4 ms·
It's nerd humor and nerd aspiration. It's a novelty song, but it shows what people want.
by csours 3y ago
It's nerd humor and nerd aspiration. It's a novelty song, but it shows what people want.
- krapp 3y agoIt shows what some people want, and what at the time only white people could aspire to. The criticism that the space program came at a social and economic cost that primarily burdened black Americans while only reinforcing the narrative of white supremacy and racial inequality seems legitimate. The Wikipedia article links to a paper that quotes MLK on the matter: Today our exploration of space is engaging not only our enthusiasm but our patriotism. ... No such fervor or exhilaration attends the war on poverty. ... Without denying the value of scientific endeavor, there is a striking absurdity in committing billions to reach the moon where no people live, while only a fraction of that amount is appropriated to service the densely populated slums. If these strange views persist, in a few years we can be assured that when we set a man on the moon, with an adequate telescope he will be able to see the slums on earth with their intensified congestion, decay and turbulence. I mean yeah, why should black people have given a damn about the moon landing when American society was still permeated by the remnant effects of slavery in many places?