[Tweeters] Inclusion in Birding

[Roger Craik via Tweeters]

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:

> Roger,

>

> I'm not 100% sure what your intention was when you sent this response 

> to Aadu's message. However, it is an operant example of being tone 

> deaf. At this point, several people on this listserv who oppose the 

> AOS name changes have stated they don't understand why it's important 

> (because they're only looking at it through the lens of their own 

> personal experience).

>

> Despite it not being Aadu's responsibility to explain it for (or 

> justify it to) others, they have taken the time to do so, along with 

> naming the impact it has had on them. Replying in this way is not 

> helpful. Regardless of what your intention was when you clicked send, 

> it reads as dismissive of Aadu's message, while at the same time 

> driving their point home even more.

>

> Carmelo

>

>

>

> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu> on 

> behalf of Roger Craik via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>

> *Sent:* Thursday, June 27, 2024 2:22 AM

> *To:* tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>

> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Inclusion in Birding

> All

>

> To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln

>

> You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people 

> all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time.

>

> Sounds to me like there's going to be a lot of displeased people along 

> with a ton of people who don't really care for what ever reason. So 

> just how many people are going to be really pleased by this exercise 

> in inclusivity and respectfulness? At least until they have to run out 

> and buy new birding books.

>

> Roger Craik

> Maple Ridge BC

>

>

> On 2024-06-26 2:46 p.m., Aadu Prakash via Tweeters wrote:

>

> Hi Tweeters community,

>

> Longtime lurker, but felt the need to write in. I'm a 31 y.o Indian 

> American who has been birding for 25 years. Throughout my life, I've 

> met many wonderful people who have welcomed me into the world of 

> birding/ornithology. But on the flipside, I have often felt like the 

> odd one out in many of the communities I participated in.

>

> It's disappointing that the discourse around changing eponymous bird 

> names is being shut down. Almost like we're being told to "shut up and 

> bird". I applaud folks like Steve and Carmelo who bring up reasons why 

> this is an important initiative, and how it can lead to more diversity 

> and inclusion in the birding world.

>

> Many underrepresented groups are faced with the task of "terraforming" 

> the communities they engage with. They have to put in serious work to 

> make these communities "habitable" for them. But through censorship 

> and lack of support from leadership, they often burnout and disappear 

> into the background (or leave the group altogether).

>

> From Carmelo's Op-Ed:

>

>     "Human beings at the AOS have committed their time, money, and

>     resources toward this endeavor for the last several years. They’ve

>     clearly stated an intention to actively involve the public in the

>     process of selecting new bird names, as well as including a

>     diverse representation of individuals with expertise in the social

>     sciences, communications, ornithology, and taxonomy." 

>

>

>  These people are actively trying to "terraform" our birding community 

> in a way that is inclusive and respectful to us all. They should be 

> supported, not shot down. Otherwise things will largely stay the same.

>

> I plan on unsubscribing from Tweeters and hope that the work is put 

> into making this a more inclusive community that can attract AND 

> retain folks from underrepresented communities.

>

> Best,

> Aadithya (Aadu) Prakash

>


-- 
Roger Craik
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20240627/74ebedd0/attachment.html>