So then, take men off our coins and paper money who owned slaves and/or were cruel to American Indians--even though that was (sadly) normal and typical behavior for the times they lived in. McCown had no slaves, but Washington and Jefferson did. Susan Rosine Brighton
On Thu, Nov 2, 2023, 11:10 PM Martin Gerra <[email protected]> wrote: > It seems that the AOU has drawn a pretty clear and discernible criterion > for renaming , i.e., not naming any species after Homo sapiens. There can > be only two objections to this- one - some what understandable but very > weak , the other indefensible. The one that is somewhat understandable is > that learning new names might be hard for those of us older birders who > have used the old names for years. The second objection- the one that is > indefensible- is that you are annoyed that we no longer choose to honor > racists and enslavers. In order to avoid arguments about just how much > racism merits a name change, the AOU has made a wise decision to elide the > debate by agreeing that no Homo sapiens names should be attached to bird > species. I say bravo ( even though I am old, and will now have to learn new > names). > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Nov 2, 2023, at 7:47 PM, Susan Rosine <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Let's face it -- a lot of bird names are stupid in general. They are not > descriptive. > So, don't just get rid of white men's names ------ > Junco - Spanish for reed. ????? > Mallard -- old French/English for Drake ????? > Wren -- who knows? Haha > Loon -- they aren't crazy (haha) > Waterthrushes are Warblers. Fix that. > > ***WOMEN - how do you feel about Ruby-crowned Kinglet? The female is not > ruby-crowned! And what about: > Red-Winged Blackbird > Ring-necked Pheasant > Red Crossbill > Brown-headed Cowbird > Chestnut-collared Longspur > Purple Finch > Rose-breasted Grosbeak > American Redstart > Hooded Warbler > Black-throated Blue Warbler > And on, and on, and on. > > If AOS REALLY wants to be inclusive, and not offend anyone, how about we > stop offending half of the human population? > > Done with my rant. Probably. > Susan Rosine > Brighton > > > On Thu, Nov 2, 2023, 5:13 PM Bonnie Morgan <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> why aren't we worried about renaming birds named for women's body parts? >> >> On Thu, Nov 2, 2023, 6:28 PM Evan Wilder <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> Robert, >>> >>> What if we instead consider this issue from the perspective of an >>> ever-evolving scientific community? We failed to acknowledge the >>> destructive effects of colonialism and racism in the past, but we have a >>> chance to improve upon that now. If we choose to “pause” our evolution now, >>> when might it be more prudent to resume? >>> >>> It's undeniable that America's history has been fraught with racism. >>> This effort by the AOS specifically shines a light on the colonial >>> disparities that saturated the 19th century. I will quote below a paragraph >>> from the AOS's full report >>> <https://americanornithology.org/about/english-bird-names-project/english-bird-names-committee-recommendations/> >>> on the naming decision. >>> >>> "A disproportionate number of eponyms were coined in the American West >>> in the mid-1800s. One member of the committee found that, of the 78 eponyms >>> in Tier 1 [the first wave of names being analyzed], 62% are from the West, >>> primarily the Southwest; 77% of these were named between 1825 and 1875. >>> Prior to that time and place, eponyms were relatively rare: Only 9 of the >>> potentially 78 eponyms in Tier 1 were named before 1825. The eponyms from >>> the American West largely honor and were conferred by “soldier scientists” >>> traveling with the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War and various >>> Indian wars." >>> >>> Since the American Ornithological Society published extensively about >>> its decisions, let me bring a few more of their points into the >>> conversation. Quoted segments are from the same report quoted above >>> <https://americanornithology.org/about/english-bird-names-project/english-bird-names-committee-recommendations/> >>> . >>> >>> - Eponymous names are poor descriptors. Names that describe the bird >>> (e.g., Spotted Sandpiper, Red-breasted Nuthatch), its habitat (e.g., >>> Marsh >>> Wren, Pinyon Jay), its range (e.g. Eastern Wood-Pewee, Mexican >>> Chickadee), >>> or something else about the species (e.g., Fish Crow, Northern >>> Mockingbird) >>> convey more information. >>> - Alternative methods of naming nature that do not imply ownership >>> should be used. Eponyms, bestowed as honors and awards to specific >>> people, >>> not only ignore and conceal attributes of birds, they imply ownership or >>> possession of an entire species by one human. >>> - We must also ask ourselves whose history we are commemorating >>> through this list of names. Equating these names with the history of >>> ornithology, or implying that ornithological history will be lost with >>> the >>> changing of these names, disregards the contributions and knowledge of >>> populations that are not represented. >>> - Instability from such accepted name changes is regularly tolerated >>> and expected across users of bird names.Name changes occur annually, and >>> dozens of name changes occurred in 1957 and 1973 (American >>> Ornithologists’ >>> Union 1957, Eisenmann et al. 1973). >>> >>> Many eponymous bird names came about by being the first white man to >>> "discover" the species and codify the name within standard scientific >>> taxonomy, which has historically been overseen by white men as well. The >>> natural history and scientific history of birds goes well beyond this >>> homogeneous approach, and maintaining our current naming system diminishes >>> the role of birds in America's pre-colonial past – and the role of >>> indigenous peoples in caring for them and their habitats. >>> >>> Thank you for your time. >>> - Evan >>> >>> On Thu, Nov 2, 2023 at 3:28 PM Robert Righter <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi: >>>> >>>> I would hope the American Ornithological Union would pause before >>>> changing common names of birds that are named after historic ornithologists >>>> as that could be divisive . Currently we are living in a period of time >>>> where accusations of racism are rampant and consequently we are currently >>>> judging past historic figures based on our current definition of how racist >>>> they may have been. This is how history becomes distorted and historic >>>> individuals unfortunately become misjudged. Let’s wait a decade or so and >>>> revisit the topic again when hopefully our lenses are clearer, less >>>> tainted. Why are we in such the rush to change the common names of birds >>>> that have been established for centuries. We all need to take a deep breath >>>> or two and wait to see what transpires. >>>> >>>> >>>> Bob Righter >>>> >>>> Denver, CO >>>> >>>> > >>> -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CACPnx8XSorMyczDmSAYW5NKj0DzYiATdVYubU_fGQwNB8V3Rnw%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CACPnx8XSorMyczDmSAYW5NKj0DzYiATdVYubU_fGQwNB8V3Rnw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CACPnx8WNpNSK4Vqyvuyb%2B4ObHfqAj54P9cN0mfK8MoBfVrhqKg%40mail.gmail.com.
