Neil deGrasse Tyson wants you to know how sad it is that we lost more than 30 people to mass shootings this weekend … it’s nothing compared to other causes of death.
The astrophysicist tweeted some bizarre information on Sunday after the back-to-back mass shootings in Ohio and Texas – which so far have claimed 29 lives and dozens injured – in fact saying … mass shootings are a warning for the death spectrum.
He wrote: “In the past 48 hours, the US has terribly lost 34 people to mass shootings. On average, we also lose … over 48 hours … 500 to medical errors 300 to flu 250 to suicide 200 to car accidents 40 to murder via gun. “
In the past 48hrs, the USA horrifically lost 34 people to mass shootings.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) August 4, 2019
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 then said: “Often our emotions respond more to spectacle than to data.”
In essence, it seems that Neil is trivializing the significance of mass shootings … suggesting that while it is terrible that they happen, they are not nearly as much an epidemic as some of these other categories. It’s safe to say, dude is being torn to shreds online for this.
Many people call his tweet insensitive, cruel and out of touch, especially since the shooting at Dayton took place just under 24 hours ago … not to mention El Paso.
Others also pointed out that although these strange incidents are regular risks in every country, dying at the hands of a gun is increasingly becoming a unique American and is not considered to fall under normal circumstances every day.
That may be changing in contemporary America, but for now … Neil seems to think that people are overreacting.
