I'm telling ya, the future of Bigfootery is NOW, and we see it on the Internet today. I predicted that YouTube videos would become the bread and butter of Bigfootery, and we see it now on Cryptomundo.
I tend to agree. As Bigfootery gains public presence, skepticism may become more visible as well. This is only because strong BF belief is insistent on the reality of Bigfoot, and often goes as far as boldly criticizing science, media and the public for not taking it seriously. It appears to be a subculture of belief in something that is unsupportable. Bigfoot is a fantastic creature and belief in its existence is a kind of fantasy that can be acted out in public or in special interest forums.
I'm strongly reminded of "professional wrestling" when I think of Bigfootery. Many people enjoy this and become devoted to the whole fantasy and entertainment package. But virtually nobody truly believes that these "wrestlers" are actually wrestling (in the sense that two people are engaging in a physical battle within the ring). A skeptic of this wrestling would sound rather odd... "I don't believe that those guys are actually wrestling. You are mistaken to cheer them on and establish hero worship amongst them. They are acting."
Bigfootery looks like this to me. Part of the BF fan behavior is to argue against skeptics. That probably happens very little in wrestling because it is so obviously done as entertainment for its fans that the argument never really gets started. The audience participation in Bigfootery is much greater than wrestling and it is virtually open to anyone who wants to join in. Not everyone can be a "pro wrestler" (think Hulk Hogan), but just about anyone who wishes can claim a Bigfoot encounter. The "Bigfoot experts" (think Krantz, Green, Meldrum, etc.) are sort of like the pro wrestlers, but anyone can join-in in their own way. Bigfooters cheer on their experts and each other in a similar way to how wrestling fans cheer on their favorites. There are even characters that they despise for various reasons.
But what about the evidence for Bigfoot as a real creature (tracks, films, etc.)? Well, when I was a kid I remember seeing wrestling magazines that showed streaming blood on the faces of some wrestlers. Some faces were literally covered with blood. That would seem to be evidence of men beating each other bloody in the ring, right? Now you can watch matches and hear the wrestlers scream in pain as an opponent smashes their face into the mat. That's evidence of a real battle with violence, right?
Here's the official website for
World Wrestling Entertainment. I think they used to be called World Wrestling Federation.
Further evidence that "pro wrestling" is real wrestling?....
King Booker received a strained and sprained neck from the vicious Tombstone at the hands of World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker and while he recovers from that, the decision was made to repair damage to his knee. Dr. Rios said, “surgery was successful to the bone fragment stuck in his knee joint.”