A dreadnought of people
While walking around the Hillhurst area of Calgary this past Friday with my staff (for City Nature Challenge), I wondered what you call a group of people – there seems to be so many names. Most species have a specific designation, like ‘a gaggle of geese’ or a ‘tiding of magpies’.[1] But humans (arrogantly or not) can be referred to by many things – depending on the situation: a group, gang, class, family, les gars, a community, staff, gathering, coalition, tribe, clan, team, etc.
As an environmentalist a thought popped into my head. Humans have been incredibly destructive to this planet, but they can also be incredibly brave – standing up for what they believe is right.
For that reason, I coined the term ‘a dreadnought of people’.
Being a former naval officer there are a lot of other terms for groups – some of which I can repeat, and others I’d just like to forget. However, the idea of a dreadnought[2] – which is a type of 20th century battleship (which may be used for good or evil) seemed apropos. It is composed of two words ‘dread’ – meaning fear, and ‘nought’ – meaning nothing, literally ‘fear nothing’.
Here is a photo of my incredibly passionate staff, who work hard everyday fighting for nature and wildlife. I think I will always think of them as a ‘dreadnought’. I’m so proud to work with these young women!
AWA Staff / #dreadnought
L-R: Kennedy, Amy, Loreen, Sara and Pamela (absent - Ruiping and Lindsey)
What do you think of this term?
