The astrophysicist angers people after he alluded that the number of people being killed in two mass shootings this weekend isn't much bigger compared to the number of people who died in other ways.
- Aug 5, 2019
AceShowbiz - Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has landed in hot water after people think that he tries to downplay mass shooting incidents in his recent tweet. Tyson alluded that the number of people being killed in two mass shootings this weekend wasn't much bigger compared to the number of people who died in other ways during the same amount of time.
"In the past 48hrs, the USA horrifically lost 34 people to mass shootings," Tyson wrote Sunday afternoon, August 4. He then continued comparing the "average" number of people who die in other ways across "any 48hrs."
"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," he concluded.
That tweet unsurprisingly enraged other Twitter users in no time. "Dismissing and normalizing gun violence and the rise of white supremacy will give space to fascism to rise. Thousands of people die every year from gun violence, we don't need fascism on top of it," one user blasted.
Another person argued, "No one person caused 500 medical errors. No one person caused 200 vehicle deaths. No one person committed 200 suicides. No one person killed 40 people with a handgun. One a**hole with a high powered rifle killed 20 people in El Paso. See the fucking difference." Meanwhile, another user simply asked to "shut the f**k up."
Rock band Smash Mouth also fiercely responded to Neil's tweet. "F*** OFF!!!! There's your data!!!!"
America was shocked over the latest gun massacre on Sunday morning, August 4, in Dayton. Nine people were killed and 27 injured in an attack on revellers hanging out in the area, just less than 24 hours after 20 lives were claimed in El Paso, Texas, when a shooter went on a rampage inside a Walmart store.
Celebrities had also taken to their social media accounts to urge goverment to change gun laws in the wake of the incident. "Woke up to the news of #DaytonOH shooting. This senseless loss of life is unbearable," Reese Witherspoon tweeted. "When will our US representatives give the people of this country the common sense gun laws we are all demanding? I'm calling my congressman."
Singer John Legend added, "My heart aches for El Paso and Dayton. Our nation is experiencing these traumas far too often and we need our leaders to take urgent action: take these weapons of war off the street and fight the evil ideology of white nationalism that motivates many of these terrorists."
The "All of Me" hitmaker then slammed President Donald Trump in another tweet. ""When we condemn the racist venom coming from the President's mouth and point out the bigotry of his policies, it's not an academic question, it's not a political game, it's about life and death. The President regularly inspires killers. He is a part of the problem," he wrote.
