Carmelo
Birding should be apolitical and not subject to the whims of what
appears to be a cancel culture movement within the AOS. Messing with
either the nomenclature or taxonomy, unless you are going to subdivide a
species, makes it appear that this is the case. If it walks like a duck...
FWIW I have been subscribed to Tweeters for about 25 years as an active
participant or a lurker. There are occasional blowups on the listserv
that can occur over controversial issues and unless things degenerate
into ad hominem attacks they usually blow over.
I guess if one can't agree to disagree then leaving is the only option.
Maybe ""shut up and bird"" really is the way to go.
Roger
On 2024-06-27 5:23 a.m., Carmelo Quetell wrote:
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Roger,
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I'm not 100% sure what your intention was when you sent this response
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to Aadu's message. However, it is an operant example of being tone
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deaf. At this point, several people on this listserv who oppose the
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AOS name changes have stated they don't understand why it's important
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(because they're only looking at it through the lens of their own
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personal experience).
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Despite it not being Aadu's responsibility to explain it for (or
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justify it to) others, they have taken the time to do so, along with
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naming the impact it has had on them. Replying in this way is not
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helpful. Regardless of what your intention was when you clicked send,
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it reads as dismissive of Aadu's message, while at the same time
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driving their point home even more.
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Carmelo
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Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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*From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu> on
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behalf of Roger Craik via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
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*Sent:* Thursday, June 27, 2024 2:22 AM
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*To:* tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
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*Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Inclusion in Birding
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All
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To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln
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You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people
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all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time.
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Sounds to me like there's going to be a lot of displeased people along
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with a ton of people who don't really care for what ever reason. So
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just how many people are going to be really pleased by this exercise
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in inclusivity and respectfulness? At least until they have to run out
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and buy new birding books.
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Roger Craik
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Maple Ridge BC
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On 2024-06-26 2:46 p.m., Aadu Prakash via Tweeters wrote:
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Hi Tweeters community,
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Longtime lurker, but felt the need to write in. I'm a 31 y.o Indian
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American who has been birding for 25 years. Throughout my life, I've
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met many wonderful people who have welcomed me into the world of
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birding/ornithology. But on the flipside, I have often felt like the
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odd one out in many of the communities I participated in.
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It's disappointing that the discourse around changing eponymous bird
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names is being shut down. Almost like we're being told to "shut up and
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bird". I applaud folks like Steve and Carmelo who bring up reasons why
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this is an important initiative, and how it can lead to more diversity
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and inclusion in the birding world.
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Many underrepresented groups are faced with the task of "terraforming"
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the communities they engage with. They have to put in serious work to
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make these communities "habitable" for them. But through censorship
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and lack of support from leadership, they often burnout and disappear
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into the background (or leave the group altogether).
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From Carmelo's Op-Ed:
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"Human beings at the AOS have committed their time, money, and
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resources toward this endeavor for the last several years. They've
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clearly stated an intention to actively involve the public in the
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process of selecting new bird names, as well as including a
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diverse representation of individuals with expertise in the social
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sciences, communications, ornithology, and taxonomy."
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These people are actively trying to "terraform" our birding community
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in a way that is inclusive and respectful to us all. They should be
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supported, not shot down. Otherwise things will largely stay the same.
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I plan on unsubscribing from Tweeters and hope that the work is put
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into making this a more inclusive community that can attract AND
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retain folks from underrepresented communities.
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Best,
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Aadithya (Aadu) Prakash
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--
Roger Craik