[meteorite-list] BS In The NYT: Black Market Trinkets From Space

[Adam Hupe]

WOW!,

This is very disturbing. I cannot listen to any more of this and say nothing. 
The New York Times has reduced itself, once again, to a lousy rag by 
demonstrating a bias towards bad news instead of the truth.  It is this ratings 
over responsibility attitude that is putting us into a bad light. 

 
What used to be considered a respectful hobby/avocation a few years ago is going 
the way of the Treasure Hunter.  Treasure hunters were considered the lowest 
life form on the planet due to all of the bad press in the 70s and 80s. A few 
got lucky and found valuable items. A few got their 15 minutes worth of fame and 
ruined it for everybody else by bragging, overvaluing objects they found and 
making promises that were never kept.  A few bad apples broke the law and ruined 
it for everybody else who were legally searching at the time. The press reported 
only the bad situations and the next thing you know, half of the searchable 
property was off limits within a single decade. Amateur treasure hunting is 
barely recovering from all this decades later. Most treasure hunters have 
learned to keep quite while others have not learned this valuable lesson.  


Unfortunately, my predication that the avocations of meteorite 
hunting/collecting would go the same way as the treasure hunters a few years ago 
is now approaching reality. It is easy to forget that it used to be considered 
mutually beneficial for all involved to collaborate, the scientist, the dealer 
and the collector alike.  It seems with all of the new interest, the press 
ignores this delicate collaboration and only seems to focus on the bad and 
untrue.  I have always said, you make enough noise good or bad, you will attract 
attention, usually the wrong kind.  It is disturbing that meteorite hunting is 
now considered only treasure hunting when it goes far beyond this.  A few are 
ruining a perfectly respectably avocation by focusing only on the treasure 
hunting and money aspect of it.   


Labs are closing down to the public, voluntary associations are tied up with 
meteor wrongs, public land is being withdrawn from searching and idiots are 
coming out of the woodwork to get a bite at the golden meteorite apple that was 
promised on TV.  These idiots think meteorites are lying around like Easter Eggs 
and that breaking the law to get them might be alright too.  Some of these 
idiots have pronounced themselves meteoriticists and are garnering as much press 
as possible spewing forth B.S. They are making legitimate hunters, collectors 
and dealers all look bad.   


Sorry, needed to release some steam.  I just hate to see a few ruin it for the 
many.  




Adam