Some people do not enjoy politics. Whether it's discussing politics or even staying current on politically-charged subjects, they would just as soon ... not. Though they might think that staying out of it is helpful, it's actually a sign of complacency and speaks volumes about a person's privilege.
Ironically, only those who are not directly impacted by a political movement can go without staying educated and having an opinion on the subject, but it's exactly those people who should be working on behalf of those being targeted.
Those were some of the concerns that TikTokers had when Denver meteorologist Chris Bianchi shared a broadcast snippet that started out promising but quickly took an unfortunate political turn.
Bianchi explained:
"So I've got some good news for your Fourth of July forecast across Colorado. Now, back over the weekend, I did have a TikTok saying that it was trending on the stormy side for the Fourth of July."
"However, as I record this on Monday afternoon, June the 30th, those computer forecast models are now trending dryer and dryer for the Fourth."
"So here's the overall setup. What we got is some monsoon moisture that's gonna stream on in from the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean..."
This sounds good so far, but here's where it went awry:
"...even some Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of America moisture that's gonna stream on up for us from the south..."
Bianchi clearly didn't want to get "political" by voicing his opinion about the Gulf of Mexico, or the possible and problematic renaming of it to the Gulf of America. But many of his followers would not listen to the remaining minute of his broadcast.
You can watch the original video here:
@weatherchris 6/30: Good news for your Colorado 4th of July weather forecast! #coloradoweather #colorado #denverweather #denver #weather #meteorologist #weatherforecast #storms #severeweather #4thofjuly #monsoon
Fellow TikTokers swiftly reacted to Bianchi's inclusion of both names.
By addressing the Gulf by both possible names, Bianchi wasn't just being politically neutral; at this point in history, not taking a stance is privileged, problematic, and feeds into the actions being taken against minorities, important public departments, and other countries.
And fellow TikTokers were not happy to see such a passionate meteorologist sit back and practice complacency.
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Bianchi soon posted a response video, clearly frustrated by the backlash.
Running his hands down over his face, Bianchi stated:
"Okay. I said, both, the Gulf of America and the Gulf of Mexico, because I had referenced the Gulf of California."
"I don't know what to call it, other than the Gulf of Politicization."
"I don't do the politics thing here, and yet my feed is just filled with, 'The Gulf of America,' 'The Gulf of Mexico,' 'The Gulf of America,' 'The Gulf of Mexico'... I want to be clear about something: My page, my everything, I'm into weather, I like meteorology, and one of the reasons I like weather and one of the reasons I like meteorology is that I don't have to deal with politics."
"There are plenty of pages that you can follow for that. I'm not one of them. I don't want to see your comments about it. I'm fed up. I'm gonna go back and drown myself in some candy."
@weatherchris Replying to @madzlikesjazz WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO CALL THIS BODY OF WATER HELP #coloradoweather #colorado #weather #meteorologist #weatherforecast #gulf #gulfofmexico #gulfofamerica #tv
However, Bianchi's response did not make his followers feel any better.
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Some were disgusted by what a privileged take this was.
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Bianchi is right that weather shouldn't have to be political, but with an increasing number of public services being defunded, all things related to meteorology are apparently more political than ever before.
He isn't the person who suggested the name change, but deflecting responsibility as a way to please everyone? That's a privilege that none of us can afford anymore.
