I find it interesting (and a bit sad) that there is a common belief that Humans as a whole would be considered by alien intelligence to be are violent and unworthy of contact. I think partially this is because it makes for a good story prop, but I think it also reflects many peoples lack of self worth.

I like to see the flip side of this, and look at the amazing achievements that the species have achieved in a little under 100000 years.

We've gone from intelligent animals living lives a little different from any of the other intelligent animals to creating a civilisation that has a rich culture. We've created art that expands upon our physical experience, have developed science that is asking (and answering) questions that delve into the intimate workings of the universe, have perused and created challenging answers that address "why we are here" and are on the cusp of becoming a multi planetary species. All the while we have battled our animal natures and so far, seem to be doing a pretty good job of surviving the worst we can create. Not perfect by any measure, but we're doing a damn good job for a bunch of naked apes that on cosmic timescales just crawled out of the sludge.

So lets challenge ourselves, when asked how we would react to an encounter with alien civilisations, instead of putting up the "danger, stay away" sign, how about we roll out the best our species has achieved and take some pride in what so far has been an amazing ride.