When coming across a celebrity, as one usually does in New York City, there's a few things that could run through your mind: Should you go up to them? Maybe even take a selfie? Nah, maybe a stalker selfie of them in the background will still get those Instagram likes?
Or, you can risk pissing off the Internet.
That's what Michael Hale, or @DogBoner, did when he snapped a picture of famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on a subway in New York City on July 29. Tyson, who was minding his business typing away on a laptop (you know, probably thinking up some new theories and shit), had his picture unknowingly taken by Hale, who uploaded the picture to his Twitter account. Like so:
Some guy using his laptop on the train like a Dumbass nerd lol pic.twitter.com/4RuSAZfI14
— im literally 12 (@dogboner) July 29, 2014
Yeah, dude went for the jugular. He calls good ol' Neil a "dumbass nerd" in front of thousands of followers. Now, unless Hale is a real asshole, people using laptops on the subway isn't that foreign of a sight, so calling out a random person for using one would be a little out of nowhere. So it's easy to conclude that Hale was just being tongue-in-cheek, and he knew exactly who Tyson was. But, that didn't stop the Internet from waging a war against Hale, who ended up writing a Gawker post to explain what the tweet was all about:
This morning I'm clicking through my mentions and reading great replies from people from all walks of life who love interacting online. Someone named @NotChadd wants me to "fall into an ocean of aids."
What a way to wake up.
1.
2.
From his post:
Instead of taking a second to analyze the post, scores of people took it at face value and began ripping me apart for being a moron (something I don't entirely disagree with). How could you not know who that was. You're a fucking idiot. I would have been kissing his feet. I would have sucked his dick. Et cetera.
The internet is filled with nerds who are desperate to 1) demonstrate their love for science and 2) display their superiority to everyone else. I had provided them all with a chance to do both, at the same time. They were falling over each other to tell me that I am the reason the world is a bad place.
The outrage went so far that it reached the popular Facebook pages for I Fucking Love Science and Star Trek legend George Takei. Now I'll admit, there have been times where a joke flew right over my head. Maybe we all need to take a breather and think before we react. And if we react, do we always have to react negatively?
