Agreed. I have always felt that if nice aliens turned up, after a short period knowing us, they'd likely say, 'Zod, crank up the hyperdrive engines. If we haul ass we can take coffee and cake at Alpha Centauri by lunchtime. If we hang around here they might nail us to a cross. .... See ya Earthlings. Wierdos! " Seriously.

Yes, I don't like conflating alien existence with gods, like some here do. No one has ever come up with a verifiable way to prove any god and I'm sure never will. The UFO issue is about unexplained physical phenomena , and should be evaluated as such, objectively. There seem to be a lot of reasons to suspect authorities have information and know more about this subject. If the explanations are terrestrial, then let's see what they have. Those who jump on those of us asking such questions and say it's just like asking about dragons and fairies and gods really piss me off.

Well, we don't actually know what the authorities know, do we? Did you read the interview with Obama a day or so ago? Talk about evasive. No one should jump to any conclusions, but something sure is fishy about this subject, and the smell is starting to become very noticeable.

My own prediction, purely speculative, is that aliens are out there, and they have run us through their analysis and decided to watch us to see how we destroy ourselves, wisely keeping away from the terminal species we are, and then write us up in a cosmic journal under a title like, 'The little pathetic human species that couldn't." No good trying to help us. People would turn against them, even if they had good intentions. It's almost impossible to help utterly self-destructive people, and species. Just my speculation, based on inferential but not deductive reasoning.

It is interesting how UFO believers use exactly the same language and "reasoning" as those who claim Jesus is about to return. Just swap <aliens> for <Jesus> and their prophetic beliefs are interchangeable.

BUT is it actually just a mere Diatribe?

@Druvius Imo, no really since have been numerous cases of Inexplicable Atmospheric/Airborne Phenomena recorded since the very earliest of times.
And as was once written, "There are more things betwixt the Heavens and the Earth than the mere minds of man can ever hope to fully comprehend."

@Triphid The same argument can be used to suggest angels and ghosts are real. Argument from ignorance.

@Druvius I beg to differ since there IS no actual verifiable Proof/Evidence what-so-ever available to show that such Paranormal things have ever existed.
But there is Scientific Evidence based upon the differentiation in the light emitted from solar bodies by the transit ( passage/s) of orbiting planets that show that there may well be and more than possibly ARE other worlds out there more than capable of supporting life, perhaps NOT LIFE as we refer to it here on Earth but LIFE none-the-less.
And given that, using our so far LIMITED comprehension of Time, etc, etc, and we 'claim' that the Universe is, in our greatly limited understanding, merely X number of Billions of Years old, who is to say with 100% conviction that we are COMPLETELY correct?
Who can state, also with 100% conviction that Life evolved and developed elsewhere in the Universe long, long before it happened to evolve here on this tiny chunk of rock and dust we call Earth?
Are you so well stuck in your own personal rut of ignorance that you simply REFUSE to see and consider the alternatives?

@Triphid I am not claiming that technological life such as ours does not exist in the Universe. Since we are here, it's clearly possible. I'm just pointing out that no evidence for same has yet been discovered. SETI has explored a number of promising avenues and come up with nothing. There are no compelling UFO reports that indicate otherwise, and thus no reason to categorize belief that UFOs are evidence o aliens is any different than all other belief in the existence of magical creatures. I hope we discover aliens in my lifetime, hasn't happened yet. Go SETI!

@Triphid SETI does far more than just listen for radio signals. And still coming up nada. They are still some very promising avenues left to explore, and yes, one can't prove a negative. At this point though, aliens are still conjectural.

@Druvius Perhaps other Extra-terrestrial Civilisations have evolved much, much further along the way than we have.
I.e. They need no primitive communication systems such as we are still dependent upon, have you ever stopped to consider that possibility?
After all is said and done, DO NOT we Humans judge everything else around us by our OWN vain Standards?

@Triphid I'm not quite sure what your point is, yes "The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we can imagine." I don't deny aliens are possible. There just isn't any evidence for them yet. Until there is they remain imaginary creatures.

@Druvius On that being your take then please explain how ancient cultures long before the advent of so-called civilisation as we know ALL seem to share the same/similar mythological stories involving sightings, etc, of 'beings' coming from the Night Skies.
Examples coming readily to mind here are,
Australian Aboriginals, - the Wandjina,
Aztecs, Mayans, Incas, - Sky Beings arriving and giving them knowledge, and lets us NOT forget the 'founding' tales of Judaism, Christianity and even Islam WHERE there are numerous stories of the arrivals of Fiery Chariots from the skies, etc, etc.