Conservatives Go Full-Racist On Neil deGrasse Tyson After He’s Accused Of Misquoting Bush [View all]

[KamaAina]

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/09/23/conservatives-go-full-racist-on-neil-degrasse-tyson-after-hes-accused-of-misquoting-bush/

It’s been widely-noted that conservatives — from Fox News to the National Review — have a seething hatred of popular astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. At first blush, it’s hard to understand why he is the recipient of so much ire. He’s articulate, likeable, and passionate about teaching science. What’s not to love?

Many have speculated that this is merely a consequence of Tyson’s status as perhaps the most well-known, beloved scientist of the day and that the anger exposes a virulent anti-intellectual streak emanating from the right. Amanda Marcotte at Alternet concluded as much in a story she wrote over the summer accusing the right of having an “anti-intellectual paranoia.”

But while that is certainly a part of the story, it doesn’t address one of Tyson’s other characteristic which some may have a problem with. He also happens to be black.

This past week, Sean Davis, writing for The Federalist, ran a series of increasingly nitpicky articles accusing Tyson of misquoting or misstating some of the quotes or anecdotes he uses in his popular lectures. Some of the criticisms were valid, like one in which Tyson wrongfully attributed a quote to George W. Bush, but most were simply of the “Well, technically…” variety. For a man who conducts hundreds of interviews and lectures a year, expecting him to not make one or two mistakes when speaking — oftentimes extemporaneously — is pretty harsh.

This is where I'd put the :klan: smilie if we had one.