How do you think society would respond to first contact with extraterrestrials?

[jawakiller]

Kill the Bastards!!
...
The government would probably treat them like a new species and try to do tests on them.
The average Joe would be pretty confused.
The conspiracy theorist would think it was a government cover-up.
The religious moderate would have to adopt these new creatures into their beliefs.
The hardcore Christian would think it was the end of the world.
Most of the agnostics would find their "god."
The hippies would suck. Yes, worse than they do now.
The scientist would have a lot of work to do. If they didn't kill themselves over disbelief.
The racist would have another group to trash.
The haters be still hating.
Fox and CNN would say the exact opposite things.
The auto industry would wonder if aliens needed cars.
Gap would come out with a new line of clothing, made for our visitors.
There would be a shit-load of alien games that would be made.
The media would piss their pants.
The Oprah show will still suck.
And the human race will do something utterly stupid yet hilariously funny.

 

[Scarim Coral]

There will probably a lot of people that will spread the message "I welcome the overlords!" while those people who believe we are alone in the universe will still be indenial.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

If we just get a message, it will will either be denied as a 4chan prank, or be covered up. If aliens show up and say hi...Many will go "THEY'RE DIFFERENT FROM US!!! THEY ARE EVIL!!" and then "intergalactic war we will lose for sure, here we go"!

Honestly, I'm sure that aliens have visited us before, but they're smart enough that they decided to observe us first, and then decided "Oh my gosh, these humans are a violent, unnaccepting species. If we interact with them, then it will only end with bloodshed. Let's just observe them for now".

In fact, I'm convinced that these UFO sightings are mostly just 8th-grade aliens on a field trip to see earth for a few seconds.

Personally, I'd welcome the aliens, as long as they aren't trying to take us over.

Assuming that they only send a message, and it's not covered up, AND it's believed...There will be chaos. Some people will accept them, others will cry for their deaths, and blindly devoted religious people might kill themselves (but I'm sure most NORMAL followers would be ok).

We would put aside our differences and pool our collective resources to solve the problems of deep-space flight, quickly developing and building the infrastructure and materiel needed to send a ship to contact this new and unknown form of life, so that we could blow them up and take their stuff.

This. VERY much this.

Honestly, if there is a cover-up of alien life...I kind of agree with it. As my reason is stated at the beginning. Humanity is a loosely held together tribe of murderers, in a good way. (sort of) Maybe we could sell ourselves off as a race of mercenaries...

There was a book series with that in it. Humanity encountered two warring alien groups,one all civilized and diplomatic (only one of that group's races was still mentally capable of fighting), and the other group was being mind-controlled by squid creatures. However, the squid things were unable to control human brains due to an instinctive protective mental reflex, so they wanted to eliminate the humans. As a result, humanity joined the peaceful guys and became the backbone of their army, spreading fear into everyone due to our insane aggression and recklessness. ...I only read one of the books so far, but it was GOOD.

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

Well, I know William Shatner is probably going to try and fuck it.

But really, it'd be much as you'd expect. Barely surpressed widespread excitement/hysteria, with a sprinkle of disbelief here and there. All of which slowly morphs into distrust the more contact we have.

Eventually the vast majority of humans is uneasy about the new life, as likely the new life is about us. It takes a very long time before both species' are comfortable with each other, and even then there is some pretty rampant bigotry on both sides.

And this is being optimistic. Worst case scenario, everyone flips out and an interplanetary war happens.

You're making the aliens too anthropomorphic. For all you know, they are incapable of bigotry.

For all you know, they are plant people who just want to catch a few rays from our little star.

It was specified they were intelligent life. Generally "intelligent" means near human in thought, at the very least. Though I suppose it could just mean cognative.

William Shatner would still probably try to fuck it.

 

[John the Gamer]

The same way we respond to any newly discovered society: First we try to make them christian, then we start selling them t-shirts and hamburgers, and lastly we try to convince them they are better off for it. XD

The army(all of them) will probably try to obtain militairy technology from them to try and take over the world.

 

[moretimethansense]

To be blunt:
Not well.

 

[Hijax]

What i think is likely to happen, is they get into orbit, start taking in all sorts of transmitted communications from across the globe to get an image of us. You know what that means. The internet. Then they think "what the... eww!", and get the hellout of here, after EMPing every center for space research to make sure we never find them.

EDIT: on second thought, would they make contact in the first place? Unless it's a one shot message deal, an orbiting ship would probably end up downloading the internet. Would you make contact with us if the first thing you saw was the internet?

Basically, this.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

There was a book series with that in it. Humanity encountered two warring alien groups,one all civilized and diplomatic (only one of that group's races was still mentally capable of fighting), and the other group was being mind-controlled by squid creatures. However, the squid things were unable to control human brains due to an instinctive protective mental reflex, so they wanted to eliminate the humans. As a result, humanity joined the peaceful guys and became the backbone of their army, spreading fear into everyone due to our insane aggression and recklessness. ...I only read one of the books so far, but it was GOOD.

Ah, you're talking about The Damned series by Alan Dean Foster. I've got all three books of it, and yeah, it was a pretty entertaining read.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

There was a book series with that in it. Humanity encountered two warring alien groups,one all civilized and diplomatic (only one of that group's races was still mentally capable of fighting), and the other group was being mind-controlled by squid creatures. However, the squid things were unable to control human brains due to an instinctive protective mental reflex, so they wanted to eliminate the humans. As a result, humanity joined the peaceful guys and became the backbone of their army, spreading fear into everyone due to our insane aggression and recklessness. ...I only read one of the books so far, but it was GOOD.

Ah, you're talking about The Damned series by Alan Dean Foster. I've got all three books of it, and yeah, it was a pretty entertaining read.

Yeah, that's the one. Should really continue reading that series.

 

[Death God]

They'll act excited to see other lifeforms but will hunt them down an experiment on them to the point of war. I'd expect a kind of "District 9" thing to happen.

 

[Lord Legion]

There was a book series with that in it. Humanity encountered two warring alien groups,one all civilized and diplomatic (only one of that group's races was still mentally capable of fighting), and the other group was being mind-controlled by squid creatures. However, the squid things were unable to control human brains due to an instinctive protective mental reflex, so they wanted to eliminate the humans. As a result, humanity joined the peaceful guys and became the backbone of their army, spreading fear into everyone due to our insane aggression and recklessness. ...I only read one of the books so far, but it was GOOD.

heh, sounds interesting. Kind of a Warhammer 40k feel with humanity as the ultimate bastards of the universe.

 

[cplsharp]

fuck you aliens =3



P.S, i hope there are aliens, and they do take over, cant be much worse than the british government

 

[Fidelias]

WTF?! THINGS THAT AREN'T FROM AMERICA? KILL, DESTROY, BOMB!

yeah, that, that's what america would do, just like we do with everything that doesn't flat out help us on ridiculous terms.

Stop talking.

Anyways, as already stated more centralized religions will have no difficulty adapting to the situation though smaller/decentralized ones may see major upheavals and new pro-alien cults as competition. I think after the overall shock and fanfare, assuming we only found proof and NOT sustained contact, everything will cool down eventually and life/people will return to normal, racism and all.

As for sustained contact, it's all up to chance. Will they be a hedonistic society? Perhaps a war-like one centered on having us join their side, or even simply to spread the word their own religious beliefs! What if their belief system is strikingly similar to one on earth, like an alien Jesus or Buddha? We really don't know how things will go down on that route.

I really don't see Evangelical Christians approaching this concept with open arms.

I am actually curious as to why you think that is.

Obviously the gay burners like WBC are going to be up in arms, but I'm not aware of anything that would cause a catastrophic shakeup as far as not-insane Christians go.

Because it would completely disprove what they believe. You know, that humanity is the only form of life because God created us specifically to inhabit the Earth.

 

[Zaik]

WTF?! THINGS THAT AREN'T FROM AMERICA? KILL, DESTROY, BOMB!

yeah, that, that's what america would do, just like we do with everything that doesn't flat out help us on ridiculous terms.

Stop talking.

Anyways, as already stated more centralized religions will have no difficulty adapting to the situation though smaller/decentralized ones may see major upheavals and new pro-alien cults as competition. I think after the overall shock and fanfare, assuming we only found proof and NOT sustained contact, everything will cool down eventually and life/people will return to normal, racism and all.

As for sustained contact, it's all up to chance. Will they be a hedonistic society? Perhaps a war-like one centered on having us join their side, or even simply to spread the word their own religious beliefs! What if their belief system is strikingly similar to one on earth, like an alien Jesus or Buddha? We really don't know how things will go down on that route.

I really don't see Evangelical Christians approaching this concept with open arms.

I am actually curious as to why you think that is.

Obviously the gay burners like WBC are going to be up in arms, but I'm not aware of anything that would cause a catastrophic shakeup as far as not-insane Christians go.

Because it would completely disprove what they believe. You know, that humanity is the only form of life because God created us specifically to inhabit the Earth.

So, what you're saying is that Christians believe that animals are all robots or ghosts or something?

You really either need to clarify that(with scripture, not just "because someone told me so"), or skip talking about it.

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

It would be both,but from my experience the most important question is whether they taste good or not.

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

WTF?! THINGS THAT AREN'T FROM AMERICA? KILL, DESTROY, BOMB!

yeah, that, that's what america would do, just like we do with everything that doesn't flat out help us on ridiculous terms.

Stop talking.

Anyways, as already stated more centralized religions will have no difficulty adapting to the situation though smaller/decentralized ones may see major upheavals and new pro-alien cults as competition. I think after the overall shock and fanfare, assuming we only found proof and NOT sustained contact, everything will cool down eventually and life/people will return to normal, racism and all.

As for sustained contact, it's all up to chance. Will they be a hedonistic society? Perhaps a war-like one centered on having us join their side, or even simply to spread the word their own religious beliefs! What if their belief system is strikingly similar to one on earth, like an alien Jesus or Buddha? We really don't know how things will go down on that route.

I really don't see Evangelical Christians approaching this concept with open arms.

I am actually curious as to why you think that is.

Obviously the gay burners like WBC are going to be up in arms, but I'm not aware of anything that would cause a catastrophic shakeup as far as not-insane Christians go.

Because it would completely disprove what they believe. You know, that humanity is the only form of life because God created us specifically to inhabit the Earth.

Excuse me sir but might I draw attention to the snake from the Adam and Eve story from which the bible tells?Plus,there is no mention of space aliens in the bible because it involves what God has done or tells one to do on earth.What does E.T. have to do with Jesus?

 

[Nocturnal Gentleman]

The aliens would come, people would lose their minds, and then the aliens will kill us all for being stupid/annoying.

 

[Fidelias]

WTF?! THINGS THAT AREN'T FROM AMERICA? KILL, DESTROY, BOMB!

yeah, that, that's what america would do, just like we do with everything that doesn't flat out help us on ridiculous terms.

Stop talking.

Anyways, as already stated more centralized religions will have no difficulty adapting to the situation though smaller/decentralized ones may see major upheavals and new pro-alien cults as competition. I think after the overall shock and fanfare, assuming we only found proof and NOT sustained contact, everything will cool down eventually and life/people will return to normal, racism and all.

As for sustained contact, it's all up to chance. Will they be a hedonistic society? Perhaps a war-like one centered on having us join their side, or even simply to spread the word their own religious beliefs! What if their belief system is strikingly similar to one on earth, like an alien Jesus or Buddha? We really don't know how things will go down on that route.

I really don't see Evangelical Christians approaching this concept with open arms.

I am actually curious as to why you think that is.

Obviously the gay burners like WBC are going to be up in arms, but I'm not aware of anything that would cause a catastrophic shakeup as far as not-insane Christians go.

Because it would completely disprove what they believe. You know, that humanity is the only form of life because God created us specifically to inhabit the Earth.

Excuse me sir but might I draw attention to the snake from the Adam and Eve story from which the bible tells?Plus,there is no mention of space aliens in the bible because it involves what God has done or tells one to do on earth.What does E.T. have to do with Jesus?

That's the point. God wouldn't have anything to do with E. T., but the Bible tells us that God created the Universe. Oh, and when I said that humanity is taught to be the only form of life, I meant intelligent life. Also, I thought the snake was supposed to be the Devil or something, maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I thought.

Not to say that I don't believe in God, just that aliens would contradict certain parts of the Bible, and Christians and such would have to look at it a little less literally.

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

WTF?! THINGS THAT AREN'T FROM AMERICA? KILL, DESTROY, BOMB!

yeah, that, that's what america would do, just like we do with everything that doesn't flat out help us on ridiculous terms.

Stop talking.

Anyways, as already stated more centralized religions will have no difficulty adapting to the situation though smaller/decentralized ones may see major upheavals and new pro-alien cults as competition. I think after the overall shock and fanfare, assuming we only found proof and NOT sustained contact, everything will cool down eventually and life/people will return to normal, racism and all.

As for sustained contact, it's all up to chance. Will they be a hedonistic society? Perhaps a war-like one centered on having us join their side, or even simply to spread the word their own religious beliefs! What if their belief system is strikingly similar to one on earth, like an alien Jesus or Buddha? We really don't know how things will go down on that route.

I really don't see Evangelical Christians approaching this concept with open arms.

I am actually curious as to why you think that is.

Obviously the gay burners like WBC are going to be up in arms, but I'm not aware of anything that would cause a catastrophic shakeup as far as not-insane Christians go.

Because it would completely disprove what they believe. You know, that humanity is the only form of life because God created us specifically to inhabit the Earth.

Excuse me sir but might I draw attention to the snake from the Adam and Eve story from which the bible tells?Plus,there is no mention of space aliens in the bible because it involves what God has done or tells one to do on earth.What does E.T. have to do with Jesus?

That's the point. God wouldn't have anything to do with E. T., but the Bible tells us that God created the Universe. Oh, and when I said that humanity is taught to be the only form of life, I meant intelligent life. Also, I thought the snake was supposed to be the Devil or something, maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I thought.

Not to say that I don't believe in God, just that aliens would contradict certain parts of the Bible, and Christians and such would have to look at it a little less literally.

If it has nothing to do with it then why bring it up?I am a Lutheran and don't see the contradiction here,also explain dolphins and how I as a Christian am somehow up in arms about how a sea dweller is second smartest on the planet,possibly smarter then some humans.The thing that people often seem to not understand is that those who are dumb enough to be extremist in religion are likely being manipulated or vise versa.Aliens don't change that