Just when you thought intersectionality couldn’t get any sillier, the American space agency has joined the fight against racism. Or perhaps that should be spacism.
If you thought NASA’s mission was to conquer space, “the final frontier”, think again, it is actually to lead “diversity and civil rights policies, programs, and services – enabling the universe of available talent to contribute inclusively and equitably…”
Last month it was announced NASA was to name its headquarters after its first black engineer, Mary Jackson. Obviously a far more inspirational choice than an old white dude like Neil Armstrong.
Alas, while it is suitable to name a building after a woman, it is no longer suitable to name a nebula after an entire race of people; the Eskimo Nebula is now said to be a harmful name. Actually, Eskimo, or Esquimaux, means “person who laces a snowshoe”, something that is hardly controversial. Alas, the Eskimo Nebula is now to be frozen out.
There are though many other problems related to the naming of other worldly objects. Space itself is black; are we now to allude to it as “of color”, and what about black holes, should they be known as holes of color?
A white dwarf is a star that has collapsed, but surely dwarves are no more to be mocked than any other protected category?
If this recategorising of astral objects sounds ludicrous, it is sadly not new. Back in 1999, the last Millennium, be it noted, a contributor to Jewish World Review mocked the attempt to find anti-Semitism in Star Wars characters and plots.
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