In Washington, many demonstrators refused to share their names publicly, for similar reasons. A woman, who wore a surgical mask and a long layer of white laboratory with the words “crazy scientific” on the back in red lettering, only describes herself as a researcher funded by the federal government “who tries to continue to advance in these difficult times”. His field was planetary science, hence his sign: “Good luck to go to Mars without science.”
Elsewhere, three young women, all students, stood with a sign that said “science is apolitical”. One of them said, “I did not tell my parents that I am here”, and they all laughed. She added: “I should be at home to do my research. But I can’t because we could be funded. It should not be political, but because they do so, we have no choice. »»
The agentification continued throughout the afternoon. Bill Nye, the scientific guy. Fred Upton, a former Republican representative of Michigan. The representative Bill Foster, Democrat of Illinois and the only doctorate. Physicist at Congress. (“It is not only the science that is attacked, it is facts,” he said outside stage.) Dr Allison Agwu, specialist in the infectious division at Johns Hopkins University. Denali Kincaid, doctoral student in geochemistry and a Tiktok Communicator. They reminded the public (unnecessarily, they conceded) the value of scientific expertise: making vaccines, precise weather forecasts, agricultural breakthroughs; To monitor the 150 active volcanic systems more Only in the United States.
From the touch, Mary Doyle, a retirement researcher in public health, deplored the apparently blind depth and nature of the work and the financing cups. Whole university departments “will have left because they depend so much on federal funding,” she said. Her husband, Scott Nainis, engineer, said: “We saw a sign that said:” Science is better made with scalpels and microscopes, not chainsaws. “”
The two had attended March 2017; This was different. “It’s a darker mood,” said Doyle.