by James Hyder, Founder/Editor/Publisher (retired)
At the GSCA’s Dome Day luncheon at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History on Sept. 19, I rose to make an impromptu speech to the gathered members of the association. Neither executive director Tammy Barrett nor anyone else with the GSCA or the museum knew what I was going to say.
I said to my friends and colleagues that, as content creators, science educators, and administrators of science museums, they should be extremely alarmed by the actions of the Trump regime to stifle free speech, deny scientific truth, and denigrate scientists and political opponents. I urged them, in both their personal and professional capacities, to fight back against Trump’s assaults on the U.S. Constitution and his other inhumane and criminal acts.
Just a few days before, Disney/ABC had caved to mob-boss-like threats by the chairman of the FCC, and removed Jimmy Kimmel from the air for mild political comments mocking the president and other Republicans. I warned the membership in Fort Worth, “If they can come for Jimmy Kimmel, they can come for you.”
A week later, I was dismayed to receive an e-mail from the GSCA that said, in part,
Your comments were inappropriate in this setting, especially during a sponsored session. GSCA does not take political stances, and it’s important that our members, sponsors, and partners know that your comments were solely your own, and do not reflect GSCA’s values or position. These kinds of actions and statements can jeopardize the GSCA’s 501c3 status.
The e-mail went on to ask me to make a clarification and apologize “for the misunderstanding and disruption.”
Based on the reactions of literally dozens of people who came up to me afterward to thank me for my comments, I don’t believe that many in that audience believed I was speaking for anyone but myself, but I will state here that my comments were entirely my own, and were expressed without anyone else’s prior knowledge or permission.
I spoke out because, as the only full-time journalist covering the GS business for more than two decades, I was uniquely qualified to say what I did and the setting was the only opportunity to effectively reach a significant portion of the membership. And unlike most others in the room, I could do so with no direct risk of retribution.
In my 24 years of publishing LF Examiner, I strived for accuracy and impartiality, and I don’t believe I ever made any overtly political comments in the publication or in any public speech or other communication. In previous years it was all very well for journalists, trade associations, businesses, and museums to say they didn’t “take political stances.”
But everything changed on Jan. 20, 2025.
Among innumerable other horrific assaults on democracy, liberty, and simple human decency, Trump has weaponized this government to persecute his personal and political enemies and any who would oppose his racist and misogynist agenda.
He is threatening the Smithsonian Institution and other museums if they don’t whitewash history to his liking, which essentially means removing any mention of women or people of color, and anything that could be seen as casting a negative light on the United States, even if it is the truth.
A filmmaker who thanked me for my comments in Fort Worth said that their NSF grant had been canceled because — horrors! — the film featured female scientists!
This is NOT normal!
So, what are the values of documentary filmmakers, science educators, science museums, or associations that represent them, if not freedom of speech, the primacy and validity of the scientific method, and the importance of bringing people of all genders, races, and orientations into the practice and appreciation of science?
The e-mail from the GSCA mentions concern about its non-profit status, illustrating how authoritarian regimes use financial threats and pressure to obtain complicity in advance, as it did with CBS, Columbia University, and Disney/ABC.
This is no longer a Democrat/Republican or left/right issue. We are now in an existential crisis of tyranny vs. freedom.
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
– Desmond Tutu
A point I tried to make in Fort Worth is that it is the duty of everyone to speak out against oppression, despite the risks. It is the duty of every individual, company, association, and other organization in the giant-screen business to see the Trump regime as a threat to everything we hold dear, and to work to fight it.
To any museum administrator reading this, if they can come for the Smithsonian, they can come for you. Silence or remaining “neutral” will damage your institution and its reputation, and ultimately will not protect you.
But there is reason to hope: just a few days after the conference, a massive public outcry, and a $4 billion drop in Disney’s stock value, led the company to reverse course and reinstate Kimmel’s show.
There is also growing opposition to the Trump regime, and the vast majority of the American public, including Republicans, is opposed to virtually every one of Trump’s policy positions. Individuals and organizations can and must stand up for what is right, and reverse this country’s march towards authoritarianism, for their own sake, and for the sake of the nation and the world.
Courage is contagious. Unfortunately, so is cowardice. Which will you choose?
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