[mou] Part II: A Partial Critique of County Listing (behaviors of a minority)
Houghton, Timothy D.
tdhoughton@stcloudstate.edu
Tue, 6 Jan 2004 00:07:00 -0600
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Dear Mou Birders,
[this continues from Part I]
...(2) If you are on a birding trip and overhear one of the "saved" say, =
as I have heard, that they (the County Listers) "run" the birding show =
in the state and are its "bread and butter"=96take a second to think =
about the implications.Granted, when I've overheard comments such as =
these, they are sometimes softened by a bit of humor on the part of the =
speakers=96but not always. And even then the humor is smug, the humor of =
the dominant. My own impression is that the cultists who make such =
comments are flattering themselves; what I've seen of the birding =
leaders here=96and I've been with many of them, and they are =
excellent--they rise above the nonsense of the fanatical wing (so to =
speak)of County Listing. Nevertheless...it wouldn't hurt for those in =
the healthy majority (too often silent=96forgive the Nixon reference) to =
let the leaders know that the BIRDS are what they care about, not THE =
COUNTY. What you can do: suggest to a leader that, if the group finds =
itself near a good birding location in South Dakota or Iowa or =
Wisconsin=96you can boldly suggest the option that the group leave =
Minnesota for a time. This may perturb and even,hopefully, silence the =
cultists. Some of them have forgotten about these states and don't know, =
for instance, that the Dakotas harbor wonderful shorebirds, that =
Wisconsin is a great place for warblers. You can re-train the cultists =
to appreciate this new and amazing perspective. (But don't count on it. =
I heard tell of one cultist who skipped a trip to see lots of shorebirds =
in North Dakota in order to find a Lesser Yellowlegs in a particular MN =
county near the border--in order, i.e., to get another NUMBER for that =
county and therefore be more competitive with some of the more exalted =
cultists/shamans. Similarly, in a group situation once, I wondered to a =
friend if we might go to a bordering state, but after I said that, we =
both laughed, knowing the anxiety it would cause in certain folk.)=20
One good thing: our birding leaders in this state, if I'm not mistaken, =
love the BIRDS before they love THE COUNTY.
(3) If you find yourself at a group dinner or elsewhere with a couple of =
cultists and notice that they are proselytizing to a new birder, to a =
young birder, or to a birder new to the state=96if you notice this, =
please interrupt their passionate soliloquy and laughingly offer a =
normal viewpoint about the beauty and wonders of birding in this area, =
all the great birds, etc. Putting the focus back onto the BIRDS will =
always throw the Clisting Fanatic off balance. And the individual=96that =
poor soul who had been the object of conversion=96will no longer think =
that people here are a bit, well,
off target. Or, if the object of conversion is a young person=96and I've =
seen this in action=96you can save that young person from the cult and =
validate the original set of what were probably healthy values. (And you =
will save the
parents or friends the expense of hiring a. . .professional =
deprogrammer.)
Shouldn't a list be a way to appreciate BIRDS instead of the NUMBER that =
a bird comes to represent? The cultists love numbers not only because =
the number is more important than the bird; they love numbers because =
numbers can
place them AT THE TOP for species seen (in a day or a year or a =
lifetime) in a given county. Sure sure, that can be fun and fine=96I =
don't disagree with it unless it becomes TOO important, as it does =
sometimes with the Clisting Cultists.
To a large extent, I'm afraid, this is a matter of sensibility. But who =
doesn't want to be the lover instead of the bean counter? To borrow from =
a famous comment from James Carville: "It's the BIRDS, stupid." Let's =
rope in the silly fanatics: one need only put the priority on birds, and =
they have no argument. I even think that there's a little voice in some =
of them that is somewhat embarrassed about their priorities and =
emphases. But generally they are oh so serious about what they do, very =
defensive, lacking a sense of humor about their belief system. How =
unfortunate. Let's (and I'm including the MOU here) promote Birding =
instead of Count(ying).
Tim Houghton
(Clear Lake)
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<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Dear Mou Birders,<BR>
<BR>
[this continues from Part I]<BR>
<BR>
...(2) If you are on a birding trip and overhear one of the =
"saved" say, as I have heard, that they (the County =
Listers) "run" the birding show in the state and are its =
"bread and butter"=96take a second to think about the =
implications.Granted, when I've overheard comments such as these, they =
are sometimes softened by a bit of humor on the part of the =
speakers=96but not always. And even then the humor is smug, the humor of =
the dominant. My own impression is that the cultists who make such =
comments are flattering themselves; what I've seen of the birding =
leaders here=96and I've been with many of them, and they are =
excellent--they rise above the nonsense of the fanatical wing (so to =
speak)of County Listing. Nevertheless...it wouldn't hurt for those in =
the healthy majority (too often silent=96forgive the Nixon reference) to =
let the leaders know that the BIRDS are what they care about, not THE =
COUNTY. What you can do: suggest to a leader that, if the group finds =
itself near a good birding location in South Dakota or Iowa or =
Wisconsin=96you can boldly suggest the option that the group leave =
Minnesota for a time. This may perturb and even,hopefully, silence the =
cultists. Some of them have forgotten about these states and don't know, =
for instance, that the Dakotas harbor wonderful shorebirds, that =
Wisconsin is a great place for warblers. You can re-train the cultists =
to appreciate this new and amazing perspective. (But don't count on it. =
I heard tell of one cultist who skipped a trip to see lots of shorebirds =
in North Dakota in order to find a Lesser Yellowlegs in a particular MN =
county near the border--in order, i.e., to get another NUMBER for that =
county and therefore be more competitive with some of the more exalted =
cultists/shamans. Similarly, in a group situation once, I wondered to a =
friend if we might go to a bordering state, but after I said that, we =
both laughed, knowing the anxiety it would cause in certain folk.)<BR>
<BR>
One good thing: our birding leaders in this state, if I'm not mistaken, =
love the BIRDS before they love THE COUNTY.<BR>
<BR>
(3) If you find yourself at a group dinner or elsewhere with a couple of =
cultists and notice that they are proselytizing to a new birder, to a =
young birder, or to a birder new to the state=96if you notice this, =
please interrupt their passionate soliloquy and laughingly offer a =
normal viewpoint about the beauty and wonders of birding in this area, =
all the great birds, etc. Putting the focus back onto the BIRDS will =
always throw the Clisting Fanatic off balance. And the individual=96that =
poor soul who had been the object of conversion=96will no longer think =
that people here are a bit, well,<BR>
off target. Or, if the object of conversion is a young person=96and I've =
seen this in action=96you can save that young person from the cult and =
validate the original set of what were probably healthy values. (And you =
will save the<BR>
parents or friends the expense of hiring a. . .professional =
deprogrammer.)<BR>
<BR>
Shouldn't a list be a way to appreciate BIRDS instead of the NUMBER that =
a bird comes to represent? The cultists love numbers not only because =
the number is more important than the bird; they love numbers because =
numbers can<BR>
place them AT THE TOP for species seen (in a day or a year or a =
lifetime) in a given county. Sure sure, that can be fun and fine=96I =
don't disagree with it unless it becomes TOO important, as it does =
sometimes with the Clisting Cultists.<BR>
<BR>
To a large extent, I'm afraid, this is a matter of sensibility. =
But who doesn't want to be the lover instead of the bean counter? To =
borrow from a famous comment from James Carville: "It's the BIRDS, =
stupid." Let's rope in the silly fanatics: one need only put the =
priority on birds, and they have no argument. I even think that there's =
a little voice in some of them that is somewhat embarrassed about their =
priorities and emphases. But generally they are oh so serious about what =
they do, very defensive, lacking a sense of humor about their belief =
system. How unfortunate. Let's (and I'm including the MOU here) promote =
Birding instead of Count(ying).<BR>
<BR>
Tim Houghton<BR>
(Clear Lake)</FONT>
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