US conservation group to drop Audubon name over 'pain' caused by slaveholder

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: The Guardian

A leading US conservation group, the Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS), has announced it will change its name, due to the “pain” caused by the 19th-century ornithologist and slaveholder John James Audubon.

The group, which holds wildlife sanctuaries across Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland, said that it had become clear its name did not connect to its diverse set of programmes and that some members and volunteers had objected.

“The mission and vision of the organisation have not changed,” said Lisa Alexander, executive director of ANS.

“The deliberate and thoughtful decision to change our name is part of our ongoing commitment to creating a larger and more diverse community of people who treasure the natural world and work to preserve it. It has become clear that this will never be fully possible with the current name.”

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-conservation-group-to-drop-audubon-name-over-pain-caused-by-slaveholder/ar-AAPW8U5

[Sneederbunk]

1. Next, the 12 US presidents who owned slaves?

[jimfields33]

6. It's coming.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. Works for me.

[Polybius]

10. I hope not

What happened in 1780 stays in 1780.

[Polly Hennessey]

14. Yes.

[Polly Hennessey]

15. We can forget they existed because

they existed in a certain time period. Good grief. It is coming.

[Dial H For Hero]

16. What about Ceasers Palace in Vegas?

Julie certainly owned plenty of slaves. Just sayin'.....

[Torchlight]

20. Five US presidents changed their names.

Five of them took their middle name and made it their first name. One changed his first, middle, and last names. One changed his last name.

[milestogo]

2. geez

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. u mad?

[crud]

3. from the article

ANS said a new name will be chosen following a “deliberate and thoughtful process of listening and learning” with its members and other nature enthusiasts.

[FSogol]

8. The new name will be "The Caw-caw, Tweet, Chirp Society"

[Ron Obvious]

18. I was once attacked by a crow, you insensitive creep!

Post a trigger warning before posting bird sounds next time!

[FSogol]

19. Tippi is that you?

[Probatim]

22. Why do birds, suddenly appear...

https://me.me/i/why-do-birds-suddenly-appear-every-time-you-arenear-13eb70f93f5445429e4aa2e2b7469133

Hope this works.

[Devil Child]

4. Ha! n/t

[Auggie]

5. It's their name and they can do anything they want ...

they could change it to "Fuck" if they wanted.

[Sneederbunk]

11. The question is who are "they"?

[Torchlight]

21. Members of the ANS and other nature enthusiasts (if the article is accurate). nt

[StClone]

12. Member of the National Audubon Society since the '70's.

I applaud their decision to make a change reflecting value over conserving the historic name. Audubon was a great artist, discoverer, frontier naturalist, and in many ways an icon. But his history is one of failure to veiw his fellow man as equal.

Iowa has a city, in a county, named Audubon and I have been there and observed the birds!

[Torchlight]

13. I don't get the frustration to an organization just changing its own name.

I think we invest far too much emotion into branding and logos. It's just a name. A rose is still a rose.

The fist-in-the-air rage I witnessed when a national football team changed its name recently seemed so much melodrama and over-the-top reaction to nothing more than a name-change. Nothing else changed, nothing at all, just the name, but that change set off so many people.

Maybe it just goes to show how effective Madison Avenue is at convincing so many of us what our standards should be.

[RobinA]

27. In This Case

it's probably because Audubon is a HUGE presence in birding circles. Huge. He is an actual person. Cancelling him is not going to sit well and it's an erasure of something a lot of people hold dear.

But...if they are trying to increase division, it is a very effective tactic.

[Torchlight]

28. I don't see this as affecting memberships rates in any meaningful way.

I am confused by the back-to-the-wall assertion Audubon is being cancelled-- again, it's a just name change. Nothing is being denied to any member, and Audubon's name, cataloging methods and base of work will still be part of the field rather than erased.

Re-branding happens often, and is a good indicator of social and cultural sentiment and change. If there is evidence of NAS losing membership over this it would surprise me, as even it's few political stances (opposes drilling for gas on national reserves for example) made no dent, positive or negative, to its membership numbers.

[chowder66]

17. You know WHAT I have to say about THIS?!!

Okie dokie

[OldBaldy1701E]

23. I guess the best thing to do is never name anything

After anyone, any place, or any object, because nothing will stand up to that level of scrutiny. Nothing. I suppose we are going to have to change every single state name now, since negative things have happened in each one, usually by 'leaders of the community'.

[DBoon]

24. everything should be numbered

no number ever owned a slave

[melm00se]

25. Orwell saw this coming

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

[hunter]

26. People change their names all the time, often for very good reasons.

Let's say you had the last name of a father who abused you. Why would you keep that?

Why would we force a woman to keep the last name of an ex-husband who turned out to be a turd?

This isn't changing a name for totalitarian politics. This is moving on to a future that recognizes and acknowledges the vile racism that permeates U.S.A. history.

Nobody is erasing history, they're simply not celebrating it.

[cadoman]

29. nice! maybe cancel the similarly problematic homophone Autobahn while we're at it?

Two white supremacist creations in one shot. Any suggestions on the new names?