Beekeeping is a profession that attracts people with a wide variety of backgrounds. Some become beekeepers after they retire, some do it on the side of a main occupation (sideliners) and others do it in their backyard as a hobby.
Some are young, most are not. Most are men but that doesn’t keep the ladies out.
Some new beekeepers prefer to learn from a book while most rather follow the steps of an experienced beekeeper (mentor).
Some beekeepers use chemicals trying to keep their bees alive, in the same way we use drugs and vaccines for humans. Other beekeepers will not add any chemical to their hives.
Langstroth? Top-bar? Warre?
Plastic? Wood?
10-frame? 8-frame?
Italian? Carniolan?
In beekeeping there are so many options available that making a decision may be overwhelming.
In BeeManiacs we believe that anyone keeping bees is a beekeeper and we love to see a wide diversity of techniques and equipments being used. Not only do we tolerate diversity, but we encourage it.
Did you hear about a new technique? Let’s try it and see how it works for you.
There is always something to learn from beekeepers that do things differently.
Over the last couple of years we have seen or have received reports of some beekeepers engaging in censorship and bullying against other beekeepers that do things differently or even against newsletter editors that just transmit information not to their liking.
In BeeManiacs we do not tolerate bullying or censorship from single-minded, biased beekeepers that believe their way is the only way. They bully editors to prevent the information they don’t like to be distributed and always recommend against reading information that would contradict their position or ideology.
To wrap this post we would like to share an extract from a commentary written by a couple of beekeeping newsletter editors that was posted in the May 2014 Washington State Beekeepers Association Newsletter. They received harsh comments from beekeepers that opposed whatever information they were communicating at the time.
From WASBA Newsletter, May 2014, page 8, by Fran Bach and Clare McQueen:
“Barring legitimate information from others is, very literally, CENSORSHIP! It is a form of bulling, engaged in by a small minority, in an effort to keep only their own point of view available for consideration. It is discourteous and counter-productive.”
You can read the complete editorials “Let’s talk about … censorship!” and “Don’t shoot the messenger…” in the May WASBA newsletter, following this link:
http://washingtonbeekeepersonline.advanced-pub.com?shareKey=ap7MMS
Dealing with this issue is not different than dealing with bullying in other settings. If you show fear, the bullying is going to get worse. Just ignore those comments/insults and keep moving forward. Remember that a bully is actually an insecure individual and he attacks anything he doesn’t know because he’s afraid of knowledge or change.
To become the best beekeeper you can be, you need to find your own approach on how to manage your hives. Keep moving and pushing forward; learning from anyone you come in contact with, from any book or magazine you can get your hands on, and from any website you can access.
You will be able to find your own path to make beekeeping as enjoyable as you thought it would be when you decided to get started.
