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"Shark Week lacks diversity" is a REAL headline from The Washington Post
Not The Bee ^ | December 06, 2022 | Harris Rigby

Posted on 12/06/2022 11:03:54 AM PST by Red Badger

Apparently in our quest to make EVERYTHING racist, the Washington Post has now dubbed Discovery channel's popular "Shark Week" as racist for "lack of diversity" and featuring too many white men as experts.

Especially white men named Mike.

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost · Follow

Official Researchers say Discovery’s programming overwhelmingly featured White men as experts while emphasizing negative messages about sharks. washingtonpost.com ‘Shark Week’ lacks diversity, overrepresents men named Mike, scientists say The experts featured on Discovery's signature shark programming include more men named Mike than women, a recent study found. 3:11 AM · Dec 6, 2022

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You thought I was joking, didn't you? Here's a taste of the madness from WaPo:

Lisa Whitenack loved sharks as a kid. She spent rainy days leafing through a guide to sharks in Reader's Digest. Every summer, she would watch "Shark Week," Discovery's annual TV event that spotlights the ocean predator with seven days of dedicated programming.

But when the scientists appeared on her TV screen, she rarely saw any women she could look up to.

"Why would I know I could do that?" Whitenack said. "I don't come from a family of scientists. I didn't see very many people that looked like me on television."

This woman didn't see women shark experts on TV so her default was to assume "women can't research sharks"?

What kind of nonsense is this?

Since then, Lisa has gotten into the field of research but it seems less like she's researching shark and instead researching ways to be offended and carry out a weird sort of revenge on Discovery Network.

Whitenack led a team of researchers to examine hundreds of "Shark Week" episodes that aired between 1988 and 2020. In a study published last month by the Public Library of Science, their research claims that Discovery's programming emphasized negative messages about sharks, lacked useful messaging about shark conservation and overwhelmingly featured White men as experts — including several with the same name.

The programming featured more White experts and commentators named "Mike" than women, said David Shiffman, a conservationist at Arizona State University who was a co-author of the study.

So... Whitenack is just a bitter feminist who watches literal HOURS of Shark Seek so she can criticize the programming and carry out a hateful vendetta against a television program about sharks.

Wokeness is a mental disease.

But Whitenack and Bohannon agreed that the biggest concern was with the program's lack of diversity and how that might shape young scientists' perceptions of marine biology and whether they could enter the field.

"Diversity in people brings diversity in thought, which ultimately brings innovation," Bohannon said. "Being able to see someone who looks like you in this field really has an impact."

This is so mind-numbingly stupid it boggles the mind.

Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon summarizes the argument of the article quite well:

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Seth Dillon @SethDillon · Follow Sharks are good and safe. White men are not. Discovery owes everyone — especially any sharks who were offended — an apology. The Washington Post @washingtonpost

Official Researchers say Discovery’s programming overwhelmingly featured White men as experts while emphasizing negative messages about sharks. https://wapo.st/3P0ZoZa 10:33 AM · Dec 6, 2022

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Don't let wokeness make you as dumb as The Washington Post.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: chat; newsforumabuse; sharkweek
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1 posted on 12/06/2022 11:03:54 AM PST by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Almost every TV ad has mixed couples and are ridiculous


2 posted on 12/06/2022 11:06:03 AM PST by butlerweave
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To: Red Badger

There are no Great Black sharks. Just saying.


3 posted on 12/06/2022 11:06:38 AM PST by Repealthe17thAmendment
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To: Red Badger

The smartest person I know is a white man named Mike.


4 posted on 12/06/2022 11:06:48 AM PST by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
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To: Repealthe17thAmendment

Exactly! Great Whites are always the highlight! Racist sharks!!!!


5 posted on 12/06/2022 11:07:15 AM PST by Codeflier (Screw Ukraine. America is burning, and we need to concentrate on our own collapse taking place)
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To: ComputerGuy

Me too!................


6 posted on 12/06/2022 11:07:48 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

Just laugh out loud at them. They look so confused when you do.


7 posted on 12/06/2022 11:08:01 AM PST by bk1000 (Banned from Breitbart)
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To: Red Badger
This woman didn't see women shark experts on TV so her default was to assume "women can't research sharks"?

Seems as though she's not bright enough to be a good marine biologist then.

8 posted on 12/06/2022 11:08:38 AM PST by Hazwaste (Socialists are like slinkies. Only good for pushing down stairs.)
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To: Red Badger

Yes, I’ve noticed a distinct lack of porpoises, whales, dolphins and swordfish on “Shark Week”. It’s really shameful.


9 posted on 12/06/2022 11:12:03 AM PST by Boogieman
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To: Red Badger
What kind of nonsense is this?

Funny, I was just thinking that same thing.

10 posted on 12/06/2022 11:12:12 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Red Badger

Lisa Whitenack loved sharks as a kid. She spent rainy days leafing through a guide to sharks in Reader’s Digest. Every summer, she would watch “Shark Week,” Discovery’s annual TV event that spotlights the ocean predator with seven days of dedicated programming.

But when the scientists appeared on her TV screen, she rarely saw any women she could look up to.

This is total fabricated B.S. *Nobody* watching Shark Week gives a flip(per) about the commentators. You watch shark week for sharks. Big, scary sharks ripping prey to pieces.


11 posted on 12/06/2022 11:12:55 AM PST by Flick Lives (Cui bono)
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To: Billthedrill

We laugh at these morons, but they are deadly serious..............


12 posted on 12/06/2022 11:13:09 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Flick Lives

Yep. I root for the sharks.....................


13 posted on 12/06/2022 11:15:20 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

Scholarship and book sales used to drive what experts wound up in documentaries. Now race and gender seem to be the main drivers. I don’t bother watching anymore since I have zero interest in the fantasy land of woke jackasses.


14 posted on 12/06/2022 11:16:21 AM PST by TalBlack (We have a Christian duty and a patriotic duty. God help us.)
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To: Hazwaste

Did this woman herself did obtain a marine biology degree? Spend 10 years on ships doing research? Defend her thesis to earn a PhD? Sounds like a hard “no” to all of that.

Like all commies, she want to steal the accomplishments of those that did, and pretend that’s OK because of “fairness”.


15 posted on 12/06/2022 11:17:21 AM PST by TonyinLA ( I don't have sufficient information to make an informed opinion said no lefty ever.)
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To: Red Badger

Then find a GD black who’s interested I sharks.

Come to think of it, find a black who’s interested in anything, besides sports and “music”.


16 posted on 12/06/2022 11:18:28 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMV)
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To: Red Badger

“Diversity in people brings diversity in thought, which ultimately brings innovation,”

Uh ”thought “ varies according to race or gender? That sounds a tad racist and sexist to me.


17 posted on 12/06/2022 11:19:50 AM PST by TalBlack (We have a Christian duty and a patriotic duty. God help us.)
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To: All

the WaPo needed to fulfill its quota of woke articles for this week. There is no person who complains about Shark Week. She is a figment of the imagination of 57 WaPo monkeys with typewriters. All of the WaPo monkey employees are black or at a minimum gray. /s


18 posted on 12/06/2022 11:21:50 AM PST by SteveH
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To: Flick Lives

Yes, but you do notice other things.

I’m sick of the BS that we can only “identify” (biggest buzzword these days) with some kind of person who is somehow like us on the surface.

I am a woman and while it would be extra interesting and fun when a woman shared my passion for cars (I DID and still do know one I worked for), or military history, etc, I was in no way deterred from continuing to love it all or pursue studies, or become an engineer.

Heck, that IS the identity - the common passion we have!


19 posted on 12/06/2022 11:22:17 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMV)
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To: Red Badger
Diversity in people brings diversity in thought, which ultimately brings innovation

Bullshit.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

20 posted on 12/06/2022 11:22:26 AM PST by tomkat
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