Neil deGrasse Tyson slammed for mass shootings reaction: 'Our emotions respond more to spectacle than to data'
Famed astrophysicist and TV personality Neil deGrasse Tyson has shared his reaction to this weekend’s double mass shootings, and people are outraged.
Tyson argued that more people are killed by the flu and car accidents than mass shootings, adding, “often our emotions respond more to spectacle than to data.”
Related Video: U.S. Mourns Victims of Mass Shootings in El Paso and Dayton
Tyson’s tweet was a response to the shooting in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday which killed 20, and Sunday’s shooting in Dayton, Ohio, which killed nine.
In the past 48hrs, the USA horrifically lost 34 people to mass shootings.
On average, across any 48hrs, we also lose…
500 to Medical errors
300 to the Flu
250 to Suicide
200 to Car Accidents
40 to Homicide via Handgun
Often our emotions respond more to spectacle than to data.— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) August 4, 2019
Followers of his account have accused him of downplaying the tragedies in El Paso and Dayton.
The difference is people are currently working on decreasing those other death toles, Neil.
Jesus you're awful.— Andy (@trtx84) August 4, 2019
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.
— Summer Brennan 🌈👠 (@summerbrennan) August 4, 2019
Imagine tweeting this and thinking it adds anything to intelligent discourse
— Shaena Montanari (@DrShaena) August 4, 2019
So, you aren't familiar with the phrase, "Not right now; this isn't the time," I take it?
— Bärí A. Williams (@BariAWilliams) August 4, 2019
Imagine going to the store or a bar and getting shot at or killed or having a loved one shot at or killed and a supposed genius tells 13 million people it’s all just a spectacle because, really, statistically, it’s not all that bad compared to other ways you could suddenly die.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) August 4, 2019
Dude this is a really bad take
— Pinko but also Cowboy (@Ratburn_the_Red) August 4, 2019
In less than an hour, the tweet had received 24,000 (and counting) likes, but most of the reactions were profoundly negative.
Tyson has gotten himself into social media hot water before, but mostly for relatively benign grievances like spoiling movies.
As for today’s tweet about gun violence, there will surely be people watching his account to see if he explains his thought process behind the upsetting numbers. Until then, a question posed by one of his followers remains:
Why would you ever tweet this?
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) August 4, 2019
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