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"I contend that undoing the perceived harm that inappropriate names and terms can cause people who belong to oppressed communities in the developed world (the West) may harm the greater part of the global scientific community whose native language is not English. "

The passage discusses recent calls for revising common and scientific names in taxonomy and scientific terminology that may be offensive or inappropriate. Some authors argue that these revisions are necessary to address the marginalization of oppressed communities, while others resist these proposals. The author, writing from the perspective of a scientist from Sri Lanka, argues against undoing perceived harm caused by inappropriate names and terms, stating that it may divert attention and resources from the task of describing Earth's biodiversity. The author also challenges specific recommendations made by Cheng et al. (2023), such as changing terms like "invasive" and "alien," arguing that these terms have broader usage and may not carry the same negative connotations in other contexts. Similarly, the author questions the objections to terms like "sneaky mating strategy" and "citizen science" and highlights the complexity of revising both common and scientific names. The passage emphasizes the potential unintended consequences and challenges associated with implementing terminological reforms in the scientific community.