So, What’s Up With The Cover-Up: Enforcers Of The Lie

They are watching you, you know that right? They bug your phones and listen to your phone conversations. They read and scrutinize every last word in your e-mails, hell they are probably reading this post even as I sit behind my computer and write it. And when you least expect it a long black car with blazing headlights pulls quietly into your driveway and three strange men dressed in freshly pressed suits as black as night ring your doorbell. These strange characters that seemed to step out of a nightmare are the Men In Black and If you were unfortunate enough to witness a UFO and dared to tell the tale, they have arrived to Shut You Up.

In 1997, director Barry Sonnenfeld, released a very funny and very entertaining movie that would introduce a whole new generation to one of the most enduring and some would say most frightening legends that surrounds the governments attempt to Cover-Up the truth about UFOs. The film, MIB which starred two of my favorite actors, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, tells the tale of two black clad super secret agents whose primary goal was to keep the innocent and unsuspecting citizenry of planet Earth blissfully ignorant of a long term alien presence living and working on our little planet. Although, the movie was funny and took a lighthearted view concerning the MIB it left out the more sinister activities of these enforcers of the lie.

Researchers who have actually made it their purpose to study these shadowy government agents believe that they may have some precedence in history. For centuries folks have reported coming into contact with shadowy figures dressed in black from head to toe. The witnesses who were unfortunate to meet these nightmarish men believed they had made contact with a manifestation of the prince of darkness or one of his evil minions. Historical records, which are subjective at best, tell us that if a good christian should chance a meeting with one of these beings in black the entity would demand that the person reject God and worship them. However, shortly after the dawn of the modern UFO era these black clad beings would take on a whole new mission. Instead of showering good christian souls with riches if they bowed down and worship his infernal majesty, the MIB used the tool of intimidation to shut those up who just so happened to either witness a UFO or come into contact with it’s occupants.

The strange and oftentimes surreal encounters with the Men In Black always seem to have some kind of pattern with their appearance. Usually one of these dudes or three will appear at your doorstep wearing a black suit and tie over a crisp clean white shirt and large black sunglasses that hide their probing eyes. Usually, but not always, the strangers would claim to be a member of some government orginization investigating a claim of a visitation by a UFO. After they gain access to your home using friendly and sugary words the real intentions of their visit come to the forefront and the real strangeness begins.

Many who have claimed to have been visited by the MIB report the strange behavior of these otherwise seemingly normal men and in a few cases women. When the agent is offered something to drink they inspect the glass and whatever beverage is in it as if they had never seen a glass or water. If you had a dog or a cat the MIB would immediately ask you to put the animal away because they are afraid of the animal who appears to be more afraid of the agent.

Perhaps the oddest thing about the MIB is their odd and sometimes strange personal appearance. The skin of an MIB has been described as being pale and waxy with virtually no lines on their face. In some rare cases the witness states that the MIB have removed their sunglasses after asking the witness to either close the shades or dim the lights. Their eyes have been reported to be large with black pupils and have an almost hypnotizing effect that seemed to keep a person transfixed.

After the initial greeting and niceities the MIB would immediately go about the real business of their visit. The agent would ask a few short questions about the witnesses UFO experience using outdated language that made them sound more like a movie gangster than a professional in the armed services. Shortly after the question and answer session it has been reported that the demeanor of the MIB turns dark as they threaten the witness with jail time or financial ruin and sometimes with bodily harm if they dare tell another soul about what they had seen. After the witness was properly interrogated and intimidated the MIB leaves the frightened person in a large black four door sedan that seemed to appear out of thin air.

You may ask if such a thing could be true. Is it possible that there is a group of men and women running around our country scaring the hell out of the hapless UFO experiencer? The answer appears to be yes. Out of the many reports of meetings with these nightmarish characters two seem to stand out from among the rest and would convince tens of thousands that “They” want to shut you up.

Albert Bender, was a gentleman who became intensly interested in the UFO phenomenon as it began to heat up in the early 1950s. Bender, believed that the craft buzzing about our skies were vehicles piloted by an advanced alien culture and he was the man who could get to the bottom of the mystery. Bender, was credited with starting and operating one of the first civilian UFO investigation orginizations, the International Flying Saucer Bureau and a monthly newsletter that was gaining a respectable readership. In his newsletter, Bender began dropping hints that he had figured it all out and gotten to the bottom of the UFO question and shortly he would make his discovery known to the world. The one thing Mr. Bender, had not counted on was that those involved in the Cover-Up did not want the truth to be known and they would go to any lengths to keep his big yapper shut.

One night as Bender, was working in his office he was overcome by a strange tingling sensation that started in his toes and worked it’s way up to his head. Later to investigators, Bender would remark that it felt as if someone had hit him with a mild electrical charge. After shaking the odd sensation off, Bender looked out his window to see a large black four door Sedan sitting in his driveway. As he sat there wondering who his late night visitor could be a loud knock came to the door startling him.

Not knowing who this could be Bender opened the door to discover a tall, gaunt, pale faced man in a black suit standing on his door step wearing large black sunglasses despite the fact it was late at night. Before Bender could greet this late night visitor the man said, “Mr. Bender, if you value your freedom you will not make your findings on UFOs known to the public.” The MIB moved in closer to Bender’s face and hissed, “If you do, you will incarcerated in a maximum security prison for the rest of your natural born life.” Without saying goodbye the man returned to his vehicle and backed out of the driveway all the while staring Bender down from behind his black sunglasses.

Bender, was terrified by what the mysterious man said he never made his findings known to the public, in fact he stopped printing his newsletter and shut his investigations down completely. The secret he promised to share his readers would never be known even over fifty years after his amazing discovery and late night visit by the mysterious Man In Black.

This particular MIB had done his job, he succeded in shutting Albert Bender up using a tried and true method complete intimidation and fear. If this account of an MIB is thouroughly terrifying our second well known account is not just frightening but down right bizzare.

In 1976, Doctor Herbert Hopkins a respected psychologist and hypnotherapist was acting as an independent consultant dealing with a few cases of alleged alien abduction and it was a dark night when the good doctor would have his visit from a Man In Black. One dark night as everyone else in the house slept Dr. Hopkins sat in his study going over some notes concerning a young man who claimed to have been abducted numerous times by alien visitors. The Doctor was startled when his desk phone let out a long strange eerie ring, a ring it had never sounded before. When Doctor Hopkins answered the phone a strange almost robotic monotone voice on the other end identified himself as the vice president of a New Jersey paranormal research labratory. Before Doctor Hopkins could get a word out the man stated that it was of the utmost importance that he speak with him. The man said that he would be over shortly and the line went dead.

I’m certain that a man of Herbert Hopkins breeding and education thought this individual rude but all that changed when a knock sounded at the door. When Dr. Hopkins opened the door he was greeted by a fast talking man dressed in a frumpled black suit and sunglasses that were almost to big for his face. As the Doctor asked the man how he had arrived so quickly the strange man brushed past him. Doctor Hopkins, was shocked by such rudeness and stood at the door for a moment as he watched his visitor look around the front room acting as if he was lost.

After closing the door Dr. Hopkins turned to face his rude visitor and terror gripped his heart. The Doctor would later describe the man as having a deathly white pallor that gave him the appearance of the living dead. The strange nature of the man would become ever more so evident when he removed his hat and glasses. Doctor Bender felt like fleeing his visitor when he noticed the man was without hair on his head, no eyelashes or eyebrows his pale skin was completely smooth without a hint of blemish. Dr. Hopkins would also later relate to investigators that as they made small talk the man rubbed his ruby red lips and smeared what looked like lipstick exposing ghost white lips.

When the corpse like man noticed his error he explained to the terrified doctor that he was agent with a special branch of the United States Air Force and that it would be in the doctor’s best interest as well as his families that he burn whatever research he was working on dealing with UFO abductees otherwise he would be sent to jail for the rest of his life. Angered by the threat Dr. Hopkins gathered together his courage and demanded that the man produce some credentials or he would call the police. The strange man pointed a black gloved finger in the Doctor’s face and and growled, “You had better heed my warning.” The anger that Doctor Hopkins had felt fled and fear took over. The black clad man began to shake his head and said, “Hmm, I had better leave. My energy is getting low.” The nightmarish man quickly brushed past Doctor Hopkins and jumped into a black sedan that drove away into the night without making a sound.

At first Doctor Hopkins thought this man was nothing more than a lunatic and went back to his research. As the weeks past his wife and adult children started to tell him stories of strange men dressed in black suits following them around town in large black cars. Mrs. Hopkins related a particularly frightening story to her husband when she said one of these nondescript vehicles attempted to run her off the road into a tree. Dr. Hopkins came to the conclusion that his late night visitor was more than just a crack pot but someone to reccon with. Doctor Herbert Hopkins immediately went into his office and destroyed every shred of research he had accumulated over the years concerning alien abduction cases. Score another one for the Cover-up.

These are only two examples of meetings with the mysterious Men In Black. Over the last fifty plus years there have been dozens of reports of folks who have dealt with these frightening individuals and have only recently dared to tell the tale. Who are these Men In Black and what do they want? Some researchers believe they could possibly be the aliens they witnessed who are putting on bad looking human suits and scaring the hell out of us innocent humans. Others suggest they are agents of the Cover-up in league with the aliens and it is their job to shut us up. Me, I think they are just fashion victims. Hang on be right back someone is knocking on my door. Oh shit gotta run.

Rick E. Hale
t_seeker@hotmail.co