Taxacom: Removals of offending scientific names

Thu Jun 22 11:56:49 CDT 2023

Mike Ivie

I just want to express my thanks for your so well written, thoughtful, humane and instructive posts.

Thank you, Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> On Behalf Of Michael A. Ivie via Taxacom
Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2023 5:42 PM
To: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
Subject: Re: Taxacom: Removals of offending scientific names

Let us remember that offensive names, images and words can have value as warnings and instructive historical lessons.  How many would have missed an important lesson if the statute of Ozymandias had been removed? Doesn't the name Anophtalmus hitleri Scheibel 1937 remind us of the popularity of the horrible man in the German speaking world at one time?  Doesn't that give us the lesson to think about who we support today?  Doesn't the original text of Huckleberry Finn or To Kill a Mockingbird give insight into the world experienced by our ancestors, both oppressed and oppressor? Isn't it instructive to understand that your ancestors behaved in a despicable way?  Is there harm or value in that realization?  I am all for the descendants of Nazis and slaveholders being embarrassed about it.  That embarrassment hopefully will inspire them to be better people than their ancestors.

And does it not give humanity, dignity and respect to those who endured under such disrespect and cruelty to acknowledge how deeply embedded it was in even everyday speech?  Doesn't it bring pride in understanding what they went through and still maintained their humanity and endured? Horror, revulsion and sorrow are appropriate responses, and should be embraced as such.  To avoid that is to diminish the sacrifice and suffering of those who were victims.

There is a line after which these things can't continue -- no new statues of Hitler, and the old statues of Jefferson Davis go to museums, not the public square.  Use of the N-word should be immediately shamed and called out today anytime it is not in an historical context that is used to educate.  But, their existence is important.

At what point do we stop if we start down the path.  The Lampyridae genus Chegueveria was named by a Russian entomologist. Che was a hero to many and a demon to many others.  Is this name OK or not?  Does it bring pain to the ancestors to those he murdered?  Probably, but also joy to those he liberated.  Which one wins?  It is just a name, a moniker, the taxon does not take on characteristics of others with the same name. Even worse, the name was applied to a species from Puerto Rico, where Che never went and was not involved.  So, it is historically ignorant as well.  Can we ban names for being stupid?

Eventually we will get to names that some just consider rude or inappropriate in polite company.  Clitoria Linneaus or Orchis Linneaus come to mind.  Do they have to go?

And, what about specimen labels?  Many, many labels on specimens have place names that would not be used today, but they are historic documents and must be quoted verbatim.  This is uncomfortable, and we should be glad for the reflective moment that uncomfortableness brings. It shows growth and allows for reflection.

Before I get the "old white man has no standing" I counter with being raised in a visible religious minority that was subject to derogatory names, derision, lies and slander, as well as discrimination.  I had to see my mother called derogatory names because of her dress and beliefs. While I "passed" and left that community, it is still painful to hear statements by people who do not know my background.  And, as a disabled person, I know, hear and endure slurs and microaggressions in my daily life.  But, sticks and stones....

Each and every historic name that offends is a teaching moment when it is used.  This is not totally a bad thing.  It allows examination of our history, warts and all.  Sugar coating and covering up that horrible things happened by making references go away is not compatible with facing them and making sure they never return.  Nor does their use equate with glorifying evil.  The people who do that are beyond our reach.

Mike

On 6/22/2023 8:49 AM, Frank T. Krell via Taxacom wrote:
> **External Sender**
>
> Nerdy, elitist gender agreement? Me thinking follow grammar being not so badly. But that's just me 😊, coming from a language well organized by grammar.
> If you don't want gender agreement, create specific names as nouns in apposition, like abba, beccaloni, boris. And you are right, names are just labels.
> I have recently seen a manuscript, hopefully soon to be published, that finds that naming after celebrities helps much with the visibility of taxonomy. This is important in these times where only things get recognized and supported that people are talking about.
> Names are always a reflection of the time in which they were created. Eradicating history is counterproductive. We need to be reminded of these villains of the past, as often as possible.
> Frank
>
>
> Dr. Frank-Thorsten Krell
>
> Senior Curator of Entomology, Editor-in-Chief
> Commissioner and Councillor, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
> Department of Zoology
> Denver Museum of Nature & Science
> 2001 Colorado Blvd
> Denver, Colorado 80205-5798, U.S.A.
> Frank.krell at dmns.org
> Phone 303.370.8244
> Fax 303.331.6492
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> Bugs: They’re bigger, they’re better, they’re buggier than ever! It’s all about precision flight, swarm intelligence and mind control in the world of “Bugs," the exhibition. Marvel at their adaptive genius and see if you can match their brilliance.
>
>
> Bugs: Son más grandes, mejores y más increíbles que nunca. En la exhibición "Bugs" todo gira en torno al vuelo de precisión, la inteligencia en grupo y el control mental. ¡Descubre lo genios que son!
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> On Behalf Of George Beccaloni via Taxacom
> Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2023 5:11 AM
> To: Michael Heads <m.j.heads at gmail.com>
> Cc: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
> Subject: Re: Taxacom: Removals of offending scientific names
>
> Names are just labels - there is no need to understand them. IMHO they
> should be unchanging, and the nerdy, elitist requirements of the Code
> relating to gender agreement should be scrapped as they make tracking names
> difficult in our modern computerised world.
>
> George
> ****************************************************************************
> *Dr George Beccaloni FLS*
> *Director, Alfred Russel Wallace Correspondence Project*
>
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> ****************************************************************************
>
>
> On Thu, 22 Jun 2023 at 11:58, Michael Heads via Taxacom <
> taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:
>
>> Abba is a good name for a genus - short, memorable...  I'm grateful that
>> the 19th century taxonomists who named most of the genera in many groups
>> *didn't* use the names of contemporary pop groups, pet politicians and
>> other cultural ephemera. If they had, the names would now be
>> meaningless, and we instead we can write with future users in mind. But
>> preferences like this should not be law!
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>>
>> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for
>> about 36 years, 1987-2023.
>>
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> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for about 36 years, 1987-2023.
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> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for about 36 years, 1987-2023.

--
__________________________________________________

Michael A. Ivie, Ph.D., F.R.E.S.

NOTE: two addresses with different Zip Codes depending on carriers

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Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity and admiring alliteration for about 36 years, 1987-2023.