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Gil Scott-Heron - Whitey On the Moon (Official Audio)

Ace Records · 1.9M views · 2014-08-19 · 2:02

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Overview

Gil Scott-Heron's 1970 spoken-word piece, in an official audio upload. It contrasts the Apollo moon program with poverty and neglect at home.

On Hacker News

Posted in space-spending threads as a classic critique of priorities, usually with a quip.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2018–2026

Topics

Music performance & songsSpace exploration & spaceflightSocial issues & culture
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gil scott-heronapollospoken wordinequalityprotest music

What people said

bloak · 2021-07 · Recommendation

Is this in some way related to Bezos and Musk's antics? There's a recording on YouTube. Only two minutes, worth a listen: [VIDEO]

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lordlic · 2021-01 · Recommendation

No, the argument is that there's plenty to learn, and it's all very interesting, but it doesn't stand up against people's very real needs here on Earth. I'm about the biggest fan of space you'll find, but even I, sadly, find the ethical calculus unassailable. Manned spaceflight won't accrue material benefits for ten generations or much more, and meanwhile human beings are dying of treatable or curable diseases, suffering under poverty, and living without access to clean water. This spoken-word work from 1970 conveys the sentiment well: [VIDEO]

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rospaya · 2018-07 · Recommendation

There's a great Gil Scott Heron song with the same theme. In his case it was poverty and healthcare among African Americans in the 60s, not cancer. [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Ace Records, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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