Taxacom: Policing the scientific lexicon: The new colonialism?

Daniel Whitmore whitmore.daniel at gmail.com
Thu Jun 15 01:50:26 CDT 2023 

Roger Waters appears slightly less concerned about human rights in Ukraine, but I guess everyone picks his own human rights battles…

Sent from my iPhone

> On 15. Jun 2023, at 08:23, Stephen Thorpe via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
> 
> 
> Yes, indeed! The point though, in case it gets lost, is that there is nothing wrong with Pink Floyd or Roger Waters, yet some people do claim to be offended by their alleged antisemitism, which is in fact based just on a human rights criticism of Israel's policies on Palestinians. To my mind, this illustrates that the notion of offensive patronymy is way too subjective to act as a basis for renaming taxa. As I said, one man's human rights campaigner is another man's antisemite! Science needs to be above politics. Having said that, patronyms might more sensibly be restricted to people actually relevant to the taxon, rather than the taxonomists favourite band!
> Stephen    On Thursday, 15 June 2023 at 06:12:15 pm NZST, Alfredo Vizzini <alfredo.vizzini at unito.it> wrote:  
> 
> .....and what about the spider genus Pinkfloydia.....
> Alfredo
> Il gio 15 giu 2023, 08:06 Stephen Thorpe via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu> ha scritto:
> 
>  John,I think the list server may have formatted my reply to you badly, so I'll try again. You say
> Yeah - best to keep examples taxonomic. I never knew that there was a singular 'The' Jewish Lobby. Never knew that they all thought alike
> My example was taxonomic. Accusations of antisemitism against Waters relate specifically to Pink Floyd's 1979 concept album "The Wall", so those two pinkfloydi patronyms are likely to be in the offensive category according to some people who misunderstand that the album was satirising fascism. Some lyrics from the album: 
> That one looks Jewish and that one's a coon, who let all this riff-raff into the room, there's one smoking a joint and another with spots, if I had my way I'd have all of them shot!
> There is a specific entity called the Israel Lobby, to which I was referring. You can look it up on Wikipedia.
> Anyway, the point is that there is always going to be passionate debate and irresolvable disagreement over what names are offensive and why. Do we really want this political debate to destabilise nomenclature?
> Stephen
>     On Thursday, 15 June 2023 at 05:46:54 pm NZST, Stephen Thorpe via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:  
> 
>   Israel lobby in the United States - Wikipedia
> 
> 
> | 
> | 
> | 
> |  |  |
> 
>  |
> 
>  |
> | 
> |  | 
> Israel lobby in the United States - Wikipedia
> 
> The Israel lobby, also known as the Zionist lobby, are individuals and groups seeking to influence the United St...
>  |
> 
>  |
> 
>  |
> 
> My example was taxonomic. Anyone who calls Roger Waters antisemitic is likely to find pinkfloydi patronyms "offensive".
> Stephen
> 
> 
> 
>     On Thursday, 15 June 2023 at 05:05:07 pm NZST, John Grehan <calabar.john at gmail.com> wrote:  
> 
>  Yeah - best to keep examples taxonomic. I never knew that there was a singular 'The' Jewish Lobby. Never knew that they all thought alike.
> On Thu, Jun 15, 2023 at 12:30 AM Pavel Gol'din via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
> 
> Actually I find offensive your speech rather than names like pinkfloydi. I
> would be happy if different metaphors will be used in the discussion.
> 
> On behalf of the World Government,
> Pavel
> 
>> On Thu, 15 Jun 2023, 07:12 Stephen Thorpe via Taxacom, <taxacom at lists.ku.edu>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>   I think that the woke agenda is starting to undermine itself now, by
>> going too far and also by blatant weaponisation of terms like antisemitism
>> for obvious self-interest agendas. I'm not talking directly about taxonomy
>> or nomenclature here, but about the broader issue. A current nontaxonomic
>> example concerns British musician Roger Waters, who has been branded as an
>> antisemitic nazi by the Israel Lobby. In fact, Waters' father was killed by
>> the Nazis when Waters was still a baby. What Waters is doing is criticising
>> the human rights policies of Israel in relation to the Palestinians,
>> comparing Israel's treatment of Palestinians with the Nazis treatment of
>> the Jews. Anyway, let's just hope that taxonomy can keep out of woke
>> politics. It has no place in science. One man's human rights advocate is
>> another man's antisemite. Therefore, many patronymic names will be
>> offensive to somebody, but it is best ignored. I'm not sure if there are
>> any patronyms for Roger Waters, but there is Cephalon
>>   omia pinkfloydi and Synalpheus pinkfloydi, patronymic for Waters' former
>> band, Pink Floyd. The Jewish Lobby would probably find these names
>> "offensive"!
>> Stephen
>>      On Thursday, 15 June 2023 at 02:43:34 pm NZST, Dilrukshan Wijesinghe
>> via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
>> 
>>   Policing the scientific lexicon: The new colonialism?
>>   Rohan Pethiyagoda
>> Fish Section, Australian Museum, 1 William St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010,
>> AustraliaWildlife Heritage Trust, 1 Lake Crescent, Colombo 00200, Sri Lanka
>> Email: rohanpet at gmail.com; https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Forcid.org%2F0000-0001-7215-9617&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C0b67f90ef41044e20a9808db6d6cd534%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638224086436985782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kylH9SPG9dBS4jtswOzbCCK1fagFyPQJYGiWhWH%2Bx4o%3D&reserved=0
>> doi.org/10.11646/megataxa.10.1.4
>> Not sure if this has been seen/commented on.
>> 
>> Priyantha
>> 
>> D. P. Wijesinghedpwijesinghe at yahoo.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> Taxacom Mailing List
>> 
>> Send Taxacom mailing list submissions to: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
>> For list information; to subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
>> https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/taxacom
>> You can reach the person managing the list at: taxacom-owner at lists.ku.edu
>> The Taxacom email archive back to 1992 can be searched at:
>> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftaxacom.markmail.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C0b67f90ef41044e20a9808db6d6cd534%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638224086436985782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wkOV80a%2F%2BPhcMJkZRc5hUNfklp%2F3uq5UWEJh62OlK4Q%3D&reserved=0
>> 
>> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for
>> about 36 years, 1987-2023.
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Taxacom Mailing List
>> 
>> Send Taxacom mailing list submissions to: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
>> For list information; to subscribe or unsubscribe, visit:
>> https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/taxacom
>> You can reach the person managing the list at: taxacom-owner at lists.ku.edu
>> The Taxacom email archive back to 1992 can be searched at:
>> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftaxacom.markmail.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C0b67f90ef41044e20a9808db6d6cd534%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638224086436985782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wkOV80a%2F%2BPhcMJkZRc5hUNfklp%2F3uq5UWEJh62OlK4Q%3D&reserved=0
>> 
>> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for
>> about 36 years, 1987-2023.
>> 
> _______________________________________________
> Taxacom Mailing List
> 
> Send Taxacom mailing list submissions to: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
> For list information; to subscribe or unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/taxacom
> You can reach the person managing the list at: taxacom-owner at lists.ku.edu
> The Taxacom email archive back to 1992 can be searched at: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftaxacom.markmail.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C0b67f90ef41044e20a9808db6d6cd534%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638224086436985782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wkOV80a%2F%2BPhcMJkZRc5hUNfklp%2F3uq5UWEJh62OlK4Q%3D&reserved=0
> 
> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for about 36 years, 1987-2023.
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhepialidsoftheworld.com.au%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C0b67f90ef41044e20a9808db6d6cd534%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638224086436985782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=n%2Fok%2F9veY57nSlrqcKbi1RicJK7NZAA3CFAMwyTC9fA%3D&reserved=0 (use the 'visit archived web site' link, then the 'Ghost Moth Research page' link.
>   
> _______________________________________________
> Taxacom Mailing List
> 
> Send Taxacom mailing list submissions to: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
> For list information; to subscribe or unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/taxacom
> You can reach the person managing the list at: taxacom-owner at lists.ku.edu
> The Taxacom email archive back to 1992 can be searched at: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftaxacom.markmail.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C0b67f90ef41044e20a9808db6d6cd534%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638224086436985782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wkOV80a%2F%2BPhcMJkZRc5hUNfklp%2F3uq5UWEJh62OlK4Q%3D&reserved=0
> 
> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for about 36 years, 1987-2023.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Taxacom Mailing List
> 
> Send Taxacom mailing list submissions to: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
> For list information; to subscribe or unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/taxacom
> You can reach the person managing the list at: taxacom-owner at lists.ku.edu
> The Taxacom email archive back to 1992 can be searched at: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftaxacom.markmail.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C0b67f90ef41044e20a9808db6d6cd534%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638224086436985782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wkOV80a%2F%2BPhcMJkZRc5hUNfklp%2F3uq5UWEJh62OlK4Q%3D&reserved=0
> 
> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for about 36 years, 1987-2023.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Taxacom Mailing List
> 
> Send Taxacom mailing list submissions to: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
> For list information; to subscribe or unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/taxacom
> You can reach the person managing the list at: taxacom-owner at lists.ku.edu
> The Taxacom email archive back to 1992 can be searched at: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftaxacom.markmail.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C0b67f90ef41044e20a9808db6d6cd534%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638224086436985782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wkOV80a%2F%2BPhcMJkZRc5hUNfklp%2F3uq5UWEJh62OlK4Q%3D&reserved=0
> 
> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for about 36 years, 1987-2023.

More information about the Taxacom mailing list