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Neil DeGrasse Tyson Explains His Christmas Tweet
140Mandak262Jamuna writes Neil DeGrasse Tyson tweeted on christmas day what appeared to begin as a tribute to Infant Jesus, but ended up celebrating Isaac Newton. Apparently this was retweeted some 77000 times, far above his average of 3.5K retweets and caused many to be angry. He doubled down on it by tweeting about people being offended by objective truths. Then wrote a fuller explanation.
TBH, it doesn't matter, though you are incorrect on more than a few points: Saturnalia ends a few days prior to Christmas. Traditionally, Christmas begins on December 25th and lasts until Epiphany (January 8) - well outside of most pagan calendars, which centered around or ended on the Winter Solstice (Dec. 21).
As far as timing, there's are credible studies that disagree with the born-in-the-spring trope as well; I can hunt them down if you'd like and as time permits.
Now, as for OT: The original tweet was snark at the most, kind of cute, and could have been ignored outside of a vocal minority. But no, he had to double-down on the stupid and be a dick about it. Seriously... dude should have left it where it was; instead he lent credence to those who hollered about it, and only amplified something that could potentially harm his career later on (albeit indirectly).
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
It never ceases to amaze me how Christians keep trying to coopt stuff. Now people can't even make posts on Dec 25th, because that date belongs to zombi-jesus. How probably never even existed.
Issac Newton, on the other hand, certainly existed.
morcego