Dr. Danielle N. Lee, who writes for the Scientific American blog network and calls herself “the Urban Scientist,” believes that the push to visit Mars and eventually inhabit it is “white colonialism.”
Dr. Lee expressed her concerns in both the Scientific American blog and on Twitter. Writing in Scientific American in an article titled, “When discussing Humanity’s next move to space, the language we use matters,” Dr. Lee discusses Elon Musk’s push to inhabit Mars some day.
She is very critical of Musk, saying that his language is not inclusive enough to either women and minorities. “Diversity, Inclusion, Access and Ethics should be a critical part of these conversations about space science, discovery, exploration, and yes eventual travel and emigration,” she writes. “And when we look around and see a homogenous [sic] group of individuals discussing these issues – issues that command insane budgets, we should pause.”
On Twitter, she was much more forward, writing:
Keep in mind, Musk never said that space colonization was for only whites. In fact, he never mentioned race once. The only reference to people by Musk in Dr. Lee’s article was when Musk said that “humans” must get excited to explore space.
No matter, Dr. Lee has more to say about his ideas:
Further, Musk at one point states that if we explore space and eventually colonize other planets, we won’t be “stuck” on earth. Dr. Lee believes that language like that is “beyond problematic” because mother earth demands more respect:
And colonizing Mars is “White Male Hubris:”
If by POC she means “People of Color”, which in and of itself is not only exclusionary and racist, it is scientifically wrong. In terms of physics of light white is the sum of all colors… So white folk are “People of Color” too, just all colors.
An “Urban Scientist?” LOL You can’t make this stuff up!
I have a great solution to a lot of issues! Let’s ship all blacks to Mars… we’ll toss in some escalades with spinny wheels.
I think it is really about getting away from people who do nothing but whine. Whining is the MO of losers, a sure formula for losing. Whine and decline.
This is what passes for a scientist? She is a complete racist moron.