Posted on 09/26/2014 9:14:10 AM PDT by jazusamo
The National Geographic Magazine, a publication heretofore not noted for satirical excellence, has published an article that easily could have appeared in The Onion. In fact, it begins by quoting that satirical publication as an authority. In Colorful World of Birding Has Conspicuous Lack of People of Color , author Martha Hamilton engages in hand-wringing and navel-gazing (yes, they can be done simultaneously, and for all I know, this might be good exercise) over the relative lack of people of color (as opposed to the colorless majority) out looking for exotic avian life. I kid you not:
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 2011, 93 percent of American birders were white, 5 percent were Hispanic (which includes both blacks and whites), 4 percent were black, 1 percent were Asian American, and 2 percent were "other."
The horror! If people do not do every recreational activity in exactly the same proportions, we are suffering from racism. For some reason, people who claim to celebrate diversity want every group to behave exactly the same. And we know who is at fault. Naturally, there have been groups formed, meetings held, and activism activated in order to combat the racism and microaggressions which surely must account for statistical disparities:
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
The Onion? The source quoted by National Geographic was Orion magazine, which is, apparently, an environmentalist magazine. They can’t possibly have anything to do with the satire since radical environmentalists do not have a sense of humor.
I could see someone reading the article making a mistake like that, if they read it quickly without paying enough attention, but the author of a commentary on the so-called “issue” in question? That’s just pathetic, especially when the author of that commentary is citing the magazine and as a source. If I were an editor at American Thinker I would fire a writer for incompetence over a mistake like that and if I owned American Thinker, I’d fire my editor for letting that slip through. Sure, it’s not nearly as bad as Dan Rather or Jayson Blair, but I don’t think I could count on someone who was that careless in their work.
“You know the world is going crazy when the best golfer is a black guy and the best rapper is a white guy”. -Chris Rock
"Blackbirding" was the catchall name for the slave trade in the South Pacific. The unrelated term "birding" might have the same effect as hearing the term "niggerish".
Yep, little doubt both of them would be thinking dollar signs reading the NG article.
I have met some bird watchers. It is my impression that bird watchers are people with above average intelligence. I cannot prove it, but that is my impression.
I know that camping is so I am not surprised to learn that bird watching is as well.
I mean really, is there anything that isn’t racist?
Evil, racist, white bastards should all be shot!
The Archie Bunker Harlem Globetrotter line comes to mind.
It’s odd how any group that is overly represented by whites is called racist - while if the group is overly represented by blacks, it is not racist. Such as: the NBA, the NFL, Boxing, etc.
Why cannot the government investigate the inequality of opportunity for short white folks in the NBA?
I hear you...To leftists it’s not racism if it’s black on white and the majority of media and academia are leftists.
Bird watching is a CHOICE.
Very surprised there aren’t more Asians doing this, it seems like an Asian thing to do, all quite and serene, appreciating nature.
Load up the buses, force these folks into nature, whether they like it or not!
I like to watch them over the front bead of my 870.
Then they decided that Science and truth are evil and began inserting the words “global warming” and “climate change” into every article they possible could, even if it was a non sequitur.
Wha’ Happen?
People who are always looking for “disparity” in certain sectors are the racist ones. They either lack the brainpower to realize it or they really believe they are doing the minorities some good by their accusations. Oh, look, a birdie!
what was that?
Have been a backpacker for 40 years, and met on the trail probably thousands of people over the years. I doubt I’ve met more than a dozen black folks more than 10 miles from the trailhead over this time. Just not something they seem to do.
Rock climbing and cycling similar percentages.
“Rock climbing and cycling similar percentages.”
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Also swim teams. I don’t know why.
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Lionel: "If you follow that thinking, 80% of the Harlem Globetrotters ought to be white."
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