“Look! Up in the sky!” “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” No, it’s yet another set of inane controversies over words. In mid-August, the Washington Post reported that “the American Ornithological Society has changed the name of the McCown’s longspur to the thick-billed longspur. The original honored John Porter McCown, a Confederate general who also led campaigns against Native American tribes.” Now, I am more of a Sherman fan than a McCown man, so I am not attached to the traitorous loser. But the fact that it came up recalled a 2019 Word of the Week on the term “offense archaeology.” The Post quotes a supporter of changing the McCown name, who notes that “hardly anyone was aware of it until [an activist biology student] pointed it out.” Interesting.

So, why change it now? Because we’re in a moment of change. The ornithological time was ripe. The activist who has been pushing for it since 2018 was “inspired by an earlier version of the movement that’s now prompting the removal of Confederate statues nationwide and pressuring companies and sports organizations, including Washington’s football team, to reconsider their names or logos.” I can’t help but notice that name changers are having their moment — much more so than criminal justice reform advocates.