In this week's episode of “you can’t make this stuff up,” Discovery Channel’s Shark Week has been declared “racist.”

A study by Prof. Whitenack (ironic name, eh?) stated the following:

Discovery’s programming emphasized negative messages about sharks, lacked useful messaging about shark conservation and overwhelmingly featured White men as experts — including several with the same name.

When the Washington Post published her story, it informed the reader that Prof. Whitenack had loved Shark Week as a child yet noted “when the scientists appeared on her TV screen, she rarely saw any women she could look up to. Causing her to think 'I don’t come from a family of scientists. I didn’t see very many people that looked like me on television.'”

As the first woman in my immediate family to attend college, I never understood the value of blaming men who are also in my chosen profession. It's hardly a forgone (or even logical) conclusion that because I see people of the opposite gender doing something I would like to do, I couldn't do it myself.

Wouldn't it be more productive to teach children that success is built on hard work and accomplishment? The constant attack on "the patriarchy" belies their stated goal.

As someone pursuing my degree in science, I also fail to understand how the similarity in names scientifically affected her ability to dream and follow her dreams.

Maybe that's because it didn’t. Whitenack did become a biologist, she did become a professor, and she did study sharks. Maybe she’s just sore she hasn’t been tapped to host Shark Week?

After all, it's the patriarchy's fault, right?  As we all know, whenever one of us women misses out on something we want, there's a white man to blame somewhere!

Back during the 2020 lockdowns, Whitenack decided to research the Discovery Channel to see if they aligned with her ideology. Apparently they got an “F” grade from the professor.

Honestly, after reading Ms.Whitenack's screed, my sympathy is with all the men named Mike who now feel limited in their career choices due to her criticism and the misfortune of being named Mike.

According to the Washington Post:

When the pandemic lockdowns came in 2020, Whitenack saw an opportunity to study the source of her old misconceptions. Was “Shark Week” feeding audiences the wrong messages about sharks — and who studies them?

So Whitenack led a team of researchers to examine hundreds of Shark Week episodes that aired between 1988 and 2020.

“Shark Week featured more White experts and commentators named ‘Mike’ than women," noted Arizona State University conservationist David Shiffman, the study’s co-author.

It was also decided in the study that Shark Week wasn’t fair to the sharks themselves. Poor sharks.

But hold up, aren’t sharks natural predators? Unlike the previous generation who grew up viewing all sharks as potential stars of Jaws, we have the Discovery Channel which has made a point of portraying facts and science. As a scientist, it seems Ms. Whitenack would appreciate the honesty of Discovery in educating the public. Sharks are not cute cuddly creatures. They should be respected as the natural predators God made them to be. That said, a large part of Shark Week is dedicated to diminishing the uncalled-for fear of random attacks and educating the public on avoiding dangerous situations.

Honestly, after reading Ms.Whitenack's screed, my sympathy is with all the men named Mike who now feel limited in their career choices due to her criticism and the misfortune of being named Mike.

At least this Mike is taking it in stride. Maybe because he hosted Shark Week twice during Whitenack's target years.

Mike Rowe posted on Facebook:

Good Morning. As a white male named Mike who hosted Shark Week more than once, this headline caught my eye in The Washington Post. I saw it this morning, shortly after awakening in New York City, where I’ve come to promote another Season of Dirty Jobs, which as you may have heard, premieres this Sunday at 8pm on Discovery.

 

I have not yet had my coffee, or time to formulate a cogent response, but in the course of promoting a new season of Dirty Jobs, (Sunday at 8pm on Discovery,) I suspect I might be asked to respond specifically to this headline. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please leave them in the comments below.

 

Unless of course, you’re a white guy named Mike.

 

I think we’ve all heard quite enough from you…

 

Mike

Bravo, Mr. Rowe. Thanks for taking one for the much-maligned "Mike" team.