...they seem more to abduct people that are desperate for seeming special in their otherwise average everyday lives.
As long as we're painting with very large brushes, I'll add a swath. I think longing for the extraordinary is indeed a significant motivator. In the wake of every UFO incident surface schools of claimants, many with demonstrably improbable stories, all of whom seem to seek their 15 minutes of fame. In another thread last month we discussed the Roswell also-rans: the people who seem to have glommed onto the myth at a late stage and progressively escalate their alleged involvement until they become salient.
Penn and Teller did an excellent job of flushing out the attention-seeking component of the paranormal in their Bigfoot episode. After staging some hoaxed Bigfoot video, they posted it to the web along with anonymous contact information. One of the most revealing messages they received was from someone acting in the role of a promotor who dangled offers of paid appearances and licensing deals for their materials, promising that he would be the one to deliver the sweetest offer.
Many of the rank and file true believers seem completely oblivious to the industry of the paranormal. From UFOs to conspiracies to trumped-up tails of the strange, there is a whole sector of commerce involved in dishing up these inventions in order to pander to the gullible. And while the players in this industry present carefully-crafted images of honest conscientious researchers simply looking for the truth (often under extreme persecution from the mainstream), the more accurate picture is far more mercenary.
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