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Padraic
- Thread starter Snow
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tellthetruthplease
New Member
Padraic
The very thought of you all believing this guy is insane. It's incredibly false and anyone can research a certain time period with today's technology and information. It is always fun to dream, but make sure it doesn't turn into a lie. God is watching every man at all times. That is all.
HackimerRob
Member
Padraic
Welcome telly - please understand you are not dealing with a bunch of fools and you are reacting to a situation you are obviously not familiar with nor accustomed to. This forum is about entertaining the possibilities. Also please be ware that although it may seem in certain posts that there are individuals that may be blindly following (and I'm going to give up one of our secrets) it is a ruse to bring comfort to the hoaxer. We entertain the possibility of truth in a comfortable and relaxed environment so that in the event there were an actual traveller that wanted to post or needed help we hope they might feel comfortable enough to join us here. While we enjoy healthy skepticism, many of our members will also entertain a well designed hoax for the sheer creative entertainment. IMHO, your criticism is not welcome because you haven't RTFT.
Welcome aboard however, and take note - be nice and consider what you post here if you intend to continue to do so. This ain't your big brother's forum.Padraic
My thanks to the Jester for his kind words, and to Grayson for his most eloquent post I had the pleasure of reading. I do agree with you all about the spirit of the forum and I am starting to see the enthusiasm with the idea that mankind will someday develop (if he has not already) the ability to deliberately travel through time. I use the word "deliberately" to differentiate between such travelers and people like me who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. (or the right place at the right time, depending on how you choose to look at it)
My impression is this. There are some here who choose to believe me and some, like our new friend here, who obviously do not. There also appear to be some who, while choosing not to believe me, are treating me with a respectful cordiality that is most admirable. That speaks of a certain strength of character among you all.
To our new friend, may I say this. Yes, God is watching us all. I have believed that all my life and as you will no doubt gather from reading some other places on this forum, there are many here who either do not believe that or who have notions of God that vary drastically from my own. I do not know what your notion of God is, but I will tell you that I am a Christian, and a rather conservative one at that. Whether you choose to believe my tale or not is no concern of mine, but might I also remind you that our Lord Himself taught often through parables that, although not being true stories in terms of having happened, still contained timeless truth that we can still hold to today. I am not through my example saying that my story is a mere parable that I dreamed up from my own imagination and a wee bit of historical research, but I am saying that if you have something of an open mind and a desire to read a little farther beyond the mere facts of my story, you will find some truth there as well. What you choose to do with what you see there is up to you. I believe that is how some here have chosen to read my story, and if they choose to treat me with a polite skepticism, that is fine with me. I can only ask for a pleasant reception. To ask for everyone to believe me would be too much to ask, given the extremely unbelievable nature of my story. That is all for now.
Good night everyone,
Padraic
Padraic
This made me remember a book that was semi-similar to what Padraic may or may not be experiencing, depending on what side of the fence you're on.
I believe the name of the book was "The Comedy of J.O.B" or something like that. The story is sort of hard to explain, but essentially God moves the main character through several alternate universes in order to teach him....Something.
He travels through this alternate realities not understanding why or how it's happening, just that it IS happening.... The book in it's entirety has little to do with Padraic's situation, but certain aspects of the book seem very similar.
Here's a link to the book on Amazon:Padraic
Words from the official jester while wearing a jester hat, and fresh from the killing of a duck in NYC. Damn right "we're" not a bunch of fools. Got to love the Hack.
tellthetruthplease, be careful about coming on too strong and insulting everybody here, podnah. No, not everyone here believes the story of Mr. "I woke up in 1994 from 1807". Just because he is being shown some respect or cordiality doesn't mean he's got anyone, much less all of us, kneeling and worshiping at the alter of his story. Your points are noted. Just don't go looking for a fight around here unless you're into a major ass whupin'. God watches those too - probably with some amusement for those that went looking for one. We cool bucko? Let's hope so.
CaryPadraic
Perhaps I should pose a question to the group here. If you were in my shoes, (Those who are want to indulge in skepticism may want to set it aside for the sake of the example here. You can pick it up again when we're done.) what would you do? Would you tell the story to anyone at all, or would you keep quiet because nobody is likely to believe you anyway? I'm curious how many of you would have told the story to anyone and how many would have kept it to yourselves. It was a decision I struggled with for quite some time and one I still question at times, especially on the other board when I would have private messages from several people at once and I would feel duty bound to answer each one as thoroughly as possible. What would you have done?
PadraicPadraic
1) Get ready for the barrage of questions by carefully going over my facts. Possibly even writing them down.
2) Have proof of everything I claimed. Regardless of what many tt'ers say, there is proof to support every tale. Have photocopies and scans of proof readily available.
3) In my first post I'd drop all the proof in the lap of the forum. I'd upload all images, scans and copies first with my post.
4) Set guidelines. If I don't recall certain aspects, tell that in advance. If I can't tell certain aspects, tell that in advance. If I don't know certain aspects, tell that it in advance.
5) Be prepared for skepticism. One claiming to be something preternatural should expect a strong resistance from the general public or in the case of the forum, a defined group of individuals.
6) Regardless of the anticipated reaction to the answer, always answer truthfully. Many times supposed time travelers elaborate and embellish too much, this is what subjects them to "back pedaling".
7) Stay on the "friendly" not on the defensive NOR the offensive. Do not insult the group of natives by insulting their way of life nor their persons. Once you open the door for this type of conversation, expect it to reciprocate back to you from them.
8) Offer up analysis of your person to the full extent. Secrecy only adds skepticism. Be open for examination on both the personal level and the "story" level. Frequently contacting people via either face to face or telephone conversations adds to your credibility as it shows you are more of a real person and not a contrived character.
9) Talk in chat or IRC. This adds credibility due to the ad hoc nature of question and answer sessions. Your delay in answering a question, is an answer in itself.
10) Consider your critics to be your friends and not someone on the "other side of the fence". It is easy to follow what anyone says, it is the critics that need the proof. Once you have, for the most part, sufficed their appetites for proof, you will have proved your case completely.
11) Don't dodge questions. Never answer a question with a question. This only admits to the guilt of a not-so-well laid out storyline by a hoaxer. If you find a question offensive or unanswerable, simply answer in a polite tone of not knowing, etc. However, too many "not knowings" will get you not-believed quickly.
12) Post often and as frequently as possible. The pattern of your posts tells alot about who you are and add a bit of insight to the readers. If you are prompt to answer questions, people will respect you more than say if you have to "take a day" to answer a few simple questions. This also takes away from credibility as it can be a sign of rearranging the storyline.
13) Never shun a question. Simply ignoring a question answers the question in itself. Answer all questions and, if you are afraid that you may have overlooked a question or two, ask if you have. Do not pick and choose the questions you will answer.
The above 13 guidelines is what I would follow if something extraordinary happened to me and I wanted to post about it.Padraic
That is a most thorough and much appreciated answer. Perhaps I should have worded my question a bit better to start with. What I was asking was not really how you would post but whether or not you would even bother to in the first place. If you had such an experience, would you subject yourself to the scrutiny? I can see that there is some measure of proof for any story, but it still comes down to a certain measure of faith as well. We believe that some ancient fellows existed based on the evidence of writings from that period or a period shortly after, while we have no way of knowing empirically if those writings are true accounts or works of fiction that were not identified as such. We evaluate the documents, see if they agree after a fashion with other evidence from archaelogy, and then we pass a judgment whether or not we believe the account. There is a certain element of faith present there, with the amount of faith required proportional to the amount and quality of the evidence present. There are characters in the Bible who for years were not believed to be mentioned anywhere else in the historical record, and whose existence was doubted somewhat, who were later "discovered" in other sources, thus lending more evidence to the account and decreasing the amount of faith required by the reader to believe said person actually walked the earth in some bygone day. Some of the more "miraculous" accounts require more faith on the part of the reader for their not being documented elsewhere outside of scripture.
I venture to say that a similar test applies to your alleged tt. Someone coming intentionally from a future time would have an easier time proving his story, since he could arrive armed with some precise predictions, some items that do not exist yet in our time, and other sorts of evidences that would be difficult to disprove. Someone from the past, on the other hand, has a more daunting task ahead of him. People will and have brought up the objection that anyone could look up information about a past time and weave a convincing tale. Any items the person brings with him can be tendered as physical proof, but they will not have an appearance of having aged greatly, thus the skeptic can offer the claim that said item could have been recently manufactured. I had only the clothes on my back, but those same clothing items are still being made by folks who provide clothing to re-enactor groups and the like. Someone could easily claim that I could have bought those items from one of those groups. If the story is completely accurate historically, people will claim those details could have been looked up, while if it differs they will claim the story is false because some details were wrong. Then again, the multiple timeline people will only claim that minor discrepancies in details only offer more proof for their theory. I have modern dental records that show an incredible amount of tooth decay that had to be repaired after I arrived here. I had fillings put in over half my teeth and had to have one tooth extracted. I am still being treated for gum disease from large buildup of plaque under the gums, causing some separation of the gum from the tooth. (I waited a while before seeing a dentist.) I do not know how much proof that would constitute, because no doubt some modern people have neglected their dental care to the same degree and have similar problems.
I guess what I am saying is that after the story is told and the "evidence" offered, it comes down to faith and a decision on the part of the readers of the story to choose whether or not to believe it and how to treat the teller of the story. As I have stated many times already, I have been treated as well by those who do not believe me as I have by those who do believe me. That in itself speaks highly of you all here. I have endeavored to be polite here in the belief that I will be treated with the same respect I offer others, and so far that has proven true. I waited years to tell my story, out of a fear of the way I would be treated, but my experience here has not been unpleasant. I thank you all for that.
Respectfully,
Padraic
