Geoff, if you look back on the thread, you will see that it may be wise to clarify which is the former and which is the latter.
Those who wish to push a "dialectical materialism" view of the universe might find it more effective to comport themselves as professionals, or at least as individuals who understand the value of courtesy. There is something about the knee-jerk emotional reactions that people display when defending their view of "reality", those who think of themselves as members of the establishment, that just screams emotional insecurity and poor knowledge of their own subject. This includes the typical derision of allegedly strange points of view. Such habits are useful to those who do not want the establishment view to be challenged. They are needful because so many such views cannot honestly face any honest challenge. The establishment side always devolves into derision, dishonesty, even intimidation and if possible silencing.
The sum of this touches on what we are doing here. The idea that there is no such thing as shapeshifting aliens is harder to debunk when we have an establishment that makes such a habit, even institutionalizes the habit of undermining its own credibility by taking every opportunity it gets to behave unprofessionally and discourteously. This seems as good a place as any for such a speech. Fantastical notions such as shapeshifting aliens may well gain their only credibility from the lack of character of those who deny them and the poor quality of the denials. The establishment is not innocent in all of this. It has its own pretenses, delusions, and deliberate deceptions by the big lots.
Those who want to define reality for the rest of us need to clean up their acts.