Taxacom: botanical names with racist history

[Stephen Thorpe]

 The action taken is a pointless wokeism and highly disruptive to taxonomy. Where will it end? What about all the niger, nigra, nigri- names? What are you going to replace them with? I don't see artists removing now "offensive" terms retrospectively from music or literature. What's the difference? The whole point was that the terms weren't used as offensive when they were used. They are part of history which does not need rewriting.
Stephen
    On Monday, 22 July 2024 at 04:41:13 pm NZST, Jeremy Bruhl via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:  
 
 Dear John

Words master and can hurt deeply. The action taken is measured and reasonable.

Cheers,  Jeremy

Sent from Outlook for Android<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2FAAb9ysg&data=05%7C02%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Ccf7c0947484c490581d208dcaa104407%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638572234049515380%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=dP%2FTEs1lTZv3E8K4FqLSkkw5p1KiNk49G02915fTPFw%3D&reserved=0>

________________________________
From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> on behalf of John Grehan via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2024 5:58:23 am
To: taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
Subject: Taxacom: botanical names with racist history

Statements below from a web site. Can any botanist on Taxacom comment
further on this?

Scientists have voted to eliminate the names of certain plants that are
deemed to be racially offensive. The decision to remove a label that
contains such a slur was taken last week after a gruelling six-day session
attended by more than 100 researchers, as part of the International
Botanical Congress, which officially opens on Sunday in Madrid.

The effect of the vote will be that all plants, fungi and algae names that
contain the word *caffra*, which originates in insults made against Black
people, will be replaced by the word *affra* to denote their African
origins. More than 200 species will be affected, including the coast coral
tree, which will be known as *Erythrina affra* instead of *Erythrina caffra*
.

The scientists attending the nomenclature session also agreed to create a
special committee which would rule on names given to newly discovered
plants, fungi and algae. These are usually named by those who first
describe them in the scientific literature. However, the names could now be
overruled by the committee if they are deemed to be derogatory to a group
or race

--
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhepialidsoftheworld.com.au%2F&data=05%7C02%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Ccf7c0947484c490581d208dcaa104407%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638572234049515380%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=qNCWtqK7JE%2FVDsm7WwNNOtHO3m%2BDBS8KQHGJpFKOj7E%3D&reserved=0<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhepialidsoftheworld.com.au%2F&data=05%7C02%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Ccf7c0947484c490581d208dcaa104407%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638572234049515380%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=qNCWtqK7JE%2FVDsm7WwNNOtHO3m%2BDBS8KQHGJpFKOj7E%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<https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/taxacom>
You can reach the person managing the list at: taxacom-owner at lists.ku.edu

Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity for about 37 years, 1987-2024.



_______________________________________________
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

Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity for about 37 years, 1987-2024.