Science strikes back: anti-Trump march draws thousands to Washington

[Cthulhu 2020]

That's like, your opinion man.

"Nobody respects scientists" was claimed without proof, then someone linked a poll that scientists were actually the second most respected group of people, right behind military.

I think it's on page 2, stop being lazy and go look at it.

[De Lupe]

You're assuming that the Trump nonsense is self-correcting. I don't think it is - the problem with trump is that there are a lot of people and corporations who want to believe the self serving falsehoods he proudly proclaims. The science community needs to be involved as a counterbalance to that.

I just can't see Trump's nonsense surviving once the fuhrer is removed from his throne. A large chunk of the country is already sick of his antics. I'm not a politician, but I suspect the easiest means for someone to beat Trump out of a second term is to announce their intentions to reverse said antics. Hell, I'm half tempted to register to vote just so I can get rid of him.

I don't disagree that the science community should get more involved, and this could be the first step to them realizing that themselves.

[Pterodactylus]

Sorry, but models are incredibly inaccurate

Just because you don't understand what a model is, the limitations and the use, doesn't mean they are incredibly inaccurate. Models are tools - one of many that aid in understanding.

- - - Updated - - -

Please do not call me names. I did not insult you or call you names.

I said you were either lying or you were ignorant because you are denying reality. I'll let you decide.

Do yo have a source that shows the Algore Florida coast matches the current day coast?

How about you give me the source of your Al Gore Florida coast claim and we can go from there.

[Dug]

Glad it has a good turn out. Of all the issues it's the anti-science crusade people are leading that bothers me the most. For all the crying about how "science shouldn't be partisan waah" let it be known that it's only become a partisan issue because a certain side wanted to make it one. It's a sad state of affairs when these people need to stop their research to address the misguided "skepticism" which is almost always a lazy "But what if you're wrong??" with absolutely nothing backing it up.

[Acidbaron]

I don't think scientists should march, because that creates conflicts of interests. A big reason why scientists are not respected anymore in the Western world is because the public perception is that scientists are biased and not objective.

The point of the march is indeed to point out the conflict of interest in the new EPA appointee, but taking a political stance as a scientist still will do more harm in the public's image.

You have to be pretty dumb to believe any study that doesn't allign with your "feelings" or "believes" is biased. There's something called peer review and even when that is applied some people believe it's all one big conspiracy, we have some prime examples of that stupidity on this forum.

If your funding is getting cut and all your work is being dismissed based on "feelings" from people who gladly take an anti-intellectual stance, you would become discontent and annoyed for less.

[Manabomb]

I don't think scientists should march, because that creates conflicts of interests. A big reason why scientists are not respected anymore in the Western world is because the public perception is that scientists are biased and not objective.

The point of the march is indeed to point out the conflict of interest in the new EPA appointee, but taking a political stance as a scientist still will do more harm in the public's image.

Unfortunately, politics is everything. You simply cannot escape politics, because politics is all just balancing power over the many.

The scientists feel as if the power they deserve (or had) is now being misused objectively by political opponents. They have to take a political stance, otherwise the policy they worked to lay the foundations on is moot.

The same thing could be said about farmers shorty after the Civil War. Farming subsidies exist only to please farmers and sway their voting block. Lobbying farmers got political and preserved their method of life all the way to the modern world. Scientists are doing the same thing, now.

[Shinra1]

Why is Bill nye ( white/male ) the leader of this march. We should be encouraging women and minorities into STEM in America and here in the Britain. Bill nye bears the stench of the patriarchy and he is not fit to lead this march.

[Manabomb]

Why is Bill nye ( white/male ) the leader of this march. We should be encouraging women and minorities into STEM in America and here in the Britain. Bill nye bears the stench of the patriarchy and he is not fit to lead this march.

And this is why the Right doesn't take you seriously.

Bill Nye is one of the many faces of science, right next to deGrasse Tyson who just happens to be male, but black.

Stop trying to turn minorities into super minorities by breaking them apart. It's not useful or effective when combating political enemies.

[Shinra1]

Bill nye represents the status quo of science, of what it is to be a scientist. All this is doing is promoting the stereotype of while male scientists. Not long ago Tim Hunt became infamous of saying that female scientists are over emotional and cry all the time and they create 'trouble' for men.

Bill Nye has had a big contribution on mainstreaming conventional science in America through his TV shows. And I'm not trying to downplay that. But in today's sexist and racist climate no minority should feel uncomfortable for saying that they don't want to be represented by a white male especially when there's a big effort to get more minorities in STEM in schools, colleges and universities.

And this is why the Right doesn't take you seriously.

Bill Nye is one of the many faces of science, right next to deGrasse Tyson who just happens to be male, but black.

Stop trying to turn minorities into super minorities by breaking them apart. It's not useful or effective when combating political enemies.

[Trassk]

And you just know that black lives matter, feminists and every other social justice group will work their way into it, because fuck whatever the original protest is about, they will use it for their agenda

[Dextroden]

They're not stupid for 'voting differently'. They're stupid for who they voted differently for.

What you're saying is we shouldn't judge people who walked off a cliff because they 'simply took a different path". That sounds awfully safe-spacy to me, not being able to criticize mistakes. Why are you so PC?

Nevermind. Everyone is retarded for not voting for your pre-approved candidate and deserve to have their property smashed for supporting them. No one can complain about being run off the road for their political affiliation.

Free votes aren't a good thing. Vote our way or you are the enemy.

[Skroe]

I'm going to this. Most of my lab is (we got business in Virginia next week anyway).

[PC2]

Nice, drive young people towards STEM.

[Skroe]

Nice, drive young people towards STEM.

But the President "loves the uneducated" lmao.

[Adam Jensen]

I don't think scientists should march, because that creates conflicts of interests. A big reason why scientists are not respected anymore in the Western world is because the public perception is that scientists are biased and not objective.

The point of the march is indeed to point out the conflict of interest in the new EPA appointee, but taking a political stance as a scientist still will do more harm in the public's image.

Why shouldn't they march? The administration is putting on a whole fucking war against basic facts and everything from the environment to women's health is being dismantled by Trump and his demented entourage.

Scott Pruitt dismantling the EPA, the House putting forth a bill to abolish it. The overturning of Obama's Clean Water act. The right's collective denial of climate change. Their demand that birth control not be a part of health insurance (but Viagra is totally okay guys!) The push to defund Planned Parenthood. The push to dismantle the Department of Education. Putting a moron like Rick Perry in as SecEnergy. Trump's obsession with coal. NASA's loss of funding to do research on Earth's climate.

Scientists would be plenty happy to not take part in politics but the right has politicized science, and so they march.

- - - Updated - - -

You realize this willful ignorance is pretty much exclusively an American feature, right? Conspiracy nut nonsense like climate change denial doesn't enjoy appreciable support anywhere in the Western world outside of the USA.

Plus, this isn't an argument against scientists, it's an argument against a culture that's so willing to believe corporate propaganda and lies that they refuse to think critically for themselves.

Yeah I don't get it. Why are people more likely to believe Exxon fucking Mobile over climatologists?

[Endus]

Yeah I don't get it. Why are people more likely to believe Exxon fucking Mobile over climatologists?

"Guys, I know that basically the entire medical research world understands that cigarettes cause cancer, but this one scientist who works for Camel TOTES says that cigarettes are healthy, so clearly there's a global conspiracy and this tobacco employee is the only one willing to nobly tell the truth. No, he couldn't be BIASED, it has to be that everyone else in every other country around the world in every other position are all biased in exactly the same way. That totally makes more sense for reasons I cannot actually describe."

We wouldn't take this seriously as an argument if it were about anything else, so why does anyone accept it for climate change denial? It's literally a conspiracy-nut theory, that claims that tens of thousands of people working for thousands of employers in every country around the world are all part of the same conspiracy, for no benefit to themselves, and with no evidence of such collusion.

[Adam Jensen]

But he's telling the truth. Sorry but science is not political per se. If some imbecile triest to deny the existence of agw or that vaxxes are safe, a scientist's job is to correct them

Person: "Global warming is fake!"
Scientists: "Well actually, the data points to rising temperatures due to increased green house emissions in the atmosphere, all other factors such as the Sun, volcanism, etc, have been worked into our thesis and the only conclusion we can come to is that it's caused by human industry."
Person: "WHY ARE SCIENTISTS SO POLITICAL????"
Scientists: "Gee I wonder."

[Dug]

Yeah I don't get it. Why are people more likely to believe Exxon fucking Mobile over climatologists?

They've been fed the bullshit lie that climate scientists are rich rockstars driving around in Ferraris and flying private jets off their research grants while the scientists working for oil industry are just good ol blue collar boys trying to make ends meet.

[Skroe]

Yeah I don't get it. Why are people more likely to believe Exxon fucking Mobile over climatologists?

Because most people have all the intelligence and intellectual depth of your average zebra and want their prejudices confirmed.

The reason society produces so few scientists and engineers compared to pretty much every other profession is because the vast majority of the human race isn't remotely cut out for it. The gateway to knowledge three words: "I don't know".

[PC2]

But the President "loves the uneducated" lmao.

That is a weird thing to say but also I wouldn't put that much value on education statistics and degree quantity among Democrats. On average they don't even outearn Republicans.

Promoting science is good regardless of any group who might want to hijack it. Since it is a universal process that cant have any political allegiances.