[Tweeters] Fwd: Rebuttal Petition to the AOS

[Emily Downing]

Hi, Steve, Carmelo and others-

I have been wondering something similar -- ultimately, whether we agree or
disagree, the naming decision is out of our control. So, what if we (our
birding community) were able to take our passion on *this *topic on
renaming and the national media buzz it's attracted and put it toward a
cause that could make a difference for nature and the birds we care about?
E.g., leveraging the renaming buzz to help engage non-birders and get them
outside and attuned to nature? Or outreach to students/children in naming
contests since kids are so great at making up interesting and descriptive
names? The possibilities for this creative and passionate group to have an
impact are endless!

Seems that in this debate about semantics, we are missing the opportunity
as a community to really spend our limited resources and energy on things
*within* our control...and focus on topics that are truly meaningful

Emily



On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 10:36 AM Steve Loitz <steveloitz at gmail.com> wrote:


> Well stated, Carmelo.

>

> Several decades ago, I taught school on an Anishinaabe (aka Ojibwe or

> Chippewa) reservation. During a walk with one of the tribal elders, I saw a

> COHA and said, "there's a Cooper's Hawk." The elder asked me to spell

> "Cooper's," which I did. He responded that his people would never use a

> possessive modifier to describe a natural being or thing, and that the

> apostrophe was a manifestation of human chauvinism, a claim of ownership by

> one individual of one species over another species. He then spoke of the

> Judeo-Christian myth system, which is based on the premise that humans were

> created in the image of a deity, that humans are somehow apart from nature

> and thus have the right to exercise dominion over nature.

>

> That walk with the Anishinaabe elder sparked a change in my world view.

> Years later, I read Frederick Turner's *Beyond Geography: The Western

> Spirit Against the Wilderness* and other writings which led to refining

> my world view, which, in turn, allowed me to more greatly appreciate

> nature, wild things and wild places, eventually leading me to live a life

> of exploring wilderness, i.e., those rare places which escaped alteration

> by human civilization, and where modern humans are mere visitors. I came to

> believe that naming wild things and wild places for humans is an exercise

> in human hubris. The notion that an individual human "discovers" a bird

> species is no less absurd than the claim that Columbus discovered the

> Americas.

>

> I once hoped that humans might get over themselves, but this debate

> confirms my belief that can never happen. Changing eponym bird names will

> be a royal PITA for we old-timer birds, but maybe it's a small step forward

> towards a new enlightenment of our place in nature.

>

> Steve Loitz

> Ellensburg

>

> On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 10:02 AM Carmelo Quetell <melocq22 at msn.com> wrote:

>

>> For the sake of time, let's get straight to the elephant in the room:

>>

>> Dennis, while your contributions (and the contributions of countless

>> others past and present) are greatly respected and appreciated in the

>> worlds of birding, academia, and science (I personally love your field

>> guide *Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide)*, you did

>> not "discover" anything. The people who were memorialized with these

>> eponymous bird names did not "discover" anything.

>>

>> You can't "discover" an autonomous, sentient being that people have been

>> naming and forming connections with all over the continent and around the

>> world since time immemorial. The very belief and sentiment that you or

>> anyone "discovered" a species, consciously or subconsciously, attempts to

>> take away the sovereignty of that being. It also perpetuates the ideology

>> and harm that the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny have been

>> afflicting upon the least of these for the last 600 years.

>>

>> Granted, it's just birding and bird names. It's the not the mass genocide

>> committed against Native Americans across North/Central/South America and

>> the Carribean. It's the not the Atlantic Slave Trade. It's not the

>> atrocities committed against Asiatic peoples in the United States. It's not

>> the colonization of Hawaii, Guam, or the Philippines by the US. It's also

>> not equivalent to the Holocaust or the plight of the Irish.

>>

>> HOWEVER, while this whole topic is incredibly benign compared to any of

>> these major world events, the circumstances by which these people

>> "discovered" these birds and the backlash that this commitment by the AOS

>> is starting to unveil is ROOTED in the aforementioned ideologies. It is the

>> very reason why people talk about decolonizing this or that. I believe it's

>> exactly why the AOS wants to make the bird names about the birds.

>>

>> And no, the Latin names are not going to be affected by these

>> commitements. Yes, the public will be included and engaged in the process.

>> No, landmarks/states/highways/counties/cities/etc. are not going to be

>> renamed as a result of the AOS commitments because that was never within

>> the purview of the ad-hoc committee. If renaming the Ring-necked Duck does

>> not even fall under the scope of these commitments, why do people even try

>> to bring that up in the first place? It's wild. Nobody is coming for your

>> town, or your syrup, or your football team. They will all continue to

>> exist.

>>

>> If people would just read the proposal that Steve Hampton so graciously

>> shared on multiple occasions, and actually sat with it and whatever came up

>> for them somatically/emotionally for a little while, they would possibly

>> realize that all their fear, anger, and resentment is not necessary and

>> definitely not worth blowing through everyone else in the birding

>> community, especially the visibly melanated birders.

>>

>> There's so much talk from those who oppose these commitments about how

>> they support equity and justice in the birding community yet look at all

>> their talking points. How many of you would actually support including

>> Mexico and Puerto Rico in the ABA Area? How many of you are citing other

>> birding organizations who are currently digging their heels in or being too

>> cowardly to speak up as justification for your opposition?

>>

>> How many of you are playing the victim despite the advantages you have

>> over others in the birding community who have just as much if not more

>> talent, drive, and ability as you? How many of you are projecting your

>> fears of not belonging in an era where people get "cancelled" online? How

>> many people, because of their identity, have been cancelled long before

>> social media even existed?

>>

>> People ask, "What's the difference between Equity and Justice?" The

>> salmon are easily our teachers when it comes to answering this question.

>> Equity is building them a fish ladder. Justice is tearing down the dam.

>> These commitments by the AOS are merely some of the initial cracks in that

>> damn. Let the river flow freely.

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

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

>> of Zora Monster <zoramon at mac.com>

>> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 29, 2023 11:42 AM

>> *To:* Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net>

>> *Cc:* TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>

>> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Fwd: Rebuttal Petition to the AOS

>>

>> I read the petition, and disagree with the notion that changing bird

>> names is discriminatory-no groups rights are bring trampled by changing the

>> common names of birds. And history is not being erased, especially in this

>> day and age where so much is recorded digitally, including the arguments

>> surrounding the changing of these names.

>>

>> I welcome the challenge of learning new names-my 61 year old brain needs

>> the challenge. And if it makes others feel more comfortable in this space,

>> as the removal of confederate monuments has made public spaces more

>> welcoming to others, then I’m ok with it.

>>

>> Zora Dermer

>> Seattle

>> Sent from my iPhone

>>

>> On Nov 29, 2023, at 7:54 AM, Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net>

>> wrote:

>>

>> 

>> I am posting this because I think everyone interested in this issue

>> should read it, and if you agree with the petition, please sign it.

>>

>> Dennis Paulson

>> Seattle

>>

>> Begin forwarded message:

>>

>>

>> *From: *Rachel Kolokoff Hopper <hopko at comcast.net>

>> *Subject: **Rebuttal Petition to the AOS*

>> *Date: *November 29, 2023 at 6:15:57 AM PST

>> *To: *Rachel Hopper <r-hopper at comcast.net>

>>

>> I have posted a rebuttal petition to AOS Leadership regarding their

>> decision to change all eponymous bird names on change.org.

>>

>> While I feel there are many reasons to disagree with the removal of *all*

>> eponyms, I think this short petition hits the main reasons why I (and

>> others) oppose this move. I would appreciate a core set of members of the

>> birding community to sign on to this letter and then once we have a good

>> number of initial signees we will make it widely public for anyone to sign.

>>

>> I believe that this petition will gather a substantially greater number

>> than the roughly 2500 who signed the initial petition that got this whole

>> thing rolling. I believe that our voices deserve to be heard.

>>

>> A few notes before signing.

>>

>> After you sign the petition change.org takes you to a screen asking for

>> a donation. Change.org <http://change.org/> is free and this donation is

>> not for our cause. We are not fundraising.

>>

>> Instead, click on “No, I’ll Share Instead” which will take you to a page

>> that gives you multiple ways to share the petition but most importantly

>> also provides a comment box on the right side of the page. If you want to

>> include a membership or organizational affiliation this is the place to put

>> that information along with any other comments you may want to share.

>>

>> Thanks for signing.

>>

>> The link to the petition is here: https://chng.it/VHyjZp5snr

>>

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

>> Rachel Kolokoff Hopper

>> Follow me on iNaturalist

>> rkhphotography.net

>> hopko at comcast.net

>> Ft. Collins, CO

>>

>>

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>

>

> --

> Steve Loitz

> Ellensburg, WA

> steveloitz at gmail.com

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>



-- 
Emily L. Downing

Cell: 425-301-4743
Email: emilyldowning at gmail.com
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