(Posted with permission)

An open letter to the AOS council.

Yesterday, in response to a post by Gary Rosenberg in Facebook regarding the AOS decision to change all English-language bird names after people in their jurisdiction, I posted my opinion.

As someone that has spent great part of his life supporting education, conservation and assisting research to protect the birds of Venezuela, I feel entitled to give an opinion, respecting the opinion of others.

To my great surprise, one of the supporters of the council decision called me irresponsibly (on reading my opinion) “an entitled white boy”.

That is a front that I have never faced, less so being a non-academic, non-white and less so privileged Latin American citizen. 

There you are: a decision that you have called “to stop harmful and exclusionary names associated with the past” seems to entitle your supporters to offend anyone that has an opinion that differs to your decision.

For the above reason, I am perceiving your decision as harmful and destructive. Who you are to dishonor or offend those that oppose rightfully to your decision?

Yes, I have had to deal in my life with supremacists (not only white), with offensive people (not only white) and still never thought that offensive comments would come from supporters of the AOS council decision.

I pledge you to review your actions that are creating more conflicts and pain that what was already created in the past. In fact, my opinion is that changing bird names won’t change a horrendous past associated with few ornithologist. What will change that past is more opportunities for the future of several potential students of countries with less access to academic education. And, that is exactly what people like Gary Rosenberg and Van Remsen (to mention two giants of neotropical ornithology) have already been doing for decades.

As of today, I was the target of an ofensive comment from one of your supporters given a written respectful opinion. That had never happened to me before.

To my eyes, the council is promoting exactly what was supposed to fight: offensive and exclusionary positions to those that have a different way of thinking.

A very sad day to me. An organization that should be looking forward to a more inclusive world has opened a box of offenses to those with different opinions. I leave it here. I am speechless and sad for the return of offensive language in the academic and bird conservation fields, triggered by a supporter of the AOS decisions.