The Right’s War on Neil deGrasse Tyson

[Cartoonist]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/19/the-right-s-war-on-neil-degrasse-tyson.html

Cooke, himself an atheist, said that Tyson had also come to represent among the right the “annoying” Bill Maher-style atheists who frequent Internet posting hubs like Reddit.

“I’m just irritated by that movement,” Cooke said. “It’s divisive. There’s a tendency among the Reddit atheists of the world to consider everyone who isn’t of their particular political or religious views … as being somehow dumb.”
-

I like Neil so much, I want him to run for president.

[Iggo]

1. Are we in trouble for ridiculing the ridiculous again?

[Skittles]

2. we are expected to respect the ridiculous

yup

[Major Nikon]

6. Imagine this...

If your neighbor thought your wifi router was beaming corruption rays into his head and destroying the fabric of society, you'd write him off as a complete moron and crazy.

Yet if your neighbor thinks that homosexuality is destroying his marriage and the fabric of society, you must respect his views.

Welcome to bizarro world.

[Skittles]

8. remember Heaven's Gate?

I remember Christians ridiculing those folk for their beliefs, while they themselves believe in virgin birth and rising from the dead......oh yes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_%28religious_group%29

[Major Nikon]

9. Don't forget talking snakes, talking bushes, and talking donkeys

[Skittles]

14. HA!

you know it - from the outside looking in, they're ALL ridiculous

[xecaps]

23. True

Agreed

[NBachers]

7. The ridiculous is serious!

[bvf]

3. Outspoken is not the same as annoying.

"There’s a tendency among the Reddit atheists of the world to consider everyone who isn’t of their particular political or religious views … as being somehow dumb.” 

As long as we're parsing anecdotes and such, since when do atheists have religious views?

[AlbertCat]

25. since when do atheists have religious views?

And since when does "I feel dumb" because you are being informed about things you may not know about translate into "They think I'm dumb" No they don't...YOU do! Stop projecting your insecurities onto others and trying to make it their problem.

[Enthusiast]

4. Their particular political religious views are dumb, no somehow about it.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[BlueJazz]

5. They never, ever get it. I believe from now on, I'm going to tell people that I'm...

...a Time traveler and I know exactly what's going to happen in everybody's future. If they even hint that I might be deranged, I'll
start whining like the religious nuts do...WAAA...they're picking on me for my beliefs !

[onager]

10. OK, smart people, held me out with this.

I must be too stupid to understand the complaint here. Other than the complaint of "we don't like NDgT." Got that part OK.

After reading the whole article, I'm really confused. It was all over the map, with only a tenuous common thread of "Tyson is a poopy-head." I guess.

e.g., just the quote in the OP is bizarre, IMO:

Cooke, himself an atheist, said that Tyson had also come to represent among the right the “annoying” Bill Maher-style atheists who frequent Internet posting hubs like Reddit.

So Tyson's not rustling peoples jimmies himself on Reddit. But in some mysterious way, he's representing an entire class of smart-ass atheists like Bill Maher. Of whom some alleged atheists like Cooke disapprove.

"I dislike Bill Maher, so I will direct my hatred at NDgT." Well, naturally.

That makes explanations of the Virgin Birth seem like a model of clear thinking and logic.

“I’m just irritated by that movement,” Cooke said. “It’s divisive. There’s a tendency among the Reddit atheists of the world to consider everyone who isn’t of their particular political or religious views … as being somehow dumb.”

I'd guess Cooke got his ass handed to him in a few debates and is huffy about it. His screed sounds a lot more divisive than anything I've heard from this mysterious Reddit atheist cabal.

[Cartoonist]

11. What I get from the article

The right does not like Neil. Their reasons have more to do with the science behind evolution and climate change than anything mentioned in the article. However, they seem to have found a way to attack his credibility by pointing out errors he has made. Like saying something happened on Saturday when it has been proven it happened on Friday. If someone can make an error like that and refuse to acknowledge it, then how can anyone take him seriously. And doesn't that disprove everything he says? Of course, they never hold their own preachers to such a standard.

As for Cooke, he seems to buy into that. How can Neil look down his nose at climate change deniers if he doesn't even know what day it is?

[AtheistCrusader]

12. If not for Cosmos on prime time, the right would have not a fucking clue who he is.

[Lordquinton]

13. I think the right hates him more for a trait he shares with our president

than any atheistic stuff he's associated with, he even calls himself agnostic, rather than an atheist, and that seems to work on most theists, just ask the other room.

[Skittles]

15. you absolutely nail it, onager

[Act_of_Reparation]

22. They're stupid, yes...

...but NdGT didn't do himself any favors doubling down on a Little Bush quote that, as far as anyone can tell, isn't real. Now the repukes are going to be harping on that until the end of time.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

16. They are using dog whistles.

When they say we're annoying, what they mean is "STFU".

[Cartoonist]

17. New volley fired

http://www.examiner.com/article/neil-degrasse-tyson-falls-from-grace-over-quote-fabrication-scandal

Neil deGrasse Tyson used to be considered the greatest popularizer of science since the late Carl Sagan. However, as the Washington Post recently reported, Tyson has been caught making up quotes and other things that do not seem to have happened. The Federalist, which has been documenting many of these falsifications, reported on Saturday that Tyson has responded to the accusations. Boiled down to the essence, the response is, “Trust me on those things I said.” The response is not exactly the proper behavior of a scientist.

-

We all make mistakes. The big difference here is that Neil has never said Jesus whispers in his ear.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa

One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did."
Mr Bush went on: "And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, 'Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East'. And, by God, I'm gonna do it."

[Cartoonist]

18. More incoming

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-cult-of-neil-degrasse-tyson-111540_Page2.html#.VCzkJ1e3rXQ

The problem is the belief of his fans—encouraged by him—that science has all the answers; that anyone who believes in physics must adhere to a progressive secularism; that anyone not on board is—to borrow from the accusations of Tyson's defenders—guilty of anti-intellectualism, climate “denial” and racism.
-

I see I'm in a new cult. Where's my membership card?
I like how he articulates our beliefs without being able to prove any of us said that. Do you think he'll apologize, or even admit he made that up?

[AtheistCrusader]

19. AHAHAHAAAA

"Evidently, no one yucking it up over this story knew enough to wonder how it possibly could be true. It’s only remotely believable if you are completely ignorant of Bush’s posture in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11."

Yes, President Ahab, the man who then went on national television to talk about the attack, and, in reference to fighting back used the word 'crusade'.

Yes, a posture genius.



"this crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while." -Dopey Bush

[AlbertCat]

26. that science has all the answers

No one who knows anything about science has ever said that. And if they did, no one who knows anything about science would take it seriously.

[Rob H.]

20. The Right probably hopes to create partial cover for their moronic denial of climate change

Tyson laid out a clear, concise, compelling case for anthropogenic climate change on Cosmos (it was a thing of beauty) and the Right are probably furiously grasping at whatever straws come to hand in hopes of getting people not to take him seriously about anything he says. It likely doesn't even matter that it was Tyson who did it, given that only crackpots disagree at this point that climate change is not only real, it's happening. It's that he had the audacity to say it on television to a nationwide audience that has them foaming at the mouth.

This might sound like tinfoil hat stuff, but IMO nothing is beneath the Right-wingers in the USA. Can't disprove what was said? Deny, distract, and (try to) discredit.

[Cartoonist]

21. You are correct

You are not wearing a tinfoil hat. That is the modus operandi of the right because they cannot debate the facts. They have to discredit the speaker, even with a point so trivial it has no bearing on the debate itself.

[Cartoonist]

24. The anti-NDT virus is spreading

This is from the quotes following a voice appearance by Neil in a TV show.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/5/6911037/neil-degrasse-tyson-voiced-a-cartoon-pig-last-night-and-it-was-genius

Megabizzle
Umm…yeah. Except for the fact that he makes up shit that other people say for no other reason than to mock them, then never apologizes. The fact is that it’s "cool" to be a NDT sycophant. Kinda like how it was cool to vote for Obama.

[AlbertCat]

27. It was "cool" to vote for Obama?????

Now why would anyone say such a thing about something as important as electing the president?

I think I know..... but would hate to play some kind of "card".... I think Lordquinton (#13) is on to something....