then we may be seeing just such an indicator.  Perhaps, then, the anomaly community is really getting close to the truth.  Perhaps the Reed case is a last ditch effort by those behind “The Coverup” to lead researchers astray.

 

Whether true or false, the Reed case is difficult to ignore.  The issues it portrays are those to which most of us in the UFO community are sensitive, and it punches these buttons with precision.  At once mysterious and suspenseful; emotional and analytical, it has something for everyone who hears it.  But at the core, its message appears to be an emotional one.  It captures a deep, primal sense of menace – of an impending evil.  And it strikes a chord in skeptic and believer alike. 

 

Whether true or false, as a story it couldn’t have been designed better.  It is a powerful agent of fear and division – seemingly designed precisely to split the UFO community.  And alas, from what I have observed, it seems to be working.