Due to a funeral, I have been away from Ohio for almost a week, and have
tried to remain neutral on this issue. However, as a member of this
community, I feel it's time to say that enough is enough.
First of all, the listserv has rules, and punishments. Bill is not banned
for life...or even a year. Six months is not that long.
Second, the only reason we know he was banned at all was that a private
email was made public...which is or isn't fine, depending on your
outlook...but I'm sure he was warned in the past for things he has said or
done both on and off the listserv...the contents of which we are not privy
to.
Third, these posts are now part of the public listserv where anyone can
read them from anywhere...including the posts that say they are
unsubscribing because of how Bill was treated. If you have a
problem...take it up privately. None of these replies (including this
post) have anything to do with birding, or birds, or related issues. It's
a family squabble that should have remained in the family, not in public.
If you have a problem with a post, contact the listserv.
Bill's original post quoting an account of owl nest raiding to me was
not offensive, I understand it for what it is, historical. However, others
were offended by it. The fact that others were offended and made the
offense public, rightly or wrongly, on this listserv predicated the need
for a timely response. My only problem with how it was handled, is that
the listserv board should have posted a public email on the banning, and
the reasons behind it, because of the public nature of the whole affair.
Finally, this listserv has nearly become the laughingstock of the birding
community. Birders do not search the Ohio listserv anymore for info on
chase birds or birding topics related to birding in Ohio...they go on
Facebook. If the OOS and the Ohio birding community wants this listserv to
survive and be relevant, then it (the listserv) needs to grow up...it may
need some changes in format or rules...but it needs to grow up.
I do find Bill's post informative, but sometimes controversial. I think
that if you are going to post on the listserv, before you hit send, re-read
it and ask yourself "would a group be offended by what I said?". If there
is even a hint that it might, then go back and edit it...if it is
historical commentary, like the quote given by Bill, then maybe a link with
a disclaimer would be a better option.
This is all I am going to say on the matter publicly.
Happy birding and God bless,
Steve J.
On Feb 10, 2018 7:46 AM, "Steve Cagan" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I still think Bill made an error in judgement. He and I disagree about
that. So be it…
But we are going through a moment in history in which the political powers
of our country include people who are genuine racists, who are unrepentant
sexists, who promote policies that strike at the poor, the workers, the
most vulnerable in our society, and (not a minor point) at the efforts at
environmental conservation that many of us have worked to support. They
seem ready to drag us into more and increasingly frightening wars. In such
a moment, we really need to have a sense of proportion.
I still think Bill was mistaken. I don’t think the people who were offended
by what bill posted or his way of posting it are too sensitive. The issues
they raise are real, and get to central problems in our society. But these
are problems that Bill himself has been concerned to address in his life,
and even in the original post.
In the end, in a case like this, a disagreement is a disagreement. The
reaction of the OOS board seems out of proportion to me. I think they could
have stated their disagreement with Bill in this medium. They could have
asked for discussions about what the appropriate way(s) to handle the sort
of documents that started all this would be. But the decision to punish
Bill seems condescending and excessive. I hope it can be reconsidered.
--------------------------------------------
> Steve Cagan, photographer
>
> [log in to unmask] <applewebdata://251A44F9-8ABC-4257-A657-D39B49D46C20/
[log in to unmask]>
> www.stevecagan.com <http://www.stevecagan.com/>
> www.elchocomining.net <http://www.elchocomining.net/>
http://elchocomining.tumblr.com
> www.pbase.com/stevecagan <http://www.pbase.com/stevecagan>
> www.stevecagan.blogspot.com <http://www.stevecagan.blogspot.com/>
> http://socialdocumentary.net/photographer/stevecagan <
http://socialdocumentary.net/photographer/stevecagan>
> 216-932-2753 (USA)
> 322-344-7909 (Colombia)
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