On Monday, senior editor and “planetary evangelist” for The Planetary Society Emily Lakdawalla got herself into a Twitter mess over her suggestion that she skip the opening weekend of Black Panther.
She tweeted:
[[{“fid”:”30221″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“1”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“class”:”media-element file-default”,”data-delta”:”1″}}]]
Obviously, the only solution is for Lakdawalla never to leave her home again. You never know when you being in someone’s general proximity might ruin their day, apparently.
She later deleted the Tweet. But she added:
The media’s emphasis on the supposedly transformative moment represented by Black Panther is ridiculously over the top — but it’s nothing compared to Leftists who feel it is their responsibility to curb their own life choices lest their very presence dampen the Big Day for black theatergoers. First off, it’s difficult to believe that many black people expect white people not to go to the theater, or that they care if they do. Second, why would Leftists stand for re-segregating theaters, this time out of respect for black people? Third, if Black Panther is such an important statement about race, why shouldn’t white people see it and be challenged and changed?
But ideas have now taken a back seat to identity politics. Which is why the best reply came courtesy of one Tyler Baines-Cadbury:
[[{“fid”:”30222″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false},”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“2”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false}},”attributes”:{“class”:”media-element file-default”,”data-delta”:”2″}}]]
