Words matter. I’ve been writing this blog for a while now, and one of the things that keeps me interested in it is the comments I get from readers. I have learned a lot from them, and appreciate the culture of the blog because of readers’ comments. Many comments have taken issue with things I’ve said, which I also appreciate even if I don’t always agree; civil discourse seems increasingly rare these days but is an important feature of any democratic society, and — until a few days ago — all 1,143 comments on this blog had been civil.
We changed the name of the blog, and I explained why we did that so I won’t go into that again. A comment came in recently criticizing the name change as “politically correct” and telling me it “has to go.” I have to say I was surprised by both ideas. First, culture is culture. Everyone has it, participates in it, and uses it. To call our use of the word “politically correct” misunderstands the phrase, this blog, and culture itself, and says more about the person who wrote it than what he believes it means. Second, to tell us our new name “has to go” is just plain rude. If you don’t like it, go elsewhere for your chukar fix. If you think it should be called something else, write your own blog.
I’m happy to say that it appears a few readers don’t mind the name Chukar Culture; our new hats sold out in the first week or so (more are on the way soon, with some additional styles).
I will say, though, that we’re considering changing the name again. The current leaders are: “Chukar Cult”; “Nirvana: The Socio-cultural Pursuit and Sustainable Destruction of the Red-Legged Devil” (this won’t fit too well on a hat, though); “The Ups and Downs of Chukar Hunting”; and (my favorite) “Blowing Away Red-beaked Birds and then Posting Chest-Thumping Photos of What We Killed.” Sadly, Mouthful of Feathers, Red-Legg’ed Devils, Tucker’s Chukars, and Upland Jitsu are already taken; I like those names (and the blogs that belong to them).
Stay tuned for a review of a new chukar hunting pack…