There are a few things that elicit absolute outrage from the dominant racist wing of the conservative movement in general and, Republicans and teabaggers in particular, than African Americans; particularly intelligent, well-respected, and articulate African Americans. One has only to reflect on the conservative movements blatantly racial opposition to anything proposed by President Barack Obama, even favored conservative policies, to understand that their racism supplants even getting what they, or the American people, once supported and still want if only a white male president proposed them. Over the course of the past three months, conservatives, particularly Christian Right conservatives, have discovered a new African American villain to attack because not only is he articulate, extremely intelligent, and very popular the world over, he is an esteemed scientist debunking their fairy tale beliefs and driving a stake into the heart of Republicans beholden to the energy industry and denying global climate change..
It was just a matter of time before the opposition and criticism of astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson became overtly racist, and it is no real surprise that Fox News provided a nationally-televised forum for a white supremacist to say “I hate this guy.” Apparently, Fox News felt the necessity to give the Christian creationist cult an ally in their war on science, and deGrasse Tyson, so they invited overtly racist Gavin McInnes to rail on the scientist because he mentioned that he was racially profiled growing up in New York. Now, it is important to note that although Fox News, as the media outlet for the Christian Right and racist conservative movement, is delighted to host a racist to attack a super-intelligent African American, but their real motivation was rallying support against Tyson’s 12 week take-down of climate change denial, and to a lesser degree his destruction of creationists’ ignorant attempt to discredit science in general.
The racist McInnes said about Tyson, “I hate this guy. White liberal nerds love this guy so much, he could defecate on them like Martin Bashir’s fantasies and they would dance in the streets. All he does is, he’s drunk with adulation. And he talks about things like ‘when I was young in New York I would get racially profiled when I’d go into stores.’ Back then he looked like he was in the The Warriors. He had a huge afro and a cutoff shirt and New York was a war zone. Sorry, you fit the profile.” At least McInnes did not deny that Tyson was racially profiled and most likely by white nationalists like McInnes who built a reputation as a despicable white supremacist Fox promotes at every turn; especially when they attack intelligent African Americans. Fox News knows the type of cretins McInnes represents because he has been a frequent guest and a former writer for Vdare, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center identifies as a “white nationalist hate group.” As recently as 2011, McInnes said “I love me some VDARE” and wrote an article for the hate group that claiming a Canadian university was a “multi-cultural madrassa” because it rejected requests to host another white supremacist, Jared Taylor, whose bona fides includes advocating for racial segregation and promotes founding all white towns. Exactly the type of hate-mongers Fox knows will incite their racist audience that may be “educated” into understanding that the extreme weather events devastating their lives is the result of burning fossil fuels and not because their god is angry prayer is not in schools, the bible is not the Constitution, or gay people exist.
Fox News’ problem, like Republicans, fanatical Christians, and their climate change-denying fossil fuel associates with Neil deGrasse Tyson is that besides being a likeable and articulate African American, he is single-handedly decimating any energy industry claim that climate change is a liberal plot, a hoax, or not man-made. It is certain that Tyson understands the influence he, and Cosmos, is having on informing the population about the urgency of addressing climate change as well as the program’s value for promoting science as the only solution to saving the environment in the short term and the human race over the long term.
Tyson said that because Cosmos premiered not only of Fox, but on the National Geographic channel and 181 countries in 46 different languages, “It tells you that science is trending in our culture, and if science is trending, it can only be good for the health, wealth, and security of our species and our civilization. And yet, many members of our species still deny that the globe is warming thanks to human activities, a point that Cosmos has not only made a centerpiece but that the program has frankly argued threatens civilization as we know it.” Although extremist Christians will deny it with their dying breath, Neil deGrasse Tyson does not defame, confront or condemn the stupidity of those that deny science, particularly climate science, and it is a testament to his desire to reach idiots through teaching. Tyson masterfully uses various educational modalities to prove science debunks climate deniers, and creationists’, claims and after twelve weeks Fox’s only recourse was either admit denying climate change is the purview of malicious idiots, or pay a racist to attack the intelligent African American destroying their Republican, bible thumper,and oil industry lies.
However, Tyson did point out conservative lunacy of rejecting science and specifically cited the Republican Party as why there has been no action to reduce the existential threat of global climate change. Tyson said that Republicans who reject and lie about the science of climate change are not only dangerous for America and its people, it is bad strategy. He said, “At some point, I don’t know how much energy they have to keep fighting an emergent scientific truth. The Republican Party are resistant to embracing the facts of climate change that the legislation they should be eager to influence, they’re left outside the door. Because they think the debate is whether or not it’s happening rather than what policy and legislation can serve their interests going forward.” In that Tyson is mistaken because Republicans, fossil fuel industry, and Christian fanatics know climate change is happening and devastating the nation, and they are pushing legislation and policy that serves their, the fossil fuel and evangelical extremists, interests exclusively. They have about as much interest in reducing the effects of climate change as they do in helping protect the American people and it is curious that Tyson would not admit it because he knows it is the truth.
Although it is typical and despicable for Fox to bring on a noted racist and white supremacist to attack Neil deGrasse Tyson because he is systematically destroying what pathetic arguments conservatives use to deny climate change, it is a sign they, and Republicans are desperate. Every single week for the past three months Cosmos and Tyson have deconstructed and decimated evangelical fanatics and Republican claims science is an abomination before god and wrong, and that the bible and fossil fuel devotees are infallible. It is true that with mountains and centuries of scientific facts at his disposal, there is nothing Fox, Republicans, or evangelicals can use to defend their position or refute even one claim made by an intelligent African America man like Neil deGrasse Tyson, so they resort to their despicable and base inclination and bring a racist pig to say “I hate him;” because he is Black, smart, and changing minds.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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