We got the Civil Rights Commision Called on US

[AdminAssistant]

She picked Debbie as an American name, and most other people in his family have "Asian" names and "American" names as well.

A lot of the Chinese/Korean business students and faculty at my school do that. Makes sorting mail more difficult, since I know most of them by their "American" names, and I have to figure out that "Xinhua" is "Jane". But whatever makes them feel comfortable is fine with me.

OT: I helped out the International program at my undergrad, and I met a Korean girl...very sweet - but her name sounded exactly like "Gum Chew". She had a good sense of humor about it luckily.

[Becks]

Slur lady returns to the store the same day we get our letter clearing us, she has her letter and throws a hissy fit in the store and says that That boy should change his name 'cuase he's in America now and he should have an american name, one that is not so racist. Yeah we got extra pleasure in booting her out of the store. On a side note he did offer to go by a different name, District Manager told him HELL NO, your Mom and ad gave you that for a reason, why should some idiot stop you.

A few thoughts.

That woman gets the -a-thon© award for the day.

She also gets the first ride in the

Good for the DM.

Yeah, and they're not "Western" names either. I mean, that's like Clint, John, Tex, Luke, Hank, etc.

You forgot Hoss.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Many Native Americans also use multiple names, an "American" name and a tribal name.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I have a name that Americans can't seem to say properly no matter how many times I try to help.

I have the same problem...though I was born here and so were my parents, and their parents. What gets me is that my name is two very common syllables, just not generally put together as a name, and the spelling is a little odd, I suppose. It's actually a word in German. I'm also told it's an old Irish name, though I don't have any proof of that, aside from a friend's Scottish grandmother who once said that it's true.

As a kid I hated it, mostly because of the nickname it engendered, and I used to pretend to have a different name in my daydreams. As an adult I like it, and I appreciate it more, since I was named after my mother and grandmother. (Their middle name is my first name, and my middle name is a slightly altered form of their middle name.) At the same time, I'm not sure I'd want to pass it down to my own daughter, should I have one, as my mother would like me to.

I don't go by a nickname, though when I have to give my name for something like a restaurant waiting list where it doesn't matter what name I give, I usually either give my middle name or the name of someone else I'm with who has an easier name to say/spell than me. Then I don't end up in a discussion of my name when it won't matter in 10 minutes' time.

Yeah, and they're not "Western" names either. I mean, that's like Clint, John, Tex, Luke, Hank, etc. .

Marion?

(John Wayne's real name was Marion Michael Morrison)

[Gurndigarn]

I helped out the International program at my undergrad, and I met a Korean girl...very sweet - but her name sounded exactly like "Gum Chew". She had a good sense of humor about it luckily.

For your enjoyment

[rerant]

Slur lady returns to the store the same day we get our letter clearing us, she has her letter and throws a hissy fit in the store and says that That boy should change his name 'cuase he's in America now and he should have an american name, one that is not so racist.

How the burning irony of that didn't set her ablaze where she stood I'll never know.

[dithers66]

I hope she got banned, if she didn't then I hate the company as much as I hate that woman.

[edible_hat]

here is aus it's a brand of cheese and a not bad on either

Did you hear about some EWs who tried to sue them a few years ago? The said that since coon is also a racial slur, Coon should pay all dark skinned people a bunch of money. The court ruled that things should carry on as usual, since it's named after the Coon family (who founded the company).

[Record Store Tough Guy]

I know at least a few racial and ethnic slurs that started on the battlefields of the World Wars, for a very specific reasons: they dehumanize the enemy. Once you start thinking of an enemy soldier as just like you, it becomes much harder to kill them. Doesn't justify their continued use, of course, but it is an interesting psychological process, I suppose.

[blas]

My mother's maiden name originally started as an Italian last name, but since Americans didn't like Italians in the early 1900s (???) it changed to a more "American" last name, then kept changing, and eventually became a British sounding last name.

Nobody around here uses slurs like WOP or Dago anymore.....

[JoitheArtist]

And wtf is an "American" name? A look at the list of names on any given U.S. Olympic team will reveal last names with origins all over the world.

Which is GREAT.

Just looking at ice skating, you get names like Lipinski, Yamaguchi, Kwan, Kerrigan, Hamil, etc.

How awesome is that?

Stupid SC.

[blas]

I was watching Tyra on Friday. I know, commence vegetable launching now....

Anywho, every once in a while, she has really heated debates on her show about racism, stereotyping, etc etc.......

Friday's episode was stereotyping and biasing racially against names. It was rather interesting how heated it got.

I look at my own name and the spelling of it. A very common name for MEN in Europe, mostly in Germany and Finland.

I suppose if I were to travel to Germany or Finland, everyone would be expecting a guy.

I have the same name as Ville Valo's father. Look it up if curious

[Gawdzillers]

he's in America now and he should have an american name, one that is not so racist

[QASlave]

I worked in a grocery store though high school and most of College. We had two brothers that worked there that were from Vietnam. Their names? Ha lo and Pha lo. Got quite a few WTF looks when they got paged over the intercom. We used their full names, just because it was too fun to watch people's reactions. A good chuckle was had by all. (We did have one assistant mangager who yelled at somebody for doing it. Assistants came and went on a regular basis and this guy was just TOO uptight.)

[mariamousie1]

That guy sounds like he was really nice, especially since he offered to change his name he goes by at the store. I'm glad the manager told the guy not to. It's his name and that's one thing he should never have to apologize for.