Again, they need to say as much as they can or give allowance for the person to reveal what is necessary, if there is some USAP or similar involved. Whatever USG can reveal or not, they need to have an open and honest communication. Right now they aren't even denying the claims at all. Just silently allowing the accusations to go on, or at times doing something half-assed to try to appease the critics (which makes it worse).
That is an interesting point, what I take away from it may be different from what you intended, though!
I think we need to consider,
doing something half-assed to try to appease the critics (which makes it worse).
I'd ask, "Is there anything that the government could do that would NOT be interpreted by the believers as a half-assed effort to appease the believers?" Other than saying "Yeah, we know all about the UFO aliens (or time travelers, or whatever) and have been hiding it, here is the proof that Big UFO was right all along!" I suspect ANYTHING will be viewed as hiding the good stuff. And they can't come out with that proof unless it exists.
My evidence for that reaction from believers is the history of disclosure over decades which always disclosed "we don't have nor are we aware of evidence," and which is always dismissed as just the government covering up the "good stuff."
Related topic already referenced above -- Would it make the job of debunkers easier if they didn't redact the "black boxed" stuff on the ATFLIR display when they release yet another balloon or bird or distant plane that is too far away to resolve? Sure, but would that convince the true believers, and the Big UFO leadership making a living off of this stuff, and the media outlets and online influencers using it to attract views? I'd say no, and I'll support that by pointing out that Go Fast and Gimbal are still the go-to cases for illutrating articles about UFOs/UAP, in spite of the fact that all the graphics and numbers and such are right there, unredacted, and made debunking claims about these videos easier. (Not easy, some smart folks did a lot of work to tease out information from those numbers and graphics, but easier.)
SO... if having that sort of info makes no difference to the beleivers, I'm not sure what the value is of releasing it. I wouldn't oppose it, to the extent it can be done without risks to national security. But it would not accomplish anything.
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In terms of engaging with Big UFO, from the point of view of the government or military, there are two tactics to dealing with a sealioning* irritant or others who insist not just on answers, but on answers that confirm what they want to believe -- you can engage them, but this puts you into an unending confrontation from which the only escape is to eventually disengage, at which point they say your disengagement proves the sealion was right all along, OR never engage in the first place, and let them say your refusal to engage proves the sealions right! Either way, you wind up in the same place, the latter tactic saves you a lot of time and agravation!
(The Governemnt appears to have chosen a middle path, with some engagement which wastes less time and energy than full engagement... but will still lead to the same place. What the sealions claim in the end is not dependent on what their target does.)
*For any that are new to the term: Sealioning: A tactic where someone harasses others by relentlessly demanding evidence and explanations for their statements, all while maintaining a facade of polite, reasonable debate. The goal is to exhaust the target, derail the conversation, and force them to look unreasonable when they finally refuse to engage. In my view, Big UFO is in many ways a herd of sealions.
