A congressman is booed in a town hall right in his home state of Utah. The crowd's reaction came after a young girl named Hannah Bradshaw asked the politician about his views on science.
Though Rep. Jason Chaffetz graciously told the girl to continue her question amid the cheers of the audience and even shook her hand with a gracious smile on his face, he did little to answer the question, prompting the audience to react accordingly.
'Do You Believe In Science?'
The two questions that the girl asked were pretty simple: "What are you doing to help protect our water and air for our generations and my kids' generations?" and "Do you believe in science?"
This was followed by her input "...because I do," before going back to her seat amid cheers from the crowd and even a high-five from an audience member.
However, despite his seemingly accepting attitude toward the question and the young girl, the congressman did not answer either of the questions to the crowd's dismay.
The audience started booing and you could even hear one audience member yell, "Answer the question."
Despite this reaction from the crowd, the congressman still only gave vague answers and even stated the importance of coal in our future. Further, the politician stated his belief that solar farms are destroying wildlife.
Utah Congressman Chaffetz gets totally owned by 10 year old girl's sick burn about science, refuses to answer her question & crowd goes wild pic.twitter.com/FxKUM2TklY
— Aaron Stewart-Ahn (@somebadideas) February 10, 2017
Abolishing The Department Of Education
Just a few days prior, Rep. Chaffetz supported Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie's proposal to abolish the whole Department of Education the very same day that the president appointed Betsy DeVos despite criticism The proposed abolition of the department is due to the representatives' belief that education should be handled at a state and local level instead of a federal level.
Fighting Indifference
This indifference toward science and information has been triggering intense reactions across the country.
This began when the Trump administration instructed certain government agencies to limit their information dissemination, particularly when it comes to science and climate change. This move alone prompted many to create rogue Twitter accounts to defy the order. The bold move immediately garnered a strong following as the rogue accounts spewed one scientific fact after another.
Following the online rebellion, scientists are hot on the heels of the Women's March that happened right after the inauguration, with people taking to the streets.
The March For Science is already appropriately scheduled on Earth Day, April 22. Scientists stress that the protest will not be a political protest but a protest for science given the administration's blunt indifference toward scientific facts especially when it comes to climate change.
The crowd's reaction at the town hall simply proves that people are ready to push for science and information in any arena.
