Neil deGrasse Tyson, who hurt you this Christmas?

Though retweeted by unthinking “science bros,” those claims are as pathetic as they are easily dispatched.

1. The truth of any religious, philosophical, or scientific claim is determined by facts and evidence, not simple majorities.
2. No serious biblical scholar anywhere claims Jesus of Nazareth was born precisely on Dec. 25 two millennia ago (serious historians everywhere agree that the man existed).

Of course, Tyson likely knows this. No one can say he is stupid — Tyson earned degrees from Harvard, the University of Texas, and Columbia after all. But somewhere along the way the astrophysicist stopped contemplating the cosmos and started searching for memes. His observations began revealing his own bias and his warped scientific method, his unsubstantiated snark.

So … what happened? Who hurt Neil deGrasse Tyson so bad that he is haunted by the happiness of others?

While it’s common on Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr, this isn’t normal behavior. The thinking man doesn’t need to put others down to feel confident in his own conclusions. It neither picks his pocket that the Muslim family fasts at Ramadan, breaks his leg that the Jewish family lights the Menorah during Hanukkah, nor enrages his sensibilities that the Christian gives gifts at Christmas.

The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe it, and the good thing about a free society is that free citizens decide what holidays to celebrate regardless of the cynicism of one bitter scientist. Hell, plenty of atheists in America celebrate this time of year while rejecting the idea of a heaven. But not Tyson. And for that reason, the bitter astrophysicist is to be pitied above all men.