wookie1965 Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 Just read this unbelievable, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8607127/NASA-ridiculed-dropping-Eskimo-Nebula-Siamese-Twins-Galaxy-nicknames.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis D Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 It's not like they are an international, official naming body; so who cares? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 Calling something "The Siamese Twins Galaxy" is a bit lacking in sensitivity I'd suggest (I'd not heard of it before), but is the Eskimo Nebula really that offensive? If so, perhaps we can call it the Kenny McCormick Nebula instead. Then again, this is an article in the Daily Fail, so it may well be entirely made up. James 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsie Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 (edited) A name is nothing if you can’t see it......Starlink. Edited August 8, 2020 by Hughsie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallingskies Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 (edited) 14 hours ago, wookie1965 said: Just read this unbelievable, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8607127/NASA-ridiculed-dropping-Eskimo-Nebula-Siamese-Twins-Galaxy-nicknames.html I suspect the usual Daily Mail troll-bait for the credulous... Edited August 9, 2020 by Hallingskies 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maw lod qan Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 Right now, we have some serious issues at home! All common sense has vanished into one of those immense thingies that even light cant escape from! We're changing that term too! 😁😁 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gfamily Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 It's a genuine change of approach by NASA. If NGC 2392 was being named now, they wouldn't use the colonialist term 'Eskimo', so it's good that NASA are being sensitive about the origins of the nickname. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 11 minutes ago, Gfamily said: It's a genuine change of approach by NASA. If NGC 2392 was being named now, they wouldn't use the colonialist term 'Eskimo', so it's good that NASA are being sensitive about the origins of the nickname. I did wonder about the origin of the word. It's a bit of a strange one assuming that Wikipedia is accurate. The most widely accepted etymology is claimed to be that it was a Native American word that was already in use, suggesting that it isn't really a "colonialist" term at all (and to be fair I had assumed it would have some such colonial origin). Apparently it is still in use to describe some Alaskan people and considered acceptable there, but considered unacceptable in Canada thanks to a dubious belief that it refers to people who eat raw meat (though why that should be offensive anyhow, I'm not sure). Wikipedia actually says: Quote Etymologically speaking, there exists a scientific consensus that the word Eskimo comes from the Innu-aimun (Montagnais) word ayas̆kimew meaning "a person who laces a snowshoe" and is related to "husky" (a breed of dog), and it does not have a pejorative meaning in origin. and doesn't really seem to be able to identify definitively who actually does find it offensive nor why. James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Why you shouldn’t say Eskimo. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/04/24/475129558/why-you-probably-shouldnt-say-eskimo?t=1597098512084 “But now there's a new theory. According to the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, linguists believe the word Eskimo actually came from the French word esquimaux, meaning one who nets snowshoes.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey-T Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Need to get my DNA analysed to make sure people aren't insulting me calling me Anglo Saxon 😂 Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Best I can find (though without any references) is that "eskimo" has some history of being used in a racist manner and as a result there are people (perhaps restricted to some groups of Inuit) who object to the word as a result, whilst others (including other Inuit groups) don't have a problem with it and even continue using it. And I've learned loads that will possibly only ever be useful to me in a pub quiz. So can we call it the Inuit Nebula or the Yupik Nebula instead? James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gfamily Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 7 hours ago, JamesF said: Best I can find (though without any references) is that "eskimo" has some history of being used in a racist manner and as a result there are people (perhaps restricted to some groups of Inuit) who object to the word as a result, whilst others (including other Inuit groups) don't have a problem with it and even continue using it. And I've learned loads that will possibly only ever be useful to me in a pub quiz. So can we call it the Inuit Nebula or the Yupik Nebula instead? James Why the insistence on naming it after them anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callisto Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 🤪......Madness I tell you, madness...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omo Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 indeed madness lets hope it does not continue: New name needed for the dwarf stars, cant upset the white's, more Indigenous people of America, or those who have dwarfism Similarly black holes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gina Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Storm in a teacup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spillage Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, Gina said: Storm in a teacup! Would that be politically correct by leaving out the coffee drinkers?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Just a nudge to keep this respectful everyone 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gfamily Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 There's an interesting discussion to be had on sensitivity to language and how it may impact on different communities - including the dominant community and how it feels when things like this happen. But probably not here. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 10 minutes ago, Gfamily said: There's an interesting discussion to be had on sensitivity to language and how it may impact on different communities - including the dominant community and how it feels when things like this happen. But probably not here. Indeed 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maw lod qan Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 The solution is so simple. I cant believe it took someone simple minded like me to see it. From now on, the is only one ethnic group on Earth. We are all "Supernova Earthlings", well except for the few aliens who live amongst us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robanddebrob Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 It is surely annoying for twins from Thailand. When I was there none of the cats looked like Siamese cats, though they obviously were. The problem is either misnaming or words used as insults by some, this shows astronomy is becoming more popular in more places and it's all about not turning people off getting into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wulfrun Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 (edited) Assuming it is quoting NASA, what's this bit about: "The agency said that weeding out the nicknames was a first step in its 'commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion'." What's equity got to do with it, or is it the new name for equality? I always thought equity was to do with money. I think they'll have to rename quite a few things if we're going to go all-PC. Edited October 3, 2020 by wulfrun typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Jenkins Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 I am all for any group, company, organisation, governmental or otherwise being open to minority views about how the minority are perceived and portrayed in some cases by the group, company, organisation, governmental or otherwise. Proud of your identity is every persons right. The idea that to be incorrectly portrayed as a colour or race from another persons standpoint, that is not correct. Tiny steps like this can seem a little obscure, to the point of being silly. But the smallest steps are the easiest to take and I am sure that NASA don’t want to have a foot in the past as they strive for the future. Marv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarsG76 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Way to go NASA... you've joined the separate and create more hate in the world mob... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 I'm not sure that this thread will go anywhere positive now so I think it's time to lock it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts