Re: [Maine-birds] Birders' fashion choices in these odd times:

Monday, 18 January 2021

Re: [Maine-birds] Birders' fashion choices in these odd times:

Hi Sean,

Your rude and dismissive response to Charles Duncan's post and Craig Kesselheim's follow-up comment really seems uncalled for.

First of all, Charles was quoting a non-birder friend, who cannot be expected to know a Cedar from a Bohemian Waxwing. But that's less important than the fact that Charles was simply sharing the information he'd received to suggest that in the current, incendiary political situation, we birders creeping around in neighborhoods-not-our-own might think a little bit about the optics. Not bad advice, depending on where one is birding these days.

Was the Gorham, NH situation an overreaction, even absurd? Probably. But to be able to scoff at it is only possible from a place of white privilege. This past year a white woman in Central Park threatened to call the police on a black birder--an action that could easily have cost him his life--simply because he (rightly) told her to put her dog on a leash,. While this might be the most publicized situation of a black birder's vulnerability simply for being black and outside, it is far far from the only one. Yes, birders of color experience racism while they're out birding, probably much more than you could ever imagine.

So I'm not quite sure how it is "racially divisive" to point out that the Gorham, NH situation could have gone a lot differently if the birders were black. At the very least I hope we can all think about our own responses to Charles's initial post--perhaps, if you're white, like me, you gave a little laugh and shook your head, and didn't think any more about it. But a person of color would have taken that story much more seriously, because they would know that it only takes one "loony" to call the police on a black person, whatever they're wearing. And if you have paid any attention in the past year, we all know how little it takes to escalate that kind of situation into tragedy. Craig's comment should at the very least have given pause to the white birders on this list-serve (which I'm betting is most of the list-serve, unfortunately); it invited a moment of empathy, of which Martin Luther King, Jr. was a big advocate.

May you too learn to find some empathy on a day in which we celebrate this great man.

Kristen

On Mon, Jan 18, 2021 at 11:23 AM Sean S <therefromhere168@gmail.com> wrote:

Here's the actual article, since you didn't provide one, or any context whatsoever:

https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news/local/birders-in-camo-mistaken-for-terrorists-in-gorham/article_0420b266-55da-11eb-968c-cbbf3212ad41.html

Do these people look at all like terrorists? No, they look like a typically motley group of birders, and only 4 of the 14 shown in the photo are wearing camo, although a couple of them have camouflage patterned spotting scopes, which I'm sure quite a few people on this list own themselves.

If they were Black folks would they look like terrorists?   No, and I don't see how race even enters into this discussion.

Were any of these birders burning down local businesses or destroying property?   No. In fact, they were probably contributing to the local economy, as the writer of the article mentions. They were not cited or even asked to disperse, or change their attire.

Were the birds actually Cedar Waxwings eating crabapples, which you snarkily reference a "apparently a big deal because it's most unusual"?   No. They were Bohemian Waxwings, which most of us consider to be a good sighting.

While as a choice I don't wear camo to bird, I certainly wouldn't be changing my apparel habits to appease the sole loony in town who felt compelled to make an issue out of a non-issue. Context is very necessary to this article, as it seems to escape even its author: Gorham, NH is in a fairly remote wilderness area, where, due to hunting, camo is as common as LL Bean polo shirts are in Freeport.

Enough of the racial divisiveness being pushed as political correctness!   Especially on Martin Luther King Day.   Dr. King's message was one of unity, not stoking division. Don't believe me?   Read his words.

Sean Smith

On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 4:20 PM Charles Duncan <charles.d.duncan@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,

Wanted to share this note from a non-birder friend in NH, and suggest that we all think perhaps a little more than usual about what we wear in the field in the coming days:
---------------------------
There's a news story today about a bunch of birdwatchers traveling to Gorham NH to see cedar waxwings eating crabapples—apparently a big deal because it's most unusual. So this made the news because many of the birders were wearing camo duds & a local feared that they might be domestic terrorists which does seem a stretch but, nonetheless, do they really need to be dressed in camouflage? Guess a forestry employee, who's also a birder, asked the group to not dress in camo when they are in town. Guess we are all a bit on edge these days...
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