Neil deGrasse Tyson's tweet on Ferguson.

[Drunken Irishman]

[True Blue Door]

1. There is definitely a greater consciousness.

Whenever that happens, people have a choice: Take the clearer knowledge of problems as an excuse for cynicism and do nothing, or be inspired by it to become more active. I agree with Tyson - the protests are an encouraging sign that people don't just accept this as The Way of Things.

[LongTomH]

2. +1000 People are finally saying 'Enough!!!!"

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. White people are realizing this is nothing new....

And they had no clue it was even happening.

[Skittles]

3. thanking Dr. Tyson

love his analysis

[heaven05]

4. I like this guy

and his astronomy/space/universe talks too.... Brilliant man rivaling even Sagan I would say.

[DallasNE]

5. What Is The Difference Between Rodney King And Michael Brown

23 years.

[arthritisR_US]

6. Poignant post.

At least Rodney King came out of it alive.

[madville]

11. The major difference is

Video. King's assault was videotaped by a passing motorist if I remember right. Without that video nothing would have come from Rodney King's assault, probably wouldn't have made the local news.

If there was a video of the Michael Brown homocide we would have a much clearer picture of whether Wilson is innocent or guilty.

[Schema Thing]

15. We do have rather compelling video of witnesses expressing shock

at the killing of a man "who had his hands up" minutes after the killing.


Not nearly as forensic as if we had captured the actual scene unfolding, but still VERY compelling. A person may not see things 100% accurately (none of us do), but they don't form lies out of thin air in the minutes after they've just seen a traumatic event.

[Fred Sanders]

7. It was not just a sloppy investigation, it was the usual investigation for shooting a black youth....

only this time this police force was thrust into the national limelight from which all the majority white police forces in majority black districts try to hide...illumination of the reality....welcome to the New Apartheid.

[ReRe]

8. The whole thing...

... was a miscarriage of justice from start to finish.

Thanks, Dr deGrasse Tyson , for your statement!

[m-lekktor]

9. k & r for Neil deGrasse Tyson

always worth paying attention to!

[Blanks]

10. Rosa Parks wasn't the first black person to refuse to go to the back of the bus...

The timing was right to bring the injustice to the light.

I don't know what made this particular shooting get so much attention, but it certainly has raised awareness about the injustice.

Perhaps it's the indefensible position of the law enforcement in this instance, but hopefully the public pressure to 'do something' won't just fade away.

[Half-Century Man]

12. To my tremendous surprise I have to correct Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson.

National exposure not withstanding: Times have little changed when unarmed Black people are gunned down in the street for the smallest of provocations.

[Maraya1969]

14. International protests!!!

I think that is wonderful that other parts of the world see how black people in this country are abused and are standing up against it.