Reptilians

For other reptilian humanoids, see List of reptilian humanoids. For other uses, see reptilian. "Chitauri" redirects here; for the aliens in The Ultimates, see Skrull. For the star, see Chi Tauri

Artist's depiction of a reptilian

Reptilians (also called reptoids,^[1] reptiloids, or draconians) are purported reptilian humanoids that play a prominent role in modern ufology and conspiracy theories.^[2][3][4]

Alien abduction

Alien abduction narratives sometimes allege contact with reptilian creatures.^[5] One of the earliest reports was that of Ashland, Nebraska police officer Herbert Schirmer, who claims to have been taken aboard a UFO in 1967 by humanoid beings with a slightly reptilian appearance, who bore a "winged serpent" emblem on the left side of their chests. ^[6]

David Icke

According to British writer David Icke, 5 to 12-foot (1.5 - 3.7 m) tall, blood-drinking, shape-shifting reptilian humanoids from the Alpha Draconis star system, now hiding in underground bases, are the force behind a worldwide conspiracy directed at humanity.^[7] He contends that most of the world's leaders are related to these reptilians.^[8] Icke's conspiracy theories now have supporters in 47 countries and he frequently gives lectures to crowds of 2,500 or more.^[9] American writer Vicki Santillano ranked the notion that "Reptilian humanoids control all of us" as the 10th most popular conspiracy theory.^[10]

Politics

In the closely fought 2008 U.S. Senate election between comedian and commentator Al Franken and incumbent Senator Norm Coleman, one of the ballots challenged by Coleman included a vote for Franken with "Lizard People" written in the space provided for write-in candidates.^[11] Lucas Davenport who later claimed to have written the gag ballot, said, "I don't know if you've heard the conspiracy theory about the Lizard Men; a friend of mine, we didn't like the candidates, so we were at first going to write in revolution, because we thought that was good and to the point. And then, we thought the Lizard People would be even funnier."^[12]

Evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet was a pejorative used to refer to then Ontario Liberal Party opposition leader Dalton McGuinty in a press release disseminated by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario on September 12, 2003, during the provincial election campaign in Ontario, Canada.

In February of 2011, on the Opie & Anthony radio show, the comedian Louis CK repeatedly asked former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld if he and Dick Cheney were lizard people who enjoyed the taste of human flesh. Rumsfeld did not answer the question. Louis CK comically interpreted Rumsfeld's refusal to answer as an admission. Louis CK further suggested the comical pseudologic that those who are lizard people cannot lie about it - when asked if they are lizards, they have to either not answer the question or say yes. ^[13]

Skeptics

Skeptics who adhere to the psychosocial hypothesis for unidentified flying objects argue the popularity of V, a science fiction television show, which debuted in 1983 and restarted in 2009, about an invading alien race of reptilian humanoids disguised as human beings trying to take over Earth, may have significantly contributed to ufologists and conspiracy theorists adopting beliefs in the existence of reptilians, as well as making the wider public more receptive to embracing them.^[14] Brian Dunning suggests that a 1934 Los Angeles Times article may have been the origin of such beliefs: it reported that a geophysical mining engineer claimed to have discovered subterranean labyrinths beneath Los Angeles to an underground city built by an advanced race of "Lizard People" to escape surface catastrophes some 5,000 years ago.^[15]

See also

• Ancient astronauts
• Bug-eyed monster
• Grey alien
• Insectoid humanoids
• List of alleged UFO-related extraterrestrials
• List of conspiracy theories
• Little green men
• Nordic aliens
• Nāga

References

1. ^ Judith Joyce (2010). "also+known+as"&hl=en&ei=9PMiTY_pIYTJnAf134inDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDEQ6 "The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal Abductions, Apparitions, ESP". Weiser. http://books.google.com/books?id=9aYqjnjDzBQC&pg=PA80&dq=Reptilians+"also+known+as"&hl=en&ei=9PMiTY_pIYTJnAf134inDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDEQ6. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
2. ^ Lewis, Tyson; Richard Kahn (Wntr 2005). "The Reptoid Hypothesis: Utopian and Dystopian Representational Motifs in David Icke's Alien Conspiracy Theory". Utopian Studies 16 (1): 45–75. 
3. ^ Frel, Jan (1 September 2010). Inside the Great Reptilian Conspiracy: From Queen Elizabeth to Barack Obama -- They Live!. http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/147967. Retrieved 2010-09-01. 
4. ^ Kristen Inbody (26). "Fact or fiction? Tribune sets out to debunk 10 rural legends". http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20101226/LIFESTYLE/12260305/Fact-or-fiction-Tribune-sets-out-to-debunk-10-rural-legends. Retrieved 4 January 2011. 
5. ^ The Shadowlands Mysterious Creatures page
6. ^ Police Officer Herbert Schirmer Abduction - Ashland, Nebraska, United States - December 3, 1967 - UFO Evidence
7. ^ Ronson, Jon. Beset by lizards, The Guardian, March 17, 200O1; Offley 2000a; Honigsbaum 1995.
8. ^ David Icke Interview: Aliens among us
9. ^ Lauren Cox (Dec. 12, 2008). "What's Behind Internet Conspiracy Empires?". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=6443988&page=1. Retrieved 2009-03-04. 
10. ^ The Ten Most Popular Conspiracy Theories
11. ^ "Minnesota Senate Recount: Challenged ballots: You be the judge". Minnesota Public Radio. 2008. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2008/11/19_challenged_ballots/. Retrieved 2008-11-22. 
12. ^ "Why would someone vote for the Lizard People?". 2008. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/23/so_why_would_someone_for_the_lizard_people/. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
13. ^ http://gothamist.com/2011/02/25/louis_ck_repeatedly_asks_donald_rum.php
14. ^ Barkun, Michael (2003). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. University of California Press; 1 edition. ISBN 0520238052. 
15. ^ Support Your Local Reptoid (2007-05-21)