From Dean Markley:
On Monday, January 29, 2018 at 12:43:12 AM UTC-5, Stuf4 wrote:
Fact: NASA uses racist clocks.


People are blind to many forms of racism. With a legacy of hundreds of years,
racism is steeped into our culture so deeply that many forms go unchecked.
People continue to use these heavily tainted aspects with no thought at all
about the roots of where these things came from.

As evidenced on this forum, people do not care that the Apollo 16 landing site
has been branded with racist symbolism. People care even less that the clocks
that NASA uses continue to promote a racist legacy.

There are other examples beside clocks and Stone Mountain. We could play 'Spot
the Racism', if anyone was game.

Here's one that was pointed out earlier...
Astronaut Jan Davis flying her "WASP" pennant, her alma mater Georgia Tech:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1e/99...89be0f559b.jpg

As for the clocks, no one complains about it. The voices of the people who care
has been squashed so thoroughly that their voice is not even heard anymore.

Anyone interested in more examples? Here is a list of NASA aircraft:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NASA_aircraft

There are several examples of officially sanctioned racism by NASA right there.
It continues through to today. And nobody cares.


It has been recently suggested that certain issues are Off Topic for this forum.
But these things being highlighted here span from today all the way back to the
very beginnings of NASA and earlier. So I see them to be quite fitting for
discussion among those with an interest in space history.

What is wrong with you?


Ok, that's 2 people who aren't interested in hearing how clocks are racist.

As for what exactly "is wrong", I myself am of the opinion that it is the racism that is the problem, not the person who is wanting to shine a light on the racism.

I had first pointed this out maybe two decades ago. Not here on this forum, but over on a forum that used this same practice. They were a lot more receptive to having this called to their attention. And I'm highlighting this over here now because it fits with the essential theme of the discussion in the wake of John Young's death this month...

Improving sensitivity to issues that people just didn't care about for many many years. Generally known as "progress".

So what's wrong with me? I care about progress. I care about improving the human condition. I refuse to ignore that Stone Mountain has a poisonous legacy, and that horribly negative aspects of that has been transplanted up on the Moon. Etc.

It is clear that Fred, Jeff, and apparently you, would prefer to keep your heads buried in the sand over stuff like this. Given that I am a minority of 1 here who is wanting progress on these things, it is easy to dismiss me as being the problem. There are many who wanted to dismiss Martin Luther King as the problem.

....but that didn't happen. The minority opinion gained momentum and support. People switching from the majority side. The oppressive side.

And for anyone who is curious about the clock situation, it is an entrenched oppression of what has been recently categorized as a "******** country" in a "******** continent".

This is not limited to NASA. It is quite possible that you own clocks and watches express this same racism. There are millions of people who support this practice, giving no thought at all to the black-skinned people who this has impacted.


(The situation with those aircraft is not about black peoples. But I see that issue to be just as important. Or perhaps more important.)

~ CT