Political Correctness and the Insects By Chris Knight (Florida)
One can see plenty of videos on YouTube with nasty Asian murder hornets in action killing European bees, perhaps nature’s warning. Still, the term “Asian” refers to the place of origin. But the woke Entomological Society of America has announced the new official name will be the “Northern giant hornet.” It is “racist’ to add the word “Asian,” as that might be taken as some sort of criticism of a non-white people, which is the ultimate sin. People as still going to call these insects what hey have been, regardless, and I call them things that can’t be printed here. Stings are incredibly painful. The story shows how woke is creeping into science, but we saw that with the Wuhan flu, and previously the Spanish flu, which also arose in China. The Chinese would not be doing this if the roles were reversed.
“Political correctness has propelled scientists to change the name of Asian murder hornets to prevent potential discrimination.
Known officially as Asian giant hornets and colloquially as Asian murder hornets, scientists with the Entomological Society of America announced on Monday that the new official name will be the “Northern giant hornet,” even though they actually do descend from Asia and were only detected in North America in 2019.
“Amid a rise in hate crimes and discrimination against people of Asian descent, usage of ‘Asian’ in the name of a pest insect can unintentionally bolster anti-Asian sentiment,” the society said in a press release.
The society further added that the negative stigma attached to the hornets’ name could lead to future violence against Asians.
“‘Asian giant hornet’ does not convey unique information about the biology or behavior of the species,” the society’s statement read.
Jessica Ware, president of the society, added that the name is “scientifically accurate.”
“Common names are an important tool for entomologists to communicate with the public about insects and insect science,” said Ware. “Northern giant hornet is both scientifically accurate and easy to understand, and it avoids evoking fear or discrimination.”
As noted by the New York Post, the hornets were first detected in the United States in 2019 and “caused quite the panic after pictures surfaced of their quarter-inch long syringe-like stinger.” Aside from their intimidating presence, the hornets are known to slaughter honeybees, which has led to worry they could cause an environmental imbalance. Per the Post:
A few dozen of the hornets can tear apart a honeybee nest in just a couple of hours during a process researchers call the “slaughter phase.”
Scientists have feared that the Pacific Northwest could provide fertile grounds for the hornets, but luckily there has yet to be a major outbreak.
Last year, hundreds of them were killed after officials in Washington state managed to track down and destroy their huge nest.
The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) also announced in June that it will officially rename the monkeypox virus to address concerns about the stigma and racism associated with the word. The change came after 30 scientists signed an open letter arguing for an “urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing nomenclature for monkeypox virus.”
“In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing,” said the missive.”
Comments