Asian giant hornets across the world opened up their newspapers over breakfast this morning to some truly unexpected news:
From the NY Post:
Scientists announced Monday that the terrifying insects' official moniker, "Asian giant hornet," has been changed to "northern giant hornet" — in what they say is an effort to prevent anti-Asian hate crimes.
"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 Entomological Society of American said in a press released.
Okay, are these scientists really under the belief that there are people out there beating up Asians because someone named a bug after a geographical location?
I'm a bit skeptical that these people can handle the murder hornets if they have such a loose grasp on reality.
While most people colloquially call the bugs "murder hornets," the association said it feared the stigma [attached] to the hornets' scientific name could led to future violence.
Hmm. Well, let's think about this for a moment. From where did this globally famous insect first arise? Let's take a look:
Well gee, what do nearly every one of those localities have in common? Hmmm:
Gee, what do all those places have in common??
Huh! Imagine that. Of course, the ESA is trying to justify its decision in part thusly:
The scientists also said that all hornets are actually native to Asia, so the name doesn't make much sense to begin with.
So you're saying we should blame Asians for all hornets?
(Once again, there is no one blaming any human for where an invasive species or disease comes from unless said human did something like release bilge water into a lake or released an altered virus from a lab.)
"‘Asian giant hornet' does not convey unique information about the biology or behavior of the species," the society's statement read.
Maybe that's fair, but if so then you should probably base your decision purely on scientific grounds rather than, you know, silly and pointless politically correct ones.
Whatever you call them, of course, be sure to handle them like the murderous psycho bugs they are and always will be!
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