National Geographic is slammed for suggesting July 4 fireworks are racist because their smoke 'disproportionately targets communities of color'

Daily Mail ^ | July 5, 2021 | Brian Stieglitz

[rickmichaels]

National Geographic caused a stir by suggesting that Fourth of July fireworks are racist because their smoke disproportionately affects communities of color.

The publication marked Independence Day on Sunday by tweeting: 'Scientists found that vulnerable people and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to air pollution from firework celebrations.’

The tweet included a link to an article about a study which found that communities of color and vulnerable populations with higher rates of asthma, older residents and children, are exposed to higher levels of smoke from firework displays than other groups.

The study by researches at the University of California's Irvine campus suggests that law enforcement should crack down on illegal displays and that municipal and corporate displays should be replaced by drone light shows.

National Geographic's tweet was met with swift criticism from Twitter users who branded it unnecessarily divisive and decried the outlet for putting a damper on the holiday.

[erlayman]

They do disproportionately target animals, though, and I am against them for that reason, if NG didn’t get around to it first.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

So many popular publications have been taken over by leftists while conservatives stand by and do nothing but get mad. When the hell was National Geographic infiltrated by wokesters?

[Misitheus]

A few years ago they had an article on gender...dumped them that month...

[I want the USA back]

That’s it! The smoke has a mind! It moves away from those eeeeevvvvil Whiteys!

[simpson96]

"Scientists found..."

No. Propagandists found.

With free grant money.

[blam]

I quit radical left National Geographic years ago. Go away NG!

[chopperk]

Maxine Waters must be on the board of directors.....

[Steve_Seattle]

One wonders what mental gymnastics they had to perform in order to reach this conclusion. Where I live (Seattle area), the major public fireworks celebration are held at the Seattle Center (former world's fair site) and Lake Union (from a barge), near the city center. If anything, these are near affluent areas, and are miles away from neighborhoods with a large concentration of minorities.

Apart from very small "fireworks" suitable for children, it's illegal to buy fireworks except at one of the Indian reservations, and I believe it's illegal to detonate any fireworks that go into the air. That applies both to the city of Seattle and surrounding suburbs. But that does not deter some people from detonating firecrackers and other small fireworks in most neighborhoods, regardless of their ethnic makeup.

If the Indian reservations have more fireworks smoke than other areas, it's because they CHOOSE to make money by selling fireworks, and to provide a field away from buildings where they can be legally (and presumably safely) used. No one forces them to do it.

[simpson96]

It’s pretty damning to those “scientists” that they’ve ignored the simple facts which you presented so well and so easily.

[fortes fortuna juvat]

I cancelled my long running subscription to NG over 15 years ago over its anti-science wokeness. I don’t regret it in the least.
....................................
That does it! From now on the second I see anything related to NG I will immediately dismiss/ignore it in every way possible.

[Libloather]

That strontium will get ya every time.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

That strontium makes deep reds in fireworks, so it is either honoring Indians or celebrating communism. You’d think they would like that dose of strontium either way.

[myerson]

“...communities of color...”

What a ridiculous term.