Hi -
Thanks for moving this conversation to BOO.
I just want to add a little east coast perspective. The same news of sexual
harassment/assault etc. in the birding world has also stirred up a conversation
on the Carolinas list-serve. It has been a bit less vitriolic (e.g., no
recommendations that so-and-so should sue his victims) but has touched on a lot
of similar things.
The conversation has included posts from men who cannot conceive of women
feeling uneasy in the presence of male birders, and obviously do not understand
the concept of mansplaining, or what might be offensive about it.
It has included multiple expressions of thanks from women for the posts that
started the conversation.
So far there has been one very public request to be removed from the
list-serve, by a man who undoubtedly knows how to leave by himself, followed by
the usual requests to reconsider, from wannabe enablers.
For me, the worst post was by a man who should have known better. He called out
a person who used a short abbreviation instead of a recognizable name in a few
mildly provocative posts, for breaking the list-serve custom that posted should
identify themselves and their location of residence on all posts. In other
words people who fear reprisals or have had bad experiences that they do not
want to be identified with, are not welcome in the conversation?
The one thing that was kind of an eye-opener to me was that people who identify
themselves somewhere on the LGBTQIA spectrum have additional concerns,
difficulties, triggering dynamics, etc. in the context of birding gatherings or
field trips. The most eloquent post in this vein was from a person who I had
met while chasing a rare bird a few months ago.
We had a somewhat extended conversation that I thought was totally appropriate,
but I am just now realizing that my identification of this person as a
presumably cis woman may have been mistaken, and continue to wonder whether
anything I said may have caused difficulty for them. If so, they showed no
signs that I picked up on, but I am still concerned.
Wayne
From: "Teresa Hertzel" <teresa.hertzel@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Craig Miller" <gismiller@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "boo" <boo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2021 9:51:01 AM
Subject: [boo] Re: Discussion
Craig, I agree with you that people who post inappropriately should be
individually moderated and not just banned outright immediately.
On Thu, Feb 25, 2021 at 8:42 AM Craig Miller < [ mailto:gismiller@xxxxxxxxx ;|
gismiller@xxxxxxxxx ] > wrote:
Thank you Teresa for starting this discussion.
I believe OBA was completely appropriate in posting its statement.
The blowback just illustrated that the policy is right on the mark.
I think anytime someone is derogatory toward another person, the post should be
removed if possible, and further posts filtered. If it becomes a pattern, they
should be removed off the list.
Craig Miller
Bend
On Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:01 AM Teresa Hertzel < [
mailto:teresa.hertzel@xxxxxxxxx ;| teresa.hertzel@xxxxxxxxx ] > wrote:
BQ_BEGIN
BOOers,
Here are some questions for you, although you certainly don't have to stick to
these topics.
Do you think the OBOL guidelines need to be changed?
Do you think the Board violated their own policies by posting a statement about
violence against women on the birding listserv?
How should OBOL handle people who are perceived as bullying others?
How can OBOL be more friendly and welcoming?
OBA has a few hundred members, I think it's right around 300, but I don't have
the exact number. OBOL has almost 2,000, so the vast majority are not OBA
members. Do you think OBOL should be broken off from OBA and no longer be under
their umbrella?
Treesa
BQ_END
