Once Rockets Go Up Who Cares Where They Come Down

Line from the song Werner von Braun by TomLehrer - a rather harsh critique of the famous German rocket scientist. The line comes from the following stanza (stuff in quotes is spoken in a mock German accent):

 Don't say that he's hypocritical
 Rather say that he's apolitical
 "Vunce ze rockets are up, who cares vere zey come down
 "Zats not mein department!" says Werner von Braun

Refers, of course, to Dr. von Braun's work on the V2 rocket, which was used as a weapon of terror by the Nazis in WWII. Dr. von Braun knew full well he was working on weaponry; and disclaimed his work on the grounds that he was engaged in mere scientific discovery, and that "others" put rocket technology to nefarious purposes (See also

• http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Teller

Many thought that he should have been prosecuted as a war criminal at Nuremberg, instead he was hired into the US space program after WWII.

This line is often used by social critics against persons who do not actively oppose something the critic finds undesirable. The implication is obvious--by failing to oppose some evil X; they are actually promoting evil X. To remain neutral is just as reprehensible as to take sides in support of X (EverythingIsPolitical?). The analogy isn't quite perfect--von Braun was an active participant in the German war machine, rather than someone who was simply watching from the sidelines.

{von Braun was jailed in Germany for a brief time, probably to send him a "message" about what happens if you don't follow orders. He is quoted as saying something along the lines of, "They ordered us to launch them to the wrong planet."}

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Well, I care. I want to get mine back! -- MartySchrader, RocketGeek?

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Us too. That's why we put GPS and amplified 802.11b on it.

• http://psas.pdx.edu/

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See: BifurcationFallacy