Amanda Waltz’s Pittsburgh City Paper article, “Overthinking Bigfoot, the Most Pennsylvanian Cryptid,” spends less time engaging with the actual evidence or research presented at the Bigfoot Camping Adventure, and more time painting attendees as stereotypes. She describes the crowd as “overwhelmingly white men,” frames Bigfoot as “the most libertarian cryptid,” and even drags in colonization and immigrant history to make Bigfoot a metaphor instead of a mystery.
What makes this all the more curious is that Waltz herself used to co-host Ghoul on Ghoul, a “supernatural, sex-positive horror-comedy” podcast covering ghosts, true crime, cryptids, and other paranormal oddities.
In other words, she actively participates in the same world of fringe and supernatural culture that she mocks in print. It’s hard not to see the double standard: when it’s her brand, the paranormal is fun, spooky, and worth exploring but when ordinary people gather to talk about Bigfoot, suddenly it’s a political science essay on demographics and libertarian stereotypes.
This disconnect makes it even clearer why a rebuttal is needed.
Rebuttal to “Overthinking Bigfoot”
Bringing Demographics into the Mix
Reducing Bigfoot enthusiasts to “overwhelmingly white men” is not only inaccurate but dismissive. Bigfoot research and fandom are remarkably diverse, including women, families, Indigenous voices, scientists, and curious everyday people. Attendees don’t fit neatly into a political stereotype; they’re united by curiosity, not ideology.
Colonization and Background Assumptions
Waltz drags colonization and immigrant history into the discussion, claiming Bigfoot represents everything from displaced Indigenous communities to Pennsylvania Dutch settlers. That’s a convenient narrative device, but it’s not how the subject is studied or experienced. Indigenous “wild man” traditions long predate colonial history, and they deserve respect on their own terms rather than being reduced to metaphors for someone else’s essay.
Questioning Motivation
The suggestion that believers are mostly libertarians with candy bars in their pockets trivializes the serious side of this subject. Many researchers apply scientific principles such as using photogrammetry, bioacoustic studies, and forensic anthropology to analyze evidence. Fieldwork isn’t driven by political leanings; it’s driven by data and by witnesses who want answers to profound experiences.
Respect for Subculture
Waltz claims she doesn’t believe in Bigfoot but seems to view the community through a lens of irony, as if the colorful characters are more noteworthy than the substance. But for those who’ve had life-changing encounters, and for researchers who have devoted decades to collecting evidence, these events are far more than quirky fairs. They’re support systems and forums for open inquiry.
Hypocrisy and Double Standards
Perhaps most striking is the double standard: Waltz herself co-hosts Ghoul on Ghoul, a podcast that thrives on discussing ghosts, cryptids, and the paranormal in a sex-positive, horror-comedy format. When she does it, the supernatural is “fun” and “worth exploring.” But when everyday people gather to talk about Bigfoot, and have some fun with it also, it suddenly becomes an exercise in stereotyping demographics and assigning political labels. That contradiction undermines the credibility of her critique and highlights that what she mocks in others is what she profitted from in her own work.
Conclusion
It’s a shame when a reporter can’t put aside their own political lens. Instead of covering the event for what it was — a gathering of people curious about an enduring mystery. Waltz filters everything through politics. By reducing attendees by labeling them, to demographics and shoehorning in libertarian labels, she misses the bigger picture: that Bigfoot research is about evidence, wilderness preservation, and human experience, not party lines or ideology. There were people from all political spectrums there, just to note! And finally alluding to Bigfoot representing "disenfranchisement". SAY WHAT?
Bigfoot isn’t a metaphor for libertarianism, colonization, or sociology 101. It’s an ongoing mystery supported by eyewitness reports, physical track evidence, and unexplained audio recordings across the continent. The community isn’t a caricature; it’s a cross-section of people drawn together by curiosity and a respect for wilderness. Instead of reducing that to stereotypes, we should be asking the real question: What evidence is out there, and what does it tell us? It should be about the evidence, the encounters, and the ongoing pursuit of answers to one of North America’s greatest natural mysteries.
Till Next Time,
Squatch-D
What makes this all the more curious is that Waltz herself used to co-host Ghoul on Ghoul, a “supernatural, sex-positive horror-comedy” podcast covering ghosts, true crime, cryptids, and other paranormal oddities.
In other words, she actively participates in the same world of fringe and supernatural culture that she mocks in print. It’s hard not to see the double standard: when it’s her brand, the paranormal is fun, spooky, and worth exploring but when ordinary people gather to talk about Bigfoot, suddenly it’s a political science essay on demographics and libertarian stereotypes.
This disconnect makes it even clearer why a rebuttal is needed.
Rebuttal to “Overthinking Bigfoot”
Bringing Demographics into the Mix
Reducing Bigfoot enthusiasts to “overwhelmingly white men” is not only inaccurate but dismissive. Bigfoot research and fandom are remarkably diverse, including women, families, Indigenous voices, scientists, and curious everyday people. Attendees don’t fit neatly into a political stereotype; they’re united by curiosity, not ideology.
Colonization and Background Assumptions
Waltz drags colonization and immigrant history into the discussion, claiming Bigfoot represents everything from displaced Indigenous communities to Pennsylvania Dutch settlers. That’s a convenient narrative device, but it’s not how the subject is studied or experienced. Indigenous “wild man” traditions long predate colonial history, and they deserve respect on their own terms rather than being reduced to metaphors for someone else’s essay.
Questioning Motivation
The suggestion that believers are mostly libertarians with candy bars in their pockets trivializes the serious side of this subject. Many researchers apply scientific principles such as using photogrammetry, bioacoustic studies, and forensic anthropology to analyze evidence. Fieldwork isn’t driven by political leanings; it’s driven by data and by witnesses who want answers to profound experiences.
Respect for Subculture
Waltz claims she doesn’t believe in Bigfoot but seems to view the community through a lens of irony, as if the colorful characters are more noteworthy than the substance. But for those who’ve had life-changing encounters, and for researchers who have devoted decades to collecting evidence, these events are far more than quirky fairs. They’re support systems and forums for open inquiry.
Hypocrisy and Double Standards
Perhaps most striking is the double standard: Waltz herself co-hosts Ghoul on Ghoul, a podcast that thrives on discussing ghosts, cryptids, and the paranormal in a sex-positive, horror-comedy format. When she does it, the supernatural is “fun” and “worth exploring.” But when everyday people gather to talk about Bigfoot, and have some fun with it also, it suddenly becomes an exercise in stereotyping demographics and assigning political labels. That contradiction undermines the credibility of her critique and highlights that what she mocks in others is what she profitted from in her own work.
Conclusion
It’s a shame when a reporter can’t put aside their own political lens. Instead of covering the event for what it was — a gathering of people curious about an enduring mystery. Waltz filters everything through politics. By reducing attendees by labeling them, to demographics and shoehorning in libertarian labels, she misses the bigger picture: that Bigfoot research is about evidence, wilderness preservation, and human experience, not party lines or ideology. There were people from all political spectrums there, just to note! And finally alluding to Bigfoot representing "disenfranchisement". SAY WHAT?
Bigfoot isn’t a metaphor for libertarianism, colonization, or sociology 101. It’s an ongoing mystery supported by eyewitness reports, physical track evidence, and unexplained audio recordings across the continent. The community isn’t a caricature; it’s a cross-section of people drawn together by curiosity and a respect for wilderness. Instead of reducing that to stereotypes, we should be asking the real question: What evidence is out there, and what does it tell us? It should be about the evidence, the encounters, and the ongoing pursuit of answers to one of North America’s greatest natural mysteries.
Till Next Time,
Squatch-D
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