This inflammatory email has split the astronomy community in two
TMT Observatory
And that's exactly what the plan is: build a $1.4 billion telescope, called the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), on the sacred summit. Native protesters threw a wrench into that plan however, and brought the construction of the telescope to a grinding halt back in April.
Construction is postponed indefinitely, and the mountain top has become the site of a cold war between science and native culture.
As much as astronomers want to see the TMT built, many are torn over what it would mean to some natives. Some astronomers have condemned the telescope, saying scientists have no right to the land. Others argue that the scientific advances and the years that went into that will come from this telescope are more than enough to justify it.
The mostly private feud among astronomers reached a very public climax when University of California astronomers Alex Filippenko and Sandy Faber, sent out a mass email urging astronomers to sign a petition supporting TMT. The petition was actually written by a native Hawaiian science student, but Faber and Filippenko's message was not well received.
Posts about the email have since been taken down, but some people took screen shots:
@bucksci Too bad no one thought to take a screenshot. OH WAIT! pic.twitter.com/YQ7OAllBU4
- Janet D. Stemwedel (@docfreeride) April 22, 2015
Yes, the email was real:
@AnnFinkbeiner @bucksci @kittykaraoke @docfreeride I am very sad to say, the email is genuine. I was on the original, sent to a team of ~200
- Risa Wechsler (@RisaWechsler) April 21, 2015
And the fallout was terrible.
Many astronomers called the message racist:
It should be obvious that describing TMT as "attacked by a horde of native Hawaiians" is problematic. Racist, dehumanizing language.
- Janet D. Stemwedel (@docfreeride) April 21, 2015
Some have said it's not acceptable to ignore the concerns of a native people in the name of science:
Serious Q: of the pro TMT, did yAll even consider the possibility that you couldn't put a telescope there on Mauna Kea?
- DNLee (@DNLee5) April 22, 2015
Astronomers, is "assimilate or get out" really the message we want to send to up-and-coming scientists of color?
- Jennifer L. Hoffman (@astroprofhoff) April 10, 2015
Others have concerns about how it might influence native Hawaiian astronomers:
Do people care that there might be Hawaiian astronomers, young ones, who are feeling totally alienated by the community right now?
- Chanda (???) (@IBJIYONGI) April 21, 2015
This entire situation makes me question my place in astronomy and who is there to support me and other indg. people. https://t.co/BBlgzvztzq
- Charee Peters (@SiouxperNova) April 21, 2015
Faber and Filippenko did apologize. Not everyone was impressed though:
Pro-tip: If goal is really to apologize for racist framing of call for support of your project, focus on racist framing, not on your project
- Janet D. Stemwedel (@docfreeride) April 22, 2015
Sarah Ballard, an astronomer at the University of Washington, said there's still "bitter contention" among astronomers.
Some are still very much in support of TMT:
#WeSupportTMT #WeAreMaunaKea pic.twitter.com/iR3LyGTPoy
- Michael West (@ACKstronomy) May 15, 2015
@thinktechhi & TMT Corp are on the right track. Help young #NativeHawaiians become #science supporters, not fear science. #WeSupportTMT
- Sam Kestu (@Sam6869) May 13, 2015
In some ways the email has exposed racism inherent in TMT, Ballard said. It's forcing astronomers to consider science culture's long and complicated history - a history where it hasn't always treated minorities fairly.
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