Three black teens are finalists in a NASA competition. Then this happened...

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/three-black-teens-are-finalists-in-a-nasa-competition-then-hackers-spewing-racism-tried-to-ruin-their-odds/2018/05/02/a702f53e-4d72-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html?utm_term=.23a36cbb8cb7


My 15 year DD read this, and just asked me "Mom, why would somebody do this? It's so mean, so petty. I just why? Don't they have better things to do?"


I had no answer. I was speechless after reading the story. All I could say was "Damn!, will this $hit never end?" I mean of all the things to troll on the internet, this is what some folks spend their time doing. But I guess this is no big deal. They caught it and all is well. Of course these young ladies will move on (and I'm sure they will), but to know that people are out there trying to undermine the accomplishments of children, of these young women is soul crushing, and really makes you wonder about the future of American society.

[Anonymous]

Speaking as a black National Merit Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Intel finalist and a few other things black people are apparently not supposed to be, this is how white people react when black people do extremely well. My experience has always been that whites are initially convinced the situation was somehow rigged (how can a black be so smart?) and then the pure hatred and envy comes pouring out, whether expressed overtly or passive aggressively or anonymously.

[Anonymous]

Those girls are awesome! Some people suck, and racism in this country goes incredibly deep.

[Anonymous]

Good for these girls.

[Anonymous]

Ugh horrible. Those girls are fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking as a black National Merit Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Intel finalist and a few other things black people are apparently not supposed to be, this is how white people react when black people do extremely well. My experience has always been that whites are initially convinced the situation was somehow rigged (how can a black be so smart?) and then the pure hatred and envy comes pouring out, whether expressed overtly or passive aggressively or anonymously.

You could focus on the actions of 4chan (a marginalized and semi-legal group of people) or on the actions of NASA, the widely respected and official judging body, who took action to correct the situation, as well as WaPo and whoever is was who brought 4chan's plans to NASA's notice.

[Anonymous]

I think this is fantastic. But as a broader matter, government is failing if it can’t deliver safe drinking water.

[Anonymous]

What a great project -- solving a real problem in their real lives.

And what a great contest -- using space technology in ordinary life.

[Anonymous]

I love that they are cheerleaders. That really made me smile. Fantastic project. Get those girls to Flint!
Bravo ladies.

- also 4chan is an abomination

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking as a black National Merit Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Intel finalist and a few other things black people are apparently not supposed to be, this is how white people react when black people do extremely well. My experience has always been that whites are initially convinced the situation was somehow rigged (how can a black be so smart?) and then the pure hatred and envy comes pouring out, whether expressed overtly or passive aggressively or anonymously.

Why on earth would NASA have a ‘voting system’ for a science project?? This from the people who were always picked last? You are going to end up with the most privileged group (the ones who are the most socially connected with resources to win votes) winning and what does that have to do with science?
You have the trifecta here with girls trying to win something here too - the horror!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking as a black National Merit Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Intel finalist and a few other things black people are apparently not supposed to be, this is how white people react when black people do extremely well. My experience has always been that whites are initially convinced the situation was somehow rigged (how can a black be so smart?) and then the pure hatred and envy comes pouring out, whether expressed overtly or passive aggressively or anonymously.

Why on earth would NASA have a ‘voting system’ for a science project?? This from the people who were always picked last? You are going to end up with the most privileged group (the ones who are the most socially connected with resources to win votes) winning and what does that have to do with science?
You have the trifecta here with girls trying to win something here too - the horror!

Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised if stacking the deck in favor of white people is exactly why they have a voting system. Resentment of immigrants dominating math and science competitions runs high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking as a black National Merit Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Intel finalist and a few other things black people are apparently not supposed to be, this is how white people react when black people do extremely well. My experience has always been that whites are initially convinced the situation was somehow rigged (how can a black be so smart?) and then the pure hatred and envy comes pouring out, whether expressed overtly or passive aggressively or anonymously.

You could focus on the actions of 4chan (a marginalized and semi-legal group of people) or on the actions of NASA, the widely respected and official judging body, who took action to correct the situation, as well as WaPo and whoever is was who brought 4chan's plans to NASA's notice.

As I posted, before Jeff deleted my post for reasons only he understands, it is dishonest to pretend the problem of backlash against black people successfully competing in spaces that whites think are theirs (and, grudgingly, Asians’) is limited to 4chan. I grew up with white parents in the suburbs engaging in the most underhanded tricks (such as brokering deals with school officials to change the rules of awards) to undermine my brother and I. We achieved a lot of “first black” and “first person ever” designations and were #1 and #2 in our classes all of our grade school years. We moved around a lot, but the angry response of white parents when we edged out their kids (complete with racist speech and “jokes”) was consistent. White people are not used to black people competing with them head-to-head in academics and winning.

[Anonymous]

It's infuriating. Underachieving black people are derided as lazy, stupid, inferior, you name it. But when you have successful, high-achieving black people, there is still backlash! I wonder why that is...anyone care to guess?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking as a black National Merit Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Intel finalist and a few other things black people are apparently not supposed to be, this is how white people react when black people do extremely well. My experience has always been that whites are initially convinced the situation was somehow rigged (how can a black be so smart?) and then the pure hatred and envy comes pouring out, whether expressed overtly or passive aggressively or anonymously.

You could focus on the actions of 4chan (a marginalized and semi-legal group of people) or on the actions of NASA, the widely respected and official judging body, who took action to correct the situation, as well as WaPo and whoever is was who brought 4chan's plans to NASA's notice.

As I posted, before Jeff deleted my post for reasons only he understands, it is dishonest to pretend the problem of backlash against black people successfully competing in spaces that whites think are theirs (and, grudgingly, Asians’) is limited to 4chan. I grew up with white parents in the suburbs engaging in the most underhanded tricks (such as brokering deals with school officials to change the rules of awards) to undermine my brother and I. We achieved a lot of “first black” and “first person ever” designations and were #1 and #2 in our classes all of our grade school years. We moved around a lot, but the angry response of white parents when we edged out their kids (complete with racist speech and “jokes”) was consistent. White people are not used to black people competing with them head-to-head in academics and winning.

Do you think you harbor any racial prejudices? Just curios about how you see yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking as a black National Merit Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Intel finalist and a few other things black people are apparently not supposed to be, this is how white people react when black people do extremely well. My experience has always been that whites are initially convinced the situation was somehow rigged (how can a black be so smart?) and then the pure hatred and envy comes pouring out, whether expressed overtly or passive aggressively or anonymously.

You could focus on the actions of 4chan (a marginalized and semi-legal group of people) or on the actions of NASA, the widely respected and official judging body, who took action to correct the situation, as well as WaPo and whoever is was who brought 4chan's plans to NASA's notice.

As I posted, before Jeff deleted my post for reasons only he understands, it is dishonest to pretend the problem of backlash against black people successfully competing in spaces that whites think are theirs (and, grudgingly, Asians’) is limited to 4chan. I grew up with white parents in the suburbs engaging in the most underhanded tricks (such as brokering deals with school officials to change the rules of awards) to undermine my brother and I. We achieved a lot of “first black” and “first person ever” designations and were #1 and #2 in our classes all of our grade school years. We moved around a lot, but the angry response of white parents when we edged out their kids (complete with racist speech and “jokes”) was consistent. White people are not used to black people competing with them head-to-head in academics and winning.

You might be surprised to know that parents these days don’t like their kids being edged out for awards and accolades, regardless of race.