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They Want To Believe: People Gather Near Area 51 To 'See Them Aliens' (theguardian.com) 143

Posted by msmash from the stranger-things dept.
Hundreds of people arrived early Friday at a gate at the once secret Area 51 military base in Nevada at the time appointed by an internet hoaxster to "storm" the facility to see space aliens and at least two were detained by sheriff's deputies. From a report: The Storm Area 51 invitation spawned festivals in the tiny Nevada towns of Rachel and Hiko nearest the military site, and a more than two-hour drive from Las Vegas. The Lincoln county sheriff, Kerry Lee, estimated late Thursday that about 1,500 people had gathered at the festival sites and said more than 150 people also made the rugged trip several additional miles on bone-rattling dirt roads to get within selfie distance of the gates.

An Associated Press photographer said it wasn't immediately clear if a woman who began ducking under a gate and a man who urinated nearby were arrested after the crowd gathered about 3am Friday. Millions of people had responded to a June internet post calling for people to run into the remote US air force test site that has long been the focus of UFO conspiracy theories. "They can't stop all of us," the post joked. "Lets see them aliens." The military responded with stern warnings that lethal force could be used if people entered the Nevada Test and Training Range, and local and state officials said arrests would be made if people tried.
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They Want To Believe: People Gather Near Area 51 To 'See Them Aliens' More

They Want To Believe: People Gather Near Area 51 To 'See Them Aliens'

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  • Like the little green men would drink?

  • They can't hold them all back.

    The final truth will be revealed, I for one am not going to leave the house this weekend.

    • Re:And so it begins (Score:5, Funny)

      by Dallas May ( 4891515 ) on Friday September 20, 2019 @11:10AM (#59216566)

      "They can't hold them all back."

      Yes, yes they can. I assure you they can.

      • If anything the desert will hold them at bay.

        Running in the Nevada desert after a night of drinking. What could possibly go wrong.

        • Na, it'll just be two guys with a truck and a plywood street barricade saying, "Sorry, you have to turn around, this street is closed today. Have a good day."

      • Yes, yes they can. I assure you they can.

        Yes, but would they?

        Is Trump really going to get away with tweeting "What did they expect?"?

      • Yes, yes they can. I assure you they can.

        Well, they could use the alien technology to beam them through the Star Gate to Antarctica.

        But that would be a giveaway.

        So I'm thinking they will use Soylent Green style people scoopers.

        The Area 51 employees will enjoy tasty barbecue for lunch on Monday.

      • No need to hold them back, they just need a series of signs reading "Area 51 this way --->" leading the crowd in a large circle until they get tired.

    • Careful with that ax, Eugene. The soldiers patrolling the area around are 51 are protecting America's most sought-after military secrets. Anyone that tries to pass the perimeter may as well be a 9/11 hijacker - the soldiers aren't going to hold back any bullets.

      Besides, once you pass the human guards, you have to deal with the aliens. They can use their mind to interfere with your brain's magnetic waves, and send you running into the ocean forgetting who you are, what you are and where you are.

      • Anyone that tries to pass the perimeter may as well be a 9/11 hijacker - the soldiers aren't going to hold back any bullets.

        I half wish that would happen, the political shitstorm afterwards would be worth it.

        • Re:And so it begins (Score:5, Insightful)

          by BringsApples ( 3418089 ) on Friday September 20, 2019 @12:11PM (#59216838)

          I doubt there'd be any political fallout over soldiers protecting a military base, from what will be presented by all media outlets as "a bunch of alien nutters", more or less.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Eloking ( 877834 )

            I doubt there'd be any political fallout over soldiers protecting a military base, from what will be presented by all media outlets as "a bunch of alien nutters", more or less.

            Yeah...but then again you just need one mother in tears after losing her only teenager in the front page.

            People won't feel for those morons, but they could feel for their relatives.

            • But it won't be a *political* issue, because you can't really come up with any party angle on that. The same as shootings by police are an issue, but people don't really switch political parties because of police shootings.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Calydor ( 739835 )

            You mean, "Military Guns Down Harmless US Civilians"? Much better headline.

            • They won't be looked at as harmless, when they're storming a military base, any more than the current terrorists look when they're trying to storm a military base. It's not a repeat of Kent State, this is a military base.

            • So that they don't have to face accusations of gunning down "harmless" citizens, each fallen protester will have placed next to them a gun, an explosive device, or a printout of an encryption algorithm.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by neurojab ( 15737 )

                All they would need these days to be considered a terrorist is a newspaper.

              • They don't even have to do that. If you storm a military base and refuse arrest, then the military was only doing their job. Gun or no gun.

    • They can't hold them all back.

      "Watch this!" says the base security commander with the radio in his hand... "Do it" he says into the radio..

    • Daisy cutters can hold back lots of people.

      This is open desert, no cover, and is a live fire range.

      Good luck. The guards will see you coming 2 miles away.

    • They can't hold them all back.

      You've never seen an M60 machinegun in action, have you?

    • They can't hold them all back.

      You hear one shot from in front of you.

      Someone ten metres in front of you goes down, screaming. Do you :

      1. - Stop to offer first aid or last rites as appropriate?
      2. - Continue running towards the hundreds of identical-looking shooters?
      3. - Turn tail and run, liquid shit running down your legs

      It's a hard choice, isn't it? Only one of those outcomes will let you find out if the victim is acting (an agent provocateur primed to go off after warnings and a starter pistol), or has been h

  • My biggest take away from this article was the fact it was 45F (7C) overnight
    That is crazy. Its still summer and will be for another month or so.

    • My biggest take away from this article was the fact it was 45F (7C) overnight

      Does that surprise you for some reason? It's a desert climate, after all. Almost nothing there to retain the heat once the sun sets. People die of hypothermia on occasion in such areas.

    • We're seeing cooler temperatures up here in Washington, too. And unseasonably large amounts of rain.

      It's really wreaking havoc on our forest fire season.

    • 45 is balmy - might not even need a coat for that for short duration...

      Got down to 30.7 here last night and has been between 17 and 21 several times this month.

      Still doesn't match the real North in the dead of Winter, but surprise at a temp of 45? Nah.

    • If they survive the MP's, the ones not killed by heat and thirst, will die of hypothermia. It's the desert after all.

    • Deserts have wide swings in temperature. Chilly temperatures at night are quite common, while it still roasts during the day.

      • Rachel: Highs in the 60-70s, lows in the 30s. Quite pleasant for a hike in the desert. Might want to pack a sweater. It'll be dry, so the chill shouldn't be that bad (from experience here). Slight chance of rain on monday though.

        • 70F sounds nice, but according to Wiki they're at an elevation of 4840 ft--almost as high as Denver, the "mile high city". If the air is dry, the moisture will still get sucked out of you and you'll work up quite a sweat. They'll need a sweater *and* plenty of sunscreen and water as well as shorts. Anybody from back east who isn't in good shape will get whacked by the elevation and atmosphere. As another poster said, the desert will stop them before the military does. The rain is an interesting wrinkle

    • it is also not at sea level. Clearly you have never been in the desert at night at 1000 meters of altitude or more.

    • My biggest take away from this article was the fact it was 45F (7C) overnight That is crazy. Its still summer and will be for another month or so.

      That's because while a couple of dozen lackwits were milling around outside that base, hundreds of thousands of people per city elsewhere in the world were protesting the lack of action on climate change.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by I4ko ( 695382 )

      What are you talking about? Summer ends in 2 days. And most people consider summer to be between June 5 and Sep 5

    • I live in Florida. Todays low of 75 was a pleasant surprise. It being 85 today is refreshing and humidity is down.
      The 60's are enough for the hoodie.
      50s I am adding a second later
      40s I am bringing out the winter jacket
      30s I stay inside. Its to cold out there.

      Never lived any where but in a sub-tropical environment at sea level.

  • Oh they will see stuff, even inside stuff... (Score:3)

    by bobbied ( 2522392 ) on Friday September 20, 2019 @11:43AM (#59216716)

    They will see sand, scrub brush, and snakes. Then when they cross into the restricted zone they will see MP's with guns, followed by an up close look at the sand while they are laying face down getting handcuffed. After that, they will see the inside of a bus, the inside of a jail cell and the inside of the court room where the government will look inside their bank accounts and unless they have enough to pay the fine, they will see the inside of that jail cell again.

    Yea there will be a lot to see.

  • Did they bring their guns? You can't have a good storming without guns
  • Of course it would end up backfiring, probably resulting in more people showing up and trying to do stupid things around the base... however there's an opportunity for the military to troll the people that did show up. Get some Hollywood special effects people to come out and give them what they wanted to see.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Livius ( 318358 )

      A good light show in the other direction would not only distract people away from their original objective, but it would give people some satisfaction for all their efforts, and would probably also be more cost-effective than deploying lots of personnel and tear gas.

  • If compared to the other mass gatherings that are happening today at least this one is of some value and provides some benefit.

  • ...they'd get a human-sized little-green-man pool toy, fill it with helium, tie it to a Humvee and drive it out to the protesters. Then announce over the loudspeaker "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!? IS THIS NOT WHY YOU ARE HERE!?"

  • Not because I am there (although I do love the desert), but I am sure someone plans to prank them all with a large drone with glowing lights.

  • and you cover this?

    • Protesting against climate change does absolutely nothing. Just like the protests against the World Bank and IMF did nothing (remember those? that was hip about 10 years ago). It is just virtue signaling. If you want to do something about climate change you need to do something other than just complain about it.

  • I stand corrected (Score:3)

    by jwhyche ( 6192 ) on Friday September 20, 2019 @01:20PM (#59217194) Homepage

    Some idiots did actually show up. I guess I was wrong.

  • "They’re not going to find what they’re looking for, and they are going to get angry."

    Of course they would say that.

  • Lincoln county should set up a toll booth on that dirt road, like the one in Blazing Saddles. That would slow them down and help with their expenses.

  • The US Military is a professional force. It's not like the US Military is going to shoot, kill and, maim fellow citizens whilst violating their human or constitutional rights, even if ordered to do so.

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