Are large, continental dirt masses capable of feeling? If they feel the need to, one scientist with sensitive eyes is there.
As noted by CBS News, a rather large new immigrant insect has sometimes been called the “Asian giant hornet” or “Asian murder hornet.”
But the use of that designation’s gone south:
Washington state Department of Agriculture officials said Monday that the Entomological Society of America (ESA) has adopted “northern giant hornet” for the species Vespa mandarinia in its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List.
Chris Looney proposes to the world why Dr. Chris Looney believes that it is time for the “old moniker” to be forgotten.
While there is no approved common name, the name “Asian giant hornet” appears in the media, agency outreach materials, and scientific literature with regularity. The media also frequently uses the name “murder hornet,” although this name is not used by federal or state agencies. Both names are problematic and may be barriers to accurate and effective communication…
It goes back to COVID — and racism:
A rise in hatred crimes and other offensive behavior towards people of Asian heritage in many countries has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the descriptor “Asian” in this context is not at all pejorative, and is geographically accurate, its association with a large insect that inspires fear and is under eradication may bolster anti-Asian sentiment among some people. Indeed, in my personal experience I have heard statements like “another damn thing from China” multiple times (irrespective of the fact that the hornets detected in North America likely originated in Japan or Korea). Even if people do not explicitly ascribe negative feelings towards the insect, or their neighbors and colleagues of Asian descent, the prominence of the descriptor “Asian” in the common name will, for some people, implicitly take precedence over other, more important, biological characteristics. This adjective is neutral, uninformative, distracting from other salient characteristics of the organism and, at worst, a racist trope.
Say no to alienation
[I]nsisting on incorporating “Asian” into the common name risks alienating some community members and deterring participation in an otherwise vibrant community science program.
Luckily, it’s fine to insult or alienate Washingtonians — otherwise known as northerners.
In times past, it wasn’t thought that physical parts of the planet were touchy; pointing out what lived in or originated from a place was considered okay.
However, times have changed. The day is ruled by a rejigged gentleness.
Legal Journal publishes Plea to Hate Speech Laws for Animal Protection
Fish are being called negative names in a report
WHO Will Rename Monkeypox Because It’s ‘Discriminatory’
World’s Largest Insect Organization Cancels a Name That Bugs Them
Social Justice is a Hot Mess with the Woke Renaming a Racism/Riddled Carp
Shark Advocates Call for an End to the Word ‘Attacks’ in Favor of ‘Interactions’
To return to the killing hornet: Dr. Looney may have prioritised the feelings associated with dirt over those of living organisms. Maybe the soil that makes Asia feels more comfortable knowing that it isn’t named by a bug; what about the feelings attached to the hornet? Scientists have taken away its identity. Evidently, a person can be a European American; but an insect can’t be an Asian hornet. In some circles, that’s considered speciesism.
I hope that awakening will also solve the problem.
-ALEX
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