one way street

Ron Gatrelle gatrelle at tils-ttr.org
Wed Jul 4 16:33:25 EDT 2001


A week ago I got back about midnight from 12 hours of driving (total round
trip) and 9 hours of doing Leps survey work for the Forest Service. It had
been nearly 40 hours since I had had any sleep. Tired but wired, I decided
to post a mere 9 species list on the carolina leps group. Knowing that most
of the folks there like to use common names (something that I am just not
in the habit of doing after 40 + years of working with butterflies) I dug
out a book and furnished 5 of the nine with common names (one does not have
a common name).  Well I got this nicely worded, but still terse,
intolerant, and condescending post the next day asking me to please use
common names with the scientific ones.  I wrote the person back that I try
to do this as much as possible to be considerate of those not familiar with
the correct (scientific) names. I told them I was a little perplexed by
their post as I HAD furnished common names for most of the species - and
went to extra effort to do so.

I bit my tongue on wanting to ask if they ever wrote the people who only
post common names asking them to please use the scientific ones also for
the benefit of those who may not be familiar with the common ones. I did
tell the individual that one problem I do have with common names is that
many of the ones I know and have used for 40 years have now been changed to
whatever the new groups want to call them - especially those which were
named after collectors. (It is not that they were named after a person, but
after a collector that they don't like.)

Over the last couple of days some posts have come in that list species by
neither common or correct names. I have seen this several times before and
today have just had all of it I can take. The last two from two differnet
persons were:  "lots of SSS skippers.."  and  " a LBJ skipper that.."  Who
is supposed to know what these are other than some snoby little dumbded
down click that likes to slam those who dare to use correct names? If this
isn't a one way street I don't know what is.

God forbid that I should email one of these individuals or GROUPS and ever
suggest they be considerate and provide a-common-names-unfamiliar old timer
like me with names I know  - or that one of the many subscribers to these
lists from a foreign country dare to ask what the heck an LBJ skipper is.
The only LBJ they probably know is a dead US president.

This post is not about the use of common names or correct names. It is
about a whole buss load of people who are just plain rude. They love to
dish it out but can't take it. It is their way or the else. They are a
majority and don't give a rats behind how others think (in scientific
names), or what others like (collecting). They are subscribed to
internationally open, public, chat groups and demand that everyone else use
and understand their terms and only practice those activities that they
approve of.  And if anyone turns the tables and points the mirror back at
them, these cry out bloody murder and declare that anyone who questions
them must be enemies of the environment.

Of course, on the other hand, I can understand why they would want to say
and write GSF rather than Great Spangled Fritillary, or GBS rather than
Golden Banded Skipper. I don't say those common names either - they are too
long. It is much easier for me to just say and write cybele or cellus. But
that, is obviously either too difficult for them to say or understand - in
spite of the fact that many of them are lawyers, doctors, and college
grads.
Ron



 
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