Neil deGrasse Tyson accused of downplaying down mass shootings issues apology

Neil deGrasse Tyson issued an apology after offending tweet about mass shootings.

Aug 5, 2019

 

 

People were left wondering over the weekend if star astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has his head in the clouds after his latest comments about the recent back-to-back mass shootings were deemed insensitive.

—John Legend and Rihanna call out Donald Trump over El Paso and Dayton mass shootings—

Tyson noted that while the killings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas has people up-in-arms, data points to more people are killed by the flu or medical errors adding, “often our emotions respond more to spectacle than to data.”
DeGrasse comments outraged people on social media, especially after 29 people were gunned down in the mass shootings and families are still grappling with the gruesome reality of what occurred, Yahoo reports.


“The difference is people are currently working on decreasing those other death toles, Neil. Jesus you’re awful,” said one commenter.

“As you may or may not have noticed, part of the upset around this isn’t about the number of deaths, but rather the failure of government to adequately respond to a public health issue,” said another critic.


“Imagine tweeting this and thinking it adds anything to intelligent discourse,” said another.

“Why would you ever tweet this?” asked another.

The popular scientist and host of ‘Cosmos’ who recently got himself out of a controversial bind after allegations of sexual misconduct by two women, issued an apology early on Monday.

—Six of the nine victims in Dayton, Ohio shooting were Black—

“My intent was to offer objectively true information that might help shape conversations and reactions to preventable ways we die,” he said.

“What I learned from the range of reactions is that for many people, some information –-my Tweet in particular — can be true but unhelpful, especially at a time when many people are either still in shock, or trying to heal – or both.

“I apologize for not knowing in advance what effect my Tweet could have on you. I am therefore thankful for the candor and depth of critical reactions shared in my Twitter feed.

“As an educator, I personally value knowing with precision and accuracy what reaction anything that I say (or write) will instill in my audience, and I got this one wrong.”

 

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