This is Slate, propaganda and lefty swing extraordinaire. So, I ask ‘Why?’ they’re pushing this narrative after being ostrich about the government destroying careers of civilian pilots who dared to speak of what they’d seen in the air.
I hesitated to post an article by Slate but, after reading the article several times, I couldn't see anything that was slanted in a Leftward direction.
What I did find (as someone who has followed this issue for a while) was an article that described the "stigma" problem clearly.
As I have posted on Twitter and Youtube many times, politics has no place in science or discovery. Of course, all such comments were aimed at Lefties who were trying to insert their politics. Conservatives, libertarians, and independents do not commit that sin.
As an aside, the most visible and important scientist involved in the UFO/UAP area, Garry Nolan of Stanford Medical School, has said many times that the greatest support for efforts to get at the truth in this area comes from the Right. The Left always wants to push their politics and the truth be damned.