The antipathy towards the Indian Mynah expressed in some quarters is not so much a fear of the foreign but a fear of losing yet more of our precious ecosystems. Chiandetti entirely misses this point. And I somehow doubt that he would understand this point if it was explained to him although I might be doing him an injustice here.
There seems to be an increasing number of examples where art & the environment collide. E.g., in the dunes of Bahsam's Reserve near Pt Elliot in SA precious coastal vegetation has been damaged & endangered by an artist or artists leaving their foot & fingerprints.
I do wonder about the invasion of the natural environment by humans who, unable to leave well enough alone, insist on signalling their presence & domination.
If those intent on seeking the vaguest hint of political incorrectness were really on the ball they'd be protesting about "Common Myna" being a degrogatory name. Perhaps they would prefer "Unique Myna".
I guess if we wanted to be precise Arcridotheres tristis would be the go as you suggest, zosterops. Hence the value of scientific names as opposed to common names in ensuring we know exactly what we're talking about. But scientific names might turn off a lot of people otherwise interested in becoming involved in bird watching.
It is really quite a poorly written and researched article, there being no mention of the reason for the antipathy to this bird, the effect that it has, like so many introduced flora and fauna, on the natural eco systems. To use the bird as an metaphor for racism is one thing, but to claim that there is actually racism against the bird is absurd.
(although a lot of the really venomous hate toward a bird, is also wrong and just plain hate for hates sake i believe).
not only against the bird, i've even heard suggestions of insensitivity towards inhabitants of the subcontinent as the bird is widely disparaged whilst using its familiar name (!) (so some publications changed all references to the bird to 'common myna')
interestingly, 'myna' derives from the sanskrit for 'delightful' and 'full of joy'
the birds are also seen throughout asia as love and fidelity symbols as they mate for life
and are called 'farmer's friend' due to controlling agricultural pests in their native land
The antipathy towards the Indian Mynah expressed in some quarters is not so much a fear of the foreign but a fear of losing yet more of our precious ecosystems. Chiandetti entirely misses this point. And I somehow doubt that he would understand this point if it was explained to him although I might be doing him an injustice here.
There seems to be an increasing number of examples where art & the environment collide. E.g., in the dunes of Bahsam's Reserve near Pt Elliot in SA precious coastal vegetation has been damaged & endangered by an artist or artists leaving their foot & fingerprints.
I do wonder about the invasion of the natural environment by humans who, unable to leave well enough alone, insist on signalling their presence & domination.
i've heard some pulications have received complaints of purported racism resulting from using the term 'indian myna'
actually incidentally i prefer the term common myna* of the two as it is the actual official name of the bird (indian myna is an australianisation)
*though still i'd rather 'common' not be used in official common names at all, as what is 'common' somewhere may be extremely rare elsewhere
i suppose we could use acridotheres tristis?
If those intent on seeking the vaguest hint of political incorrectness were really on the ball they'd be protesting about "Common Myna" being a degrogatory name. Perhaps they would prefer "Unique Myna".
I guess if we wanted to be precise Arcridotheres tristis would be the go as you suggest, zosterops. Hence the value of scientific names as opposed to common names in ensuring we know exactly what we're talking about. But scientific names might turn off a lot of people otherwise interested in becoming involved in bird watching.
It is really quite a poorly written and researched article, there being no mention of the reason for the antipathy to this bird, the effect that it has, like so many introduced flora and fauna, on the natural eco systems. To use the bird as an metaphor for racism is one thing, but to claim that there is actually racism against the bird is absurd.
(although a lot of the really venomous hate toward a bird, is also wrong and just plain hate for hates sake i believe).
Elizabeth
elizabeth
not only against the bird, i've even heard suggestions of insensitivity towards inhabitants of the subcontinent as the bird is widely disparaged whilst using its familiar name (!) (so some publications changed all references to the bird to 'common myna')
interestingly, 'myna' derives from the sanskrit for 'delightful' and 'full of joy'
the birds are also seen throughout asia as love and fidelity symbols as they mate for life
and are called 'farmer's friend' due to controlling agricultural pests in their native land