My grandfather is not the only black birdwatcher I know of — anymore
Christian Cooper and Black Birders Week prove there are more
There was a huge binder on my grandfather’s dining room table, and it was full of bird photographs. When he wasn’t speaking fondly of baby cubs, he’d randomly start talking about penguins and show me photos of him with binoculars around his neck. Quite frankly, I thought my grandfather was weird. I love him, but I did not understand the appeal of birdwatchers or someone who collects bird pics. If memory serves me correctly, he even laminated the images. I honestly thought my grandfather was the only black birdwatcher I’d ever personally know. To this day, that’s still true.
When I joined a gym a couple of years ago, I remember a white lady running up to me in the locker room, gushing over rare piping plover chicks and asking me was I going to Montrose Beach to see them. My first thought was, “You can see I’m black, right?” I did not say that out loud. Instead, I fought back an eye roll, said, “Yeah, that’s not really my thing” and headed toward the showers.
So my first thought when finding out that Christian Cooper, the victim of Amy Cooper’s malicious and dishonest 911 call, was a birdwatcher was, “My grandfather is not the only one?” Then here comes #BlackBirdersWeek to really intrigue me.
Recommended Read: “Dog owner racially profiles black man, abuses her own dog ~ Yet another dishonest 911 call risking the life of a black man”
Understanding why my dismissal of birds versus dogs align
I got all-caps curse-outs left and right for being concerned about the Cocker Spaniel almost getting choked out by Amy Cooper. As someone who dismisses birds the way a lot of these Twitter rants dismissed dogs, I get it. If you’re not into furry pups, there’s no way you’re going to understand why I was relieved when her dog was taken away from her. In my opinion, dogs are a woman’s best friend, not diamonds. And taking away a dog lover’s pet is the ultimate punishment. Amy Cooper deserved exactly what she got.
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