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AALBC.com's Thumper's Corner Discussion Board » Culture, Race & Economy - Archive 2006 » Naming kids « Previous Next »

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Rustang
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Username: Rustang

Post Number: 367
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 12:10 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I read an article the other day about how one of the most popular given names of the last year was nevaeh, which is heaven spelled backwards.As I read on it mentioned that this name was most popular among blacks.I started thinking about this and it occurs to me that an awful good idea would be, if you are about to have a child,instead of something as ridiculous as nevaeh, if the given name of the child was something more like, if it's a girl, Jennifer, Ashley, Sarah or Kimberly, and, if it's a boy maybe something like Ryan, Christopher, David or James.If we continue naming our children stupid things like Shellac, excuse me, Che Lacque,they will have an addition strike against them all of their lives.Andrew Thompson will at least make it to the interview phase of a job search while Du Che Freeman will have his application chunked into the trash can.But, I could be wrong.
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Urban_scribe
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 06:07 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

thank you, thank you, thank you! you do realize you've just opened a can of worms. in my experience, this topic has always provoked a heated discussion. however, i, personally, couldn't agree with you more.

of course we all want to choose names for our children which we like and many of us also want to choose names which celebrate our heritage, but all too often parents do not take into account the stigma an ethnic or created name can mark a child with for life. doors are shut, preconceptions, misconceptions and stereotypes can hover over the kid for life.

i don't view it as selling out when bestowing traditional, neutral or even anglo names on our children. i view it as not adding an additional socio-economical strike against them.

some years ago, i was the only non-white working at an upscale insurance agency. i can drop name after name of the celebrity clientele. in any case, the agency was looking to hire a new receptionist. whenever personnel came across a resume with a name they couldn't pronounce, they called ME into the office to try and decipher the shit for them. the experience was humiliating because i knew, just as THEY knew, that these were names of Blacks and Latinos. invariably those resumes encountered the shredder. the girl who finally got the position was a sistah named Nicole.

right or wrong, for the rest of my days that experience will stay with me.

~us
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Abdi85
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Post Number: 48
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 07:50 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Interesting topic, but what about those people with distinctly forgien names? Say your name is Shiv, or Pooja, Hue, Nyokabi etc, should those parents start naming their children Sean, Pamela, Heather, and Nicole? Just a thought.
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Abm
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 08:05 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Rusty,

Perhaps the relationship between given names and life destiny is more parallel than it is consequential.

This Saturday while watching CSPAN II, I saw the author of the book Freakanomics say that there is no evidence that the name "Che Lacque" CAUSES one to have more difficulty in life than those named, say, "Judy". He said "Che Lacque" struggles more because of where and how she(he) is born and raised.

Basically, if a parent is poor, uneducated and have other social problems, she(he) is MORE likely to name her(his) child "Che Lacque".
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Abdi85
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 08:32 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

ABM I hear Freakanomics is a great read and an eye opener. I saw an interview with the author on tv a couple of months ago, lots of funny answers to real world qustions. Can't wait to pick it up!
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Chrishayden
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Post Number: 2193
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 10:50 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Rustang:

All of the problems besetting the world and you post this proving you have a mind that tends to irrelevancies.

Now, your first reaction will be to post how you are concerned about how black kids are suffering, etc. Spare me.

You don't give a damn about that. You just have to now and then try to get us to wallow in your self loathing.

Hey, it's working! I hate you too!


Having a weird name didn't hurt Condoleeza, now did it?
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Cynique
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 10:57 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

It is all about circumstances. If you're rich and famous you can name your child "Apple" (Gwyneth Paltrow) or "Phinneaus"(Julia Roberts) or "Suri" (Tom Cruise) or "Grier" (Brook Shields). Old-fashioned names such as Emma, Hannah, Abigail, and Maude, and surnames such as Madison, MacKenzie and Emerson are among the most popular among white newborn girls, while biblical names like Jacob, Joshua, Michael, and Matthew are popular with white male babies. What's in a name? Shakespeare asked. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Except of course if you're black and live in America where made-up, hypenated, multi-syllabel names are a stigma. "Mary", which used to be a common name is now an odd one. But undeniably a safe one. C'est La Vie.
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Cynique
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 11:05 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

That the catch-all "self-loathing" rap is soooo played out, chrishayden. Just because a person makes a pertinent remark and advises others to act in their own self-interest doesn't make what they say rooted in self hate. You're so shackled by cliches.
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Mzuri
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 11:06 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Some parents put some crazy and burdensome names on their children without considering the future consequences. I once managed a database of Army trainees and saw such names as Kristopher K. Knight, Jack Frost, Enjoli (a male named after ladies perfume!!!) and others named after consumer products, inanimate objects, etc. The only available option to someone who has a stupid name put on them by their inconsiderate parents is to do a name change. I heard it's not that complicated or expensive.
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Chrishayden
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 11:06 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Fascinating. I reply to Rustang and you post. I reply to you and he posts.

AALBCers we have our own Victor/Victoria!
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Cynique
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 11:11 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

And foreign names usually invoke a positive response. Any time you hear an Asian name the tendency is to expect someone very accomplished because so many people with these names are professionals.
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Cynique
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 11:15 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

What's so fascinating about the idea that I find you assinine, chrishayden? What's fascinating is your inability to comprehend that 2 different people can share an unflattering opinion about you.
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Chrishayden
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 11:21 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

You aren't two different people. You are two personalities inhabiting the same twisted psyche!
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Cynique
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 11:58 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Just keep on convincing yourself that anyone who doesn't agree with you has a twisted psyche, chrishayden. How pathetic and paranoid you make your ownself sound. Face it. Rustang and I are not one and the same. I happen to think you are a jerk. Apparently, from time to time he thinks this about you, too. Why is this so hard for you to understand? Is it because your ego is the glue that hold your sanity together?
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Tonya
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 02:54 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Abdi85:

what about those people with distinctly foreign names?

Tonya:

When I attended my sister’s graduation 15 years ago, there was this foreign student with this really hard to pronounce name that kept getting all kinds of awards. He was the head of the class, excelled in every subject imaginable and so his name was called every other second to take center stage and receive yet another award. Till this day, when I hear names similar to his, I automatically think success, intelligence, winner--just like what Cynnique said about Asian names.

All: instead of telling "Tamika" to change her name, why aren't we simply encouraging her to become head of the class? Why is taking the easy way out usually our most popular answer?
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Zuriburi
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 03:14 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Thank you Tonya!

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Moonsigns
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 04:12 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Tonya:
"instead of telling "Tamkia" to change her name, why aren't we simply encouraging her to become head of the class?"


Moonsigns:
That's the million dollar question--and very interesting that it's being posed by a single and childless woman.





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Rustang
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 06:06 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Chris, I thought that you said that you were going to shake the dust from your feet and leave the grown folks alone.
To Abm, I don't think that the names are a cause of failure.It does appear to be another stone in the load that the already disadvantaged must carry, however.With everything else being equal, the name could be what makes the difference at a critical moment.If you are going through a stack of applications and you see a french sounding first name and an anglo last name, what is the race of that person?We are not of french descent.Why give my kid a french sounding name that didn't even exist until I hung it on the my child?
To Cynique, if my parents had Tom Cruise's or Gwyneth Paltrow's money, they could have named me Spundoolee and I would have made out just fine, having all of the advantage and opportunity that sort of money brings.:-)
There is nothing odd about a foreign born person having a foreign sounding name.There is nothing odd about somebody from Louisiana having a french name.It just seems to me that we would be well advised not to add to the package of disadvantages our kids are carrying.
And, above all else, let us not forget that Chris is a moron.

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Nels
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 09:22 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

So, we're still on this Iesha, LeQuisha, LaVonda, Lavetta, Shaniqua, Quandre and all of that other ignorant crap bestowed by the black and the ignorant upon the black and the ignorant. In this case, pity the stupid before the insane.
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Fortified
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 09:45 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Society is the way it is. It is never going to change. If you want your child--who is already black--to have a fighting chance, don't make things "worse" for them. It has been documented that school teachers treat black children with "ghetto-sounding" names differently than those who have more Anglicized names. Many, if not most employers will pitch a resume in the garbage if a name like Boomkeisha appears at the top.
Chinese, Korean and other Asian people do this all the time. They still speak their languages, have their native birth names. But when they come to the U.S., U.K. or Canada, they choose English names, because they KNOW they have to play the game, and win the game before they can play by their own rules!
It sucks, but when you're not white, not rich, and you want to succeed in a white country, some assimilation is required, period!
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Abm
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 10:03 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

This is really only an issue because of the overall ineffectiveness of ALL Black foks. Because if enuff BLACK foks were owning and managing businesses and making hiring and promotional decisions, we'd be able to call ourselves what we dayamwell please.
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Rustang
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 12:33 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Abm, you have hit the problem right between the eyes.:-)Just delete the word 'if' and replace it with 'when'.Now, how do we make that happen?We know where we are and that's where we're going, so how do we get there?There won't be a hand up externally originated.Ain't gonna happen, no way, no how.All black folks must abandon the ridiculous notions of government help and white enlightenment entirely.Before a person can run a business successfully they MUST first understand how business works.If I want to be successful in the car business I have to understand cars AND business.So, before I can make a run at my own business, I have to be able to hold down a job in that business.That means that I have to be able to show up on time EVERY day and put in a full day's skilled work.How am I going to work the 20 hr days of the small business owner 7 days a week if I can't work the 8 hr days of the employee 5 days a week?How can I put myself in a position as an employee to observe how the successful business owner operates if I can't get myself hired?If I am to produce and market a product I have to first be able to sell the idea that hiring me would be a good decision.To do that I have to be able to communicate that idea clearly to the person doing the hiring.To do that I need to not have my application thrown in the trash.So any french sounding names I have better be the surname, as in Conner DuPont, or Bradley de Gaul.:-)
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Abm
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 08:07 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Rustang,

So by your characterization of the problems of and solutions for Black foks, for us to succeed, one of the FIRST things we must do is adopt Whiter sounding names?
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Rustang
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 09:09 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

If we concede that the current state of affairs for african americans is unacceptable and that what we have been doing up to this point just plain ain't working, then, obviously, we need to try something different from what we've been doing.There is no magic pill or silver bullet, but one thing that is mandatory is higher rates of employment.I wouldn't define them as being 'whiter' sounding names.Something like' more mainstream' would be a more accurate reflection of the reality.There are many ethnicities existing in america and all but african americans adopt more mainstream sounding names without being accused of selling out.Why would this be such a problem us?
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Moonsigns
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 03:01 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Abm,

You sound like someone I know very well.

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Serenasailor
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 05:19 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I started thinking about this and it occurs to me that an awful good idea would be, if you are about to have a child,instead of something as ridiculous as nevaeh, if the given name of the child was something more like, if it's a girl, Jennifer, Ashley, Sarah or Kimberly, and, if it's a boy maybe something like Ryan, Christopher, David or James.and, if it's a boy maybe something like Ryan, Christopher, David or James.If we continue naming our children stupid things like Shellac, excuse me, Che Lacque,they will have an addition strike against them all of their lives.Andrew Thompson will at least make it to the interview phase of a job search while Du Che Freeman will have his application chunked into the trash can.But, I could be wrong.

You black assimilationist are STUPID! First of all who are you to tell us how we should name our kids? Let me tell you something if racism against black ppl were just as easy as the way they name their kids, then there would be no need for M.L.K, Rosa Parks, and Al Sharpton. Speaking of which all of those ppl had proper Christian names and it didn't stop the racism against them. Do you think if Rosa Parks name was Shellec that her life as a BW in the south would have been much harder. Give me a Break!

Stop getting mad at other black ppl because they want to have their own culture. Stop getting mad at black ppl because of the way they wear their clothes. Stop getting mad a BW because their hair is not long, straight, and blond. Black ppl are different from the way we speak to the way we name our kids.

I plan to name my son Muhammed, and my daughter Rain. Are those names improper? If so, why because they don't sound white?(Meaning proper Anglo-Saxon, Christian names)?

Stop getting mad, and embarrassed because black ppl don't look, act, think, and speak like white ppl, and just relax and embrace our culture.

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Rustang
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 06:11 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

First of all SS,I don't get mad at people for excercising their right to choose.Muhammed is the most common given name on the planet.People are not discriminated against for having that name.If you would knock some of the cobwebs off of your brain and look back at what I actually said,you would see that it is this. A) Nevaeh is a given name that, in the next couple of decades, will get your job application thrown straight into the trash can, and B)a french sounding first name will accomplish exactly the same thing.Now you want to get all indignant about your 'black heritage'.Explain this to me, Albert.How is it that naming my children with names common to the caucasians on the western side of the english channel is selling out and naming my children with names common to the causasians 10 miles east of there on the other side of the english channel my black heritage?Naming our kids french sounding things is a very recent development, certainly no older than 100 years.It sounded like a good idea at the time, but it just didn't work out.It is one thing to make stupid decisions and have to live with the consequences, but it is something else entirely when someone else has to live with the consequences of your stupid decisions.If a person loves their children they would want to do all that they can to make the kid's life better, not knowingly hang a sandbag around the child' neck.
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Fortified
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 06:29 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I am not mad black people who want to give their children "unique"-sounding names. My point is this: LaKeisha should not be surprised when she is not called for as many interviews as Lauren even though both may be black, equally educated and equally skilled. The same would go for Guoxiong-Xu Li and his counterpart Albert Chong. That's just the way this society works. After all, it's just a name, right?
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Cynique
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 06:37 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

All anybody is saying is why place another burden on a black child's shoulders by giving him or her a name that is a red flag to corporate America. One way to level the playing field is for blacks to divest themselves of the baggage of Ebonics and made-up names. The USA is not going to adjust to the whims and obstinance of black folks. It doesn't have to. This is 2006. Blacks have to either get with the program or face the possibility of getting on welfare.
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Fortified
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 06:50 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

^^^^It's sad but that's the way it is...
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Serenasailor
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 08:13 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Nobody was accusing you of Selling out Rustang. What I was saying was that racism against black ppl will not end because of their names. Do you think that white man said to Rosa Parks you have a "pretty white sounding name" so you can keep your seat. NO! She was black and that is all that mattered and that is all that will ever matter to White America.

And Cynique why don't we stop teaching our kids to work for Corporations and teach them how to make their own corporations.
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Serenasailor
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 08:15 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

So Cynique what you are saying is that our names are going to stop us from being successful. I don't think so.
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Fortified
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 08:21 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

It all starts in the classroom. When there are reports that teachers treat black children with these "unique" names differently than black children with Anglicized names, there is obviously an issue. The name is not the only thing stopping us from being successful, but it adds to the problem. We are already ostracized for our color, why make things worse by further ostracizing ourselves when we don't have the power yet to establish ourselves.

I don't understand! Asian people do it all the time in order to establish some socioeconomic backbone without losing their sense of self. They call themselves 'Janet' and 'Alfred' in the office. But when they go home it's Xiong, Min, etc. It's not called 'selling out'. It's called 'playing the game'.
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Cynique
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 10:23 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

SS says:
"So Cynique what you are saying is that our names are going to stop us from being successful. I don't think so."
Cynique replies:the kind of names in question can be obstacles to getting a foot in the door that could lead to becoming successful. And I might add that corporate America isn't the only arena where such names are viewed unfavorably. College admission offices frown on them, too, not to mention many black-owned businesses. And keep in mind I am not talking about African names. I'm talking about made-up names with apostrophes and prefixes. But have it your way, "Serenasailor". Advise people to do their own thing and defy the odds. Just what they need to hear when blacks are handicapped with the task of trying to circumvent racism. BTW, a name like "Rain", while odd, is not made-up. But you can bet your son will encounter some flat-out prejudice with a Muslim name in these days and times.
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Rustang
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Username: Rustang

Post Number: 373
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 11:49 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Actually, Cynique, he might be on to something with 'Rain'.Typically the dumbass that hangs a name like that on a kid is either an old hippie or a hollywood star.Someone in personel might see that application and think that this is Angelina Jolie's kid out slumming and set up an interview.:-)
To SerenaSailor, let me just point out that there is no single act that, if executed correctly, will eradicate racism.That will be a process involving many factors over an extended period of time.My point is that one of the more important factors is higher rates of employment.Cynique is telling you in a nutshell how to start your own corporation.By working for a currently successful corporation.I also mentioned that if you want to be in the car business, you need to know both cars and business.You will not start out at the top and work your way down like bush is doing.I started out with nothing and worked like hell for many years and managed to accumulate enough so that my daughter wouldn't have to.She worked like hell in school and came straight out of college making more at age 21 than I was at nearly 40.Not only will she be able to make a very comfortable living for herself, but she is married to a very responsible young black man that makes as much as she does.Their kids will have opportunities that would have been inconceivable to me.That is how this thing works SS.It's called accumulation of wealth.Wealth is not merely having money.It's about having the roots and connections resulting from having had money for a while.It's about knowing how to be around people without being subservient, yet also not making them uncomfortable.Knowing how to talk to that Dean of Admissions without loud-talking him or trying to intimidate him.Knowing someone that is a friend of that head of personel.Knowing how to be a good neighbor in a more affluent neighborhood.Knowing how to listen to white folks.Their egos are such that they will tell you every detail of everything that they know just to show you how smart they are.Listen to them, because then you know all that he did plus what you brought with you that he didn't know.Some things everyone knows.You need to know all of that, also.Some thingsmost folks know.You also need to know all of that.Some things very few people know.You need to know most of that and pick up the rest as you go.If you want to be successful in any business and have your descendants be even more successful than you were,these are skills that you MUST master or else you, Rain and little Muhammed are going to be very hungry for a very long time, and this is coming straight from the heart, meant for nothing more than presenting you with the chance to hear from one old man that has seen a whole lot of things tried to varying degrees of success or failure.Make of it what you will.
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Nels
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Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 11:59 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Fortified --

"The same would go for Guoxiong-Xu Li and his counterpart Albert Chong."

I'm not so sure about that. Bias against the so-called black ('African-American') association is hard to overcome. American society tends to equate the oriental characteristic with a higher intelligence quotient, though faulty at that.
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Fortified
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Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 12:27 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

^^^^That may be true, especially in academia. But my main point of using Asians as a comparison is their willingness to choose Anglicized names when they immigrate to "Anglicized" countries, their willingness to play the game, until they can play by their own rules.
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Femrenoir
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Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 01:43 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I believe the original study on name preferences in the class room had nothing to do with race. They found that teachers simply preferred/favored students with certain common sounding (familiarly pleasant??) names.

We've been playing with our kids names for years. I think whites see that as rebellion (even 'Rain') as they have a more conforming (homogenous) culture. We see it as creativity. That said, if we want to name somebody Chelaque, we should get a dog. Give the kid a chance.
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Abm
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Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 01:55 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I wish more Black foks who are so friggin concerned about somebody's name would actually educate, hire and invest in somebody.

I've own several businesses and have hired an assortment of people, mostly women. One of the very LAST things I give a dayam about when purusing one resume and job application is her dayam name.
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Rustang
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Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 09:37 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Abm, I would have to say that the hiring practises a black man would probably bear little resemblence to those of a white man.Our objective is to have the entire country use the hiring practises that I do, which are A) Can this person do the job? B)will this person do the job? and C)can this person get along with the people already working here? Nothing else matters to me.A person's name has only been a consideration for me one time in my entire life, but I hired her anyway, because she meet the 3 qualifications previously mentioned in grand style.The problem with her name was that the first 6 letters were consonants and it didn't get any easier after that.I was concerned about my other guys having to take sick days due to tongue cramps from trying to pronounce this shyt.:-)It worked out, though.Everyone just called her sneezy cough since it kind of sounded like that.Sadly, this is not the case for many white employers.During these days of economic recovery good jobs are getting harder and harder to find.The competition will be getting ever stiffer over the next couple of decades so our kids are going to be needing every little bit of edge that we can give them to compete.They sure don't need anything that the best you can hope for is that it won't be an outright liability.I must confess that I'm a bit confused as to why people would be so resistant to the obvious good sense of this.
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Cynique
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Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 09:51 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Those who criticize giving kids crazy names are not the problem. It's those who are prejudiced against people with "ghetto" names; specifically, the White Establishment. One way to thwart such bias, is to not supply targets for the big guns who shoot down the La'Chequeria's and Rasha'Nique's who apply for jobs at their companies, and admissions at their schools. People can, of course, name their children anything they choose. But they should consider the effect a name may have on a child's future, be that name "Apple" or "Bananajelique."
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Abm
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Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 10:28 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Rusty,

So many of our young Black foks are getting so far behind their non-Black competitors that a name won't mean a thing.

Again. I think we'd be better off empowering and assisting them with getting the education, skills and resources to achieve. Because when THAT happens to the degree that it should, you might find Whites and Asians naming their kids "Shenequa".
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Nels
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Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 12:58 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Cynique --

"Those who criticize giving kids crazy names are not the problem. It's those who are prejudiced against people with "ghetto" names; specifically, the White Establishment."

Chastizing those who are against "ghetto" names would appear to be an uphill battle, given the fact that ethnic name identification is a de facto screening tool entrenched in corporate America and widely practiced by those who covertly do harm by excluding those who have so-called "ghetto" names.

In reality, one could surmise that "ghetto" names is actually a misnomer. In fact, these naming conventions by many accounts are used as a heightened method to achieve distinction from "others". Unfortunately, these naming conventions are exclusively associated with the so-called 'African-American' community, and therein lies the rub. To that end, if these naming conventions were unique to the white community, then the negative connotation and baggage associated with them might (?) disappear.

On the other hand, the extent of the socio-economic divide might dictate otherwise, and imply that "well to do" white America could in fact disown whites who practice this naming convention. In short, it might simply boil down to a case of the haves and the have nots, with the (new) "poor white trash" bearing the brunt of society's true heart, subtle prejudice.

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