I woke up this morning really pissed off that I had to write this thread because a senior guy who doesn’t like me very much just happened to write this article about things I was tweeting about and in the process downplayed homophobia and got the story wrong 😡

I’m pissed also at everyone who read that blog entry and walked away thinking, “oh he sounds like a good guy who has been unfairly maligned who should have a space telescope named after him.” Excuse me, what?
Most of you would never been foolish enough in 2021 to say such a thing about a man who sanctioned institutional anti-Black racism but you think that’s an ok message to send to queer people, including Black queer people?
And he’s gonna get away with it too. No matter what I say, that blog entry will keep making the rounds and people will believe it even though it hasn’t been through a formal edit and fact check process.
Next time Hakeem should maybe send me an email rather than write vague, unprofessional personal attacks like: "astrophysicist who propagated unsubstantiated false information as if it were true without performing proper scientific rigor to investigate its veracity"
I should say that I have had Hakeem blocked on twitter for a couple of years and I actually really don’t want to go into why, but the Hitler was a good guy joke at the last NSBP meeting I attended was gross
I want to be clear that I interpret that blog entry as the leader of a professional society and a senior scientist going out of his way to:
- justify historic homophobia
- attack a junior queer Black woman professor for being angry about homophobia because ...he doesn’t like her
Hakeem and I once had a procedural disagreement during an NSBP business meeting in 2011 when I was a first year postdoc and *10 years later* he is writing poorly researched articles that are basically hit pieces on me, and I am fucking tired
Any astronomers who have seen the piece in circulation should speak up with their chest to people who are posting it about both its factual problems and its moral failings

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॥ॐ॥
अस्य श्री गायत्री ध्यान श्लोक:
(gAyatri dhyAna shlOka)
• This shloka to meditate personified form of वेदमाता गायत्री was given by Bhagwaan Brahma to Sage yAgnavalkya (याज्ञवल्क्य).

• 14th shloka of गायत्री कवचम् which is taken from वशिष्ठ संहिता, goes as follows..


• मुक्ता-विद्रुम-हेम-नील धवलच्छायैर्मुखस्त्रीक्षणै:।
muktA vidruma hEma nIla dhavalachhAyaiH mukhaistrlkShaNaiH.

• युक्तामिन्दुकला-निबद्धमुकुटां तत्वार्थवर्णात्मिकाम्॥
yuktAmindukalA nibaddha makutAm tatvArtha varNAtmikam.

• गायत्रीं वरदाभयाङ्कुश कशां शुभ्रं कपालं गदाम्।
gAyatrIm vardAbhayANkusha kashAm shubhram kapAlam gadAm.

• शंखं चक्रमथारविन्दयुगलं हस्तैर्वहन्ती भजै॥
shankham chakramathArvinda yugalam hastairvahantIm bhajE.

This shloka describes the form of वेदमाता गायत्री.

• It says, "She has five faces which shine with the colours of a Pearl 'मुक्ता', Coral 'विद्रुम', Gold 'हेम्', Sapphire 'नील्', & a Diamond 'धवलम्'.

• These five faces are symbolic of the five primordial elements called पञ्चमहाभूत:' which makes up the entire existence.

• These are the elements of SPACE, FIRE, WIND, EARTH & WATER.

• All these five faces shine with three eyes 'त्रिक्षणै:'.
And here they are...

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