In their September 17 article (“Confessions of a feminist killjoy,” Commentary, page 8), Isabella Mancini and Jamie MacLean contend that “If you were an astronaut you might find it weird that…no one understands the terms you use at work everyday.” Perhaps this statement reveals a fundamental disconnect between feminists and the rest of us. What astronauts do on a daily basis is, quite literally, rocket science, and they are likely far from surprised that laymen are clueless about even the basics of physics, let alone the complexities they deal with. Astronauts don’t find this offensive nor repressive, but recognize pragmatically that this is the way the world works. And when they talk about physics and space to the rest of us they do so without condensation and criticism because they want us to know what they know and reduce our ignorance. I guess I just want the authors to keep this in mind as they struggle to spread awareness about their passions. Yes, I confess, I know very little about the information you study on a daily basis. I’m sorry about that too, I guess. I genuinely would like to be more aware of how I contribute to oppression in society and become informed about feminism, but just be fucking nice about it when you fill me in. Please.
—Mark Bay
U3 Geography and Economics
P.S. And for full disclosure (re: Adrian Turcato, “Don’t make excuses for rape culture,” Commentary, September 13, page 5) I am a mixed race Asian-Caucasian male. That shouldn’t matter really though.