Dan Woog, Monster.com
In the movie Coach Carter, a pregnant teenage African American girl is asked what she plans to name her baby. “Loquisha,” she says. Her friend replies, “Well, she might as well have the name ‘Food Stamps.’”
The point is clear: Loquisha is a “black” name, and names affect destiny. That premise gained scientific backing with “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination,” an MIT-University of Chicago study conducted in 2001 and 2002 and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in 2003. Researchers sent 5,000 fictitious resumes for sales, clerical and customer service positions in Chicago and Boston. Applicants with white-sounding names were 50 percent more likely to be called for initial interviews than those with African American-sounding ones. The racial gap was uniform across occupation, industry and employer size.
{snip}
Your Name or Your Community?
NBER study authors Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan have not done any follow-up work. But another study, published by NBER in September 2003, casts the controversial findings in a different light.
“What really matters is not that you’re named Kayesha,” says Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and coauthor of “The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names” with Roland G. Fryer Jr. “It’s that you live in a community where you’re likely to get that name that matters.”
Using data covering every child born in California over a four-decade period, Levitt and Fryer conclude that the perception of a name is less important in hiring than the actual race of an applicant. Their study found no negative impact of a distinctively black name on life outcomes and say in the report, “The stark differences in naming patterns among blacks and whites is best explained as a consequence of continued racial segregation and inequality, rather than a cause that is perpetuating these factors.”
{snip}
Names an Unnecessary Barrier?
But names do matter, counters Bill Maxwell, who as a St. Petersburg Times columnist covered the initial study and continues to follow the controversy as a Stillman College scholar-in-residence.
“The reality is, white people joke about those names,” he says. “Kids are very aware of what names mean—look at that Coach Carter line—and employers do, too. {snip}”
Author and commentator Keith Boykin says parents should be able to name their children whatever they want. “It can be Shaneequa, Latisha or Lexus Nexus,” he says. “We should not blame parents for giving kids ethnic names. Instead, we should examine what it is in American society that leads people to discriminate simply because of someone’s parent’s choice of names. It’s not Loquisha’s fault—or her parents’ fault—how people react to her name. It’s the fault of people who don’t understand or accept that we live in a pluralistic society, and that good workers can be found in many different places.”
Boykin applauds the studies for “introducing racism to white people. It’s sad we need that validation to say that yes, racism exists, but if it leads to companies looking at the way they handle resumes and hiring, that’s good.”
Original article
(Posted on October 19, 2009)
Comments
Yes. Names do matter. Most Whites are racist so they assume that certain names sound Black.
For example if I saw the names Paul and Suzy Suburb, Tom Collins, Paris Hilton, Muffy, Molly, Brad, Chad, Amber, Marnie , Marshmellow etc… I would automatically think White.
“Author and commentator Keith Boykin says parents should be able to name their children whatever they want. “It can be Shaneequa, Latisha or Lexus Nexus,” he says. “We should not blame parents for giving kids ethnic names.”
These aren’t ethnic names, they’re made up names. How many black Americans give their kids real African ancestral names like Ayoo, Ayotunde or Baako? I haven’t heard of any. They name their kids after inanimate objects like Chablis or Tequila (probably what they were consuming when they got pregnant.) or they use a variation on a word like latrine to make Latrina or Shawn to make DeShawn because it sounds French. This is just another push for integration by liberals, so frankly I don’t care if they name themselves Obamanique, La Port-o-let or Fried Chickenisha.
Black people laugh at those names. They are not ethnic names -these people are Americans - and the names are simply made up. They are neither American nor legitimately black African. Half the time the mother forgets how she spelled it.
I know a woman whose relatives blasted her for giving her kids white names. Both are now in their 30s and successful. The nieces and nephews she took in over the years all ended up losers with their “authentic” names. The parent who gives their kid a “black” name is too dumb to see beyond the next 10 minutes.
Oh, and white parents who give kids names like “Bronx” need a good whooping as well.
Blacks can complain all they want about not being accepted into the mainstream of American society, but they become self-fulfilling prophets by continuing to name their children such ridiculous names, thereby perpetuating a ghetto mentality and subculture.
Although I think this article is right on target, the general truth contained in it is far broader. In deciding on names for our son, we thought to ourselves, “How will these names come across?” Will they be odd? Embarrassing? Impressive? Will they help open doors for him as he ventures forth?
We finally gave our son a combination of names that would befit someone who might attend to Oxford or Cambridge, or serve in a business, professional or high governmental capacity. No matter what else we will have done for him by the time he reaches adulthood, we at least will have given him a name of which he can be proud.
“Do ‘Black’ Names Matter in Hiring?”
Yes, they tell the prospective employer that blacks hate white names and whites so much, they use made up nonsensical names for their children.
I’d hate to think they would discontinue those names. Nowadays it’s the only way we have of knowing they’re black when they commit a crime.
“What really matters is not that you’re named Kayesha,” says Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and coauthor of “The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names” with Roland G. Fryer Jr. “It’s that you live in a community where you’re likely to get that name that matters.”
Strictly speaking, he may be correct. If European history were replete with Saint Kayeshas, maybe it wouldn’t matter. But in the end, it really doesn’t matter because the fact is that that kind of name is “black.” Whites, until recent years, have overwhelmingly chosen to name their children after biblical characters or personages from European history.
Author and commentator Keith Boykin says parents should be able to name their children whatever they want. “It can be Shaneequa, Latisha or Lexus Nexus,” he says. “We should not blame parents for giving kids ethnic names. Instead, we should examine what it is in American society that leads people to discriminate simply because of someone’s parent’s choice of names. It’s not Loquisha’s fault—or her parents’ fault—how people react to her name. It’s the fault of people who don’t understand or accept that we live in a pluralistic society, and that good workers can be found in many different places.”
I agree with the first part of his statement. This is a wonderful way of being able to screen out the black candidates without it actually being mentioned on the application form.
The second part, however, is just one more example of the “blame whitey” mentality. Blacks need to think through the consequences of their actions, but as others on this site have observed, forward thinking is not one of their strengths. European immigrant communities gave up their distinctive “ethnic” names years ago; now most European-Americans have names that are pretty much British in origin (e.g., Frederick instead of Friedrich). If blacks want to assimilate into the rest of American society, then adopting normal names would constitute at least a small step toward that goal. But IMHO they don’t want to do that because then they would have no more excuses for whining about how everyone else discriminates against them because of their race.
Is there ever any news article about black racism, mexican racism, asian racism, etc. etc. against Whites? I didn’t think so. When will we ever go on the offense instead of always the defense?
‘Boykin applauds the studies for “introducing racism to white people…”’
My God! All this time I had never heard of the concept of racism! Thanks Boykin!
When I read that quote I almost sprayed the monitor with tea while falling out of my chair doubled up with laughter! The nerve of some people! A day does not pass without Whites being reminded of racism. Just read the daily paper.
Back to names. At my job I come across hilarious ‘African’ names. Two local 8th grade criminals are twins named ‘Sir’ and ‘Mister’. They were members of the OGK (Original Gangsta Killas) gang and ended up incarcerated after a knife fight at the local gladiator-I mean middle-school. Another family that comes to mind had several sons whose first names ended in ‘quavius’. Some examples; Ronquavius, D’arquavius, Joquavius. Another family has a daughter named ‘Laguana’. Pronuced like ‘iguana’ with a ‘la’ added.
I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that any given “Loquisha” or “Jamal” is rather unlikely to have a college degree(or even be a high school diploma), a solid work history, a stable family life, etc. It isn’t the name that is the issue…
Though you have to admit, “Loquisha=Food Stamps.” That’s pretty funny right there.
The study does not mention a very important variable: the race of the employer.
If the employer was black, were the chances of getting the job better for applicants with a black-sounding name over applicants with a normal-sounding name? It’s likely.
If the employer was white, were the chances of getting the job better for applicants with a normal-sounding name over applicants with a black-sounding name? It’s likely.
The conclusion that can be drawn is that employers prefer to hire people of their own race and background. But because there are more white employers than black employers and because the race of the employers was not counted in the study, it may appear as if there anti-black discrimination in job hiring when in reality it’s really employers being more inclined to hire someone of their own race.
I think it has more to do with names that (most) people find to be odd or weird, as opposed to merely unusual or ethnic. I hardly think that the hippie kids named Moonbeam, Sunshine or Peaches are thanking their parents for an inside track on the job market.
I can only think of one time where an applicant’s name was enough cause to ditch the resume. I just didn’t think I’d be able to look somebody in the eye and say “Latrina” with a straight face, or let something slip out along the lines of “You don’t have a sister named Commoda, do you?”
However, giving black kids traditional white names is a mixed bag as well.
We had a black woman working for us by the name of Tammy. I have a niece named Tammy; blond, blue eyes, pretty. The Tammy who worked for us was nothing like my niece. She was brooding and surly. She eventually just stop showing up for work. Most people were glad she never came back.
I do happen to believe that some blacks have almost certainly gotten their employment by virtue of their names that emanate their urban identity.
Think about it. If you’re an HR type for a fair sized corporation,and it’s time to do the AA thing,you can just grab a stack of resumes or applications filled out by individuals with names like Shaniqua and Lavondris and when you have enough,just hire them.
It’s not like they’re going to be doing anything but taking up space anyway,and you’ll have saved the company some money. :)
I LOVE it!! just ask “Keith” Boykin what he, his siblings and parents were named? Ask him why his parents were so ashamed of their race they didn’t name Keith “Odeus” or “Ramontino” or some other traditional African (heh) name.
This stuff is just too rich! I can’t believe this putz actually blamed white folks.
Heck, ask Keitharooney what he named his OWN kids: “Tondawandoline” or some other made-up doofus name?
Heck NO!
Yet the reason those ignorant kids of ignorant families in ignorant neighborhoods don’t get jobs from whites (OR from blacks, I might add!) is because of Evil White Christians.
The man is a walking contradiction. A buffoon, a fool and can’t even see it.
Now, to share a joke with you. I received an email from a middle class black who shares black humor with me. This one was called “Ten Ways to Tell if you are a Hoochie Mama”. The 9th or 10th reason was: “You named your son ‘Anfernee’ because that’s the way it sounds.”
Even respectable black folks laugh at these fools!
And “Keith” Boykin thinks we are going to fall for the guilt trip.
Nice try Keitharino, nice try!
Yes, it matters. If your parents gave you a stupid name (no matter what color you are), see a lawyer and get it changed. It costs about as much as a pair of Michelle Obama’s tennis shoes to do this, and you can have the name that suits you, not to mention, gets you hired at a decent job.
I tend to look at behavior of the Tavons and Jamals and compare to the Jeffs and Gregorys. I’m not alone in thinking that the Tavons and Jamals come out rather on the short end of things, culture-wise.
What about names like “Aphrodite”, “Crystal”, “Jezebel”, or “Bambi”. Or “Billy Bob”, “Bubba”, “Elrod”, or “Rowdy”?
Latrina?
‘Author and commentator Keith Boykin says parents should be able to name their children whatever they want. “It can be Shaneequa, Latisha or Lexus Nexus,” he says. “We should not blame parents for giving kids ethnic names.’
OK, I’ll name my kid “Dogpile” and see how far he or she gets.
What kind of reality do these people live in?
Ravi, Mikhail, and Pedro are ethnic names. Loquisha is simply the product of an illiterate and ignorant anti-culture. It never ceases to amaze me how the marxist blames every aspect of black depravity on racism.
Names point to objects and classes of objects. Just as the word Apple points to type of fruit, Loquisha points to a member of a class of stupid, violent, sexually incontinent, lazy low lifes.
I used to agree with Bill Cosby when he blasted the black community for coming up with all sorts of ridiculous names for their children but I don’t agree with him anymore. Whatever is a hindrance to integration and provides a wall of separation is just fine with me. This one the conservatives are wrong on. I wish all black parents, I mean parent, would name their kids off the wall monikers. That way when someone is browsing a real estate directory or some other service provider and they see the agent is Shenaynay Jones they can just skip it. It saves alot of time from having to call them and catch the inflection in their voice.
It is interesting that in the 1950’s and 1960’s the Chinese in Hong Kong gave their children British-sounding names like Stanly and Livingston. Why? Because they are not stupid, like some other races. They knew that those names carried respect and thus would help their children in life.
Once again we see the black refusal to take responsibilty for their actions or even to admit there are consequences for them. When a black is given an idiotic name his parent(s) are making a statement - essentially an anti-White one. Its interesting to contrast the Japanese-American community with the black one. Japanese-Americans seem to all have very ‘White’ names. The exact opposite approach that blacks have taken. Perhaps not surprisingly the Japanese-American community is light-years ahead of the black one.
I fully “accept that we live in a pluralistic society”. In that plural, ghetto blacks will not become professional whites, and the names are often a giveaway.
I have read where it is not so much the fact that the name is “black sounding” but that a potential employer will think the person has a “ghetto” background and will have that sort of attitude. The same source also said that Whites with what are usually considered “lower class” sorts of names did not do as well either.
There are quite a few Latrina’s out there, believe it or not. I type 100’s of names daily in my line of work, and nothing in the way of black names suprises me anymore. It gives us gals in the office a good laugh.
16 — SoCalRobert wrote at 10:02 PM on October 19:
Aphrodite is a Greek name. Jezebel is Hebrew.
When I meet black kids I have a terrible time trying remember their made up names,no one to relate them to. Years ago Iasked a very nice Black patient about her name Urethra.She said she knew want it meant,but was glad others didn’t.It’s possible her mother heard some in the delivery room say,Put a catheter in her urethra”…
Black names are an endless source of both amusement and bewilderment for us white folks.
I had a friend throughout highschool that was a smart guy and seemed racially realistic. Much to my chagrin, he ended up dating this black girl. Not a mulatto or anything, she looked as though she was straight off the boat and fluent in “click” language.
Shortly before breaking off ties with him, I was over at his house while his black girlfriend was in the process of moving in with him. I came across her highschool diploma, and her middle-name was spelled “Tabatteirre”.
She came through the door, and feigning interest, I asked how it was pronounced.
It was pronounced “Tabitha”.
As well as being markers for race, names are markers for social class. Deshawnay is most likely from a home that has no father and no books. Do Black non-AA middle class people give their kids pseudo-African names?
I’d even be willing to put up with a “Friedrich” as well as a “Frederick”, since I’m an admirer of Germanic history and of the tenacity and ingenuity of the German people. The point is that even if Americans named their children in a fashion that preserved their original national identity, as did many immigrants from a number of European nations, at least they had a heritage of which to be proud. Take a look at names occurring in families that came to America from Italy, France, the Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland many years ago. They had become Americans, and they were proud of it, too. And they didn’t resort to making up names to try to sound “different”. “Black” names sound different alright; they sound dumb. Of course, I agree with others making comments here that it does serve a useful purpose when one desires to weed out (or even accept) individuals in certain settings.
—-That premise gained scientific backing with “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination,” an MIT-University of Chicago study conducted in 2001 and 2002 and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in 2003. Researchers sent 5,000 fictitious resumes for sales, clerical and customer service positions in Chicago and Boston.—-
This just kills me! Thousand of people are lining up for a handful of the crummiest jobs, and these jerks sitting in their cushy MIT labs are sending out 5000 FAKE resumes! Both Chicago and Boston are no islands of full employment and lord only knows what real damage has been done to the real job seekers there. Maybe it’s news to the ‘intelligentsia’ that it takes time and money to review and make job offers that these useless eaters have wasted.
And no, looking for work wasn’t fun in ANY of the five decades I’ve been doing it! But it didn’t used to be a Freddy Kruger movie until recently.
Locked up one a few weeks ago whose name was “Lasagna.” Mmmm….tasty.
Locked up a white kid a few years back whose name was “Neugene.”
Thoughtless parents come in all colors.
If Emily and Greg are more employable than Lakisha and Jamal then name your kid Emily or Greg. This will have the further advantage that the rest of us will know how to spell the name.
“If your parents give you a stupid name…” Reminds me of the time a liquor store clerk grabbed the telephone and started to call the police on my next door neighbor of 45 years. We had walked up to the register to pay while bickering over a now forgotten issue as friends sometimes do. My buddy turned to the woman and said, “You know maam, my little girl Jennifer has been the light of my life for almost a dozen years. But if I ever do have another child, I think I`ll name it Kick Tim!…” His expertise in fishtailing out of the parking lot was what kept her from getting the license plate to alert Child Protective Services…
This clearly proves that MOST white people want to live in an all white country. Why wouldn’t we? Why SHOULDN’T we?
So far, the liberal Left haven’t come up with a single answer.
“….parents should be able to name their children whatever they want”…
Agreed. But their are possible consequences. If I named my kids Werewolf, or Lucifer, or Satanic etc, my kid would probably not be better off for it.
I think the British singer David Bowie gave his son some idiotic name. But I believe the boy has always gone by ‘Joe’.
Sure, you can name your kids however you want to. You can also dress like you want to. However, you must be willing to accept the consequences of that. Lots of blacks and white trash type of people, too, want their individuality, yet they want to be able to hold a job and have others like them in the process. Doesn’t work that way, buddy.
Even black conservative Jesse Lee Peterson said “whenever I see a black name in my pile of resumes, I throw them out. Black name means they are racist, hate America, and will cause a lot of trouble in my business.”
Black “parents” are sending a message to white society when they give their kids these names.
It is just their way of thumbing their nose at us.
I wonder if Casimir Tomaszewski and Eleftheria Stephanopoulos, foreign names, not so easy to pronounce , and almost certainly white, do as well as Charles Thomas and Ella Stevens, Anglo-Saxon names, and running a good chance of belonging to black as well as white applicants.
Maybe it’s a question of mainstream as much as it is of race.
My own name is an ethnic European one, seldom heard outside my country and never in English speaking counties. Butt of jokes in English primary school, always have to spell it. When I had to name my children, I thought long and hard, since I traveled a lot and I was looking for names that translate into most European languages, Michael, John, Christopher, Catharine, Mary and the like. May be old fashioned but if you go from English to French to Italian it come in handy. Once knew a poor girl named Kimberly in South Africa, when she moved there she found out that Kimberly was renowned as the worlds biggest man made hole ever dug in the earth.
2. The immigrants were anti-American and looking for preferential treatment or to take over the country.
Once I saw a chart listing typical names that blacks, Asians and whites give their kids. The black names, of course, were “Shaniquia” and other ridiculous, made-up names. The white names were trendy names from soap operas and romance novels…Mackenzie, Aidan, Connor. The Asian names were names like Amy, Michelle, Lisa, and Kelly…normal names that have stood the test of time. One commenter quipped that Asians give their kids those kinds of names so that white parents won’t feel so bad when they look at the honor roll list.
Anonymous @ 8:29-
If the employer was black, were the chances of getting the job better for applicants with a black-sounding name over applicants with a normal-sounding name? It’s likely.
Don’t be so sure. I’ve known several black small business owners. The ones with enough smarts to stay in business are no more likely to hire DeAndre, Ladanian, Deshawn, Demarcus, Jemarcus, Anquan, Loquisha, Latanya, or Latrina (I just went through that whole list to see how long it would take to find one that didn’t trip my spell checker. Latrina doesn’t) than anyone else, and for all the same reasons. They know the environment that generally produces people with these names, and that it usually provides for a poor pool of workers.
In some cases, black businessmen are actually less likely to hire these, since it’s much more difficult for them to be charged with “racism” or “discrimination.
Big Bill @ 9:43-
I received an email from a middle class black who shares black humor with me. This one was called “Ten Ways to Tell if you are a Hoochie Mama”. The 9th or 10th reason was: “You named your son ‘Anfernee’ because that’s the way it sounds.”
Then you might like these:
“You might be a hoochie mama if…
your twelve year old daughter was ever sent home from school because the skirt she borrowed from you was too short.
you have ten separate and distinct shades of red lip gloss and your baby daddy can’t tell them apart.
your breasts ever fell out of your halter in public.
your breasts ever intentionally fell out of your halter in public.
your spiked heels ever poked holes in the headliner of an Esclade.
you ever said “Oh, is that where I left it?” with regard to an item of underwear.
when you walk down the street in your town, more men then women call you by name.
your hairdresser has ever told you that if he weren’t gay…”
Lamont @ 6:23-
Yes. Names do matter. Most Whites are racist so they assume that certain names sound Black.
For example if I saw the names Paul and Suzy Suburb, Tom Collins, Paris Hilton, Muffy, Molly, Brad, Chad, Amber, Marnie , Marshmellow etc… I would automatically think White.
Dude, have you ever actually met a white man (or woman) named Marshmallow? Seriously? That sounds as ridiculous as the one about the black woman who named her daughter Lemonjello.
Names point to objects and classes of objects. Just as the word Apple points to type of fruit, Loquisha points to a member of a class of stupid, violent, sexually incontinent, lazy low lifes.
Ha. Isn’t the guy from Coldplay’s daughter named Apple???
Mind you he is a famous mulit-millionaire and Apple will, no doubt, have no problem finding employment, if not self-employmernt in her own rock band.
42 Ellen: You’re right, plenty of Whites give their kids names they picked out of a gossip magazine. Those names should be given to dogs. That way, in 15 years, nobody has to be embarrassed.
Uh oh. My next dog’s name just came to me. Call the SPLC.
Names like this, including the ones uneducated whites make up for their babies, which are usually phonetically spelled names (Sean become Shawn, Carol becomes Karol, then Shannon becomes Shania) that we have seen in the past two decades among some female CW performers, say more about education and social decline in general than race. I have a white nieghbor who named his baby girl Tristin because he saw a movie about Tristan and Isolde. I told him he ought to have named her Isolde. He claims that the spelling Tristin instead of Tristan makes it applicable for a girl - by what rules?? And he named his two dachunds “Bonny and Clyde.” So much for American white culture.
41 — Anonymous wrote at 1:03 PM on October 20:
29 — Cairdeas wrote at 1:44 AM on October 20:
As a practiced genealogist, I have to correct you a bit here. Europeans of non-British Isle origin up to the beginning of the 20th century, often either changed their names, or had them changed for them by officials. Many changed their names out of a sense of wishing to fit in, or as in mine, changed because English speaking clerks had problems with names that have an “x” in them But some were so patriotic that they changed their names completely, to translated English versions. An awful lot of this seemed to have occurred during and after the American Civil War.
These names are manifestations of separatism and hostility toward white society, and are given so their children will be distinguished from white society. They get what they want. It’s just like young black males who go around dressing like gangstas and then whine when people are suspicious of them, that is when people perceive them as they intend people to perceive them, as dangerous.
Dude, have you ever actually met a white man (or woman) named Marshmallow? Seriously? That sounds as ridiculous as the one about the black woman who named her daughter Lemonjello.
I was responsible for hiring at a business I worked for. When I reviewed resumes with names like Shaneequa, Laquisha, Felicia, the first thing I figured was they are black, I am fine with that part. But the deal breaker for me was when I saw those names, I thought, “small children” (day care issues, children’s illnesses, baby daddy issues, transportation issues and distractions of dealing with multiple men in their lives) When I saw names like Plaxico, NuShawn, MarTez, Ronquavius, Hercules and the like, my thoughts were car problems, communication problems (cannot reach them because their cell phone are cut off for lack of payment) or communication problems because they only speak Ebonics, baby momma issues, etc
Those were the issues that would make me bypass their resumes and applications, because in a supervisory role, I dont want to babysit someone.
However that said, I had to deal with whites with many of those same issues-part of the human condition I guess.
However you can also identify African Americans by last names even if their first name is more white sounding. Last names like Jones, Turner, Williams, Adams, Washington, Jefferson, Harrison, Tubbs, King, Frazier etc
It’s the fault of people who don’t understand or accept that we live in a pluralistic society, and that good workers can be found in many different places.”
It’s amazing that we’ve had a pluralistic society shoved down our throats and we don’t accept it.
When we’re forced to do business with these people regardless of their behavior it drags the general level of behavior in our society down to their level.
In the old days minorities would have to act to white standards or no one would even consider doing business with them.
Big Bill:
What are you doing e-mailing and pen paling with a Black “friend?” So what if he is a supposedly middle class, “repsectable” Black person, he still is Black! No racially conscious White person would do such a thing.
In fact, I have noticed a couple of other supposedly “race conscious” White Amreners on this board talking about vacationing with Black friends, reading Black magazines, listening to Black music, having no problem with their kids having Black and other non-White friends etc… It is really disturbing on may levels.
Note. Big Bill and others, if you are a racially conscious White person then you will not communicate on any level unless it is absolutely essential with any non-White! Period!
Schoolteacher:
Do AA White affirmative action Whites (and there are many of them) give their kids pseudo sounding White names?
Anonymous wrote at 7:53 PM on October 19: When will we ever go on the offense instead of always the defense? ”
When we reacquire control of our major media, and not a moment sooner.
Long ago, in another lifetime, I was assigned a teaching job in a wretched inner-city school whose name I refuse to recall. This was in the early 80’s and black kids who’d been named after the characters in the plagiarized ‘Roots’ by their single welfare mothers were just hitting the school. ( Anon #1—You do know Roots was plagiarized, don’t you?).
It was not uncommon to have four or five or more in one classroom with the names ‘Kizzee’ or ‘Kunte’ or ‘Kinte’ or ‘Kunte Kinte’ spelled in every manner possible. Those were the easy names. Many other names, along with being ridiculous, were not pronounceable.
Even in ghetto schools, those names are subject to ridicule on the playground and in the lunchroom. I had a kid named ‘Curley the Third’ and I wondered every day if I were going to lose my job each time I called his name! Another poor kid named ‘Elvis’ bore the brunt of ‘Elvis Be Dead!’ shouted at him everywhere, all day every day. The worst was poor ‘Gaylord’ who took hell for that name and was the subject of every rude, crude, vile gay reference and slur one can imagine.
Of course, blacks of all ages are given a pass for something that would have gotten a White kid expelled, his name published in the paper, labeled as a hater and Nazi, and sent to re-education camp.
The worst ever was a poor kid given the name Sh**head. No one believed it until my colleague’s wife showed us her government-printed roll sheet. She was terrified to call out the kid’s name lest she be called on the carpet for profanity AND (worse) racial insensitivity. She asked the kid how to pronounce his name and he told her ‘Sha-Heed.’ We laughed so hard we spilled coffee and tea all over the tables but in reality that kid already is starting life with a albatross around his neck.
So, to Lamont, Poster #1 who writes to us ‘racists’: ‘Most Whites are racist so they assume that certain names sound Black.’ We don’t have to assume a thing, those names are a reality in the black community and it signals us to avoid anyone carrying ghetto names lest we hire someone we cannot get rid of—just as we avoid streets with the name Martin Luther King Jr. You also know he was a major plagiarizer too, don’t you?
Bon
That Blacks burdened with outlandish names invariably evokes mental images of underperformers, poorly motivated workers also comes into play. But of course the hiring managers are smart enough to hire the “best qualified” person rather than the person with the most “unique” name.
People aren’t afraid of names. They fear the behavior they associate with certain kinds of names.
Race Conscious White Person wrote at 9:12 PM on October 20:
What are you doing e-mailing and pen paling with a Black “friend?” So what if he is a supposedly middle class, “repsectable” Black person, he still is Black! No racially conscious White person would do such a thing.
In fact, I have noticed a couple of other supposedly “race conscious” White Amreners on this board talking about vacationing with Black friends, reading Black magazines, listening to Black music, having no problem with their kids having Black and other non-White friends etc… It is really disturbing on may levels.
Note. Big Bill and others, if you are a racially conscious White person then you will not communicate on any level unless it is absolutely essential with any non-White! Period!
So basically you’re saying that race realists have to fit a certain stereotype?
Race Conscious White Person:
I am White. I will admit that I have some Black friends. They are professional Blacks as well. I do not consider myself a race traitor.
I would rather have decent Black friends as opposed to Whites who are not.
Blacks do everything they can to show a separate identity from the mainstream American culture. Their names, the way they dress, their hairstyles, the way they talk, etc.; all these things make them look like clowns in the eyes of other people. I think it’s hilarious but I don’t think people should be criticising blacks or lecturing them about their culture. They aren’t White and we shouldn’t expect them to assimiliate into the mainstream. Unless of course, you want them living next door to you and dating your daughter.
54, 60, 61: There are Black people at work that I make no effort to avoid. They are friendly and civil, and I will stand and chat with them. But I think it’s imprudent to allow any such acquaintanceship to extend beyond work. I don’t want to meet their families, the various half-siblings and so on, and I would not want to be drawn into a conversation that touched on racial matters. I see no benefit in closer association, and much risk. We all need to draw the lines where we can hold them.
Schoolteacher:
While your views are not as extreme as some others on this board, I still intend to maintain such relationships. In fact, I know several Whites who have half-siblings, including my wife!
64 Richard: I am descended from two large families and grew up in a larger than average family myself, and so have a lot of personal experience in these matters, long before I ever looked in a sociology book. Half-siblings do occur among the best sort of people, of course, but among my own kin I have noticed that the thrice-married aunt, the bigamist, the 60 year old female cousin with the tatoos, the embezzler, the drug dealer, the compulsive liar, the chronic debtor, the girl who married an African, the drunk who humiliated the bride by spraying beer on her wedding dress, are all part of the “blended families” of our clan.
Schoolteacher:
In all due respect, your family history sounds a tad bit abnormal for any race. To answer your second question, yes I have had Black guests in my home as well as other no-Black guest as well as gay and lesbian guests.
In regards to one of my kids both are married to White people and are adults. However, I do have a nephew who is maried to a very attractive Black woman who is an attorney and they have thre beautiful, witty children.
Schoolteacher:
Whether Richard would be happy or unhappy if his offspring bought home a Black spouse, if they are older than 18 he would have no choice in the matter.
John:
8, 18 or 28, if they’re living in my house, they’re living by my rules. Among my rules would be no interracial dating. Said 18-year old you describe would move to his/her interracial date’s house or somewhere else if s/he wanted to keep said mate.
Question Diversity:
As far as I am concerend no dating at 8 period, of any kind!
66 Richard: All it took was for two of my many female relatives to choose their husbands poorly, to introduce all that pathology into my family. The rest of us love our two foolish kinswomen, but keep our distance from their families.
Schoolteacher:
Both of Janet’s (my Nephew’s Brian’s wife) are Black. She is not biracial. Obviously her children are biracial.
I cannot speak for you or others, but I will say that I have had pleasant relationships with the Black people I met and known throughout my life. I am a media consultant. And yes, to answer your question, most all of them are upscale professionals. I have one Black frined who owns a family diner type of restaurant. While he may not be a corporate professional, he does make a handsome income.
I
I can tell you that many people will go the long way around to avoid even interviewing blacks for jobs. Here are typical examples:
1) Male in his 20s. Showed up to work smelling of alcohol four out of five days a week. Spends most of the day in the break room and then at lunch. Acts paranoid interacting with co-workers, especially if not black. Got written up, and gave as his defense that he drank because he was bi-polar.
2) Female in her 40s. Shows up to work bright and early each morning at 7. Spends the first two hours at the gym (why not, it’s on the company’s time). Then comes back to her desk to talk to her mom on the phone for the next two hours. Then takes an early lunch. Goes to the physical therapist directly from lunch, and so arrives back to work at 2 to 2:30 (my insurance, for some reason, doesn’t pay for physical therapy year in and year out for five days a week, and I am on the same plan). Leaves at 3 so that she can pick her daughter up from school. Has a White assistant so that her reports can be handed in on time. No one, by the way, in her department has a clear understanding of what she is supposed to be doing for the department.
3) Female in her 20s. Got maternity leave after the birth of her second child (no husband in sight, and first child being raised by her mom). Put the newborn up for adoption because it had some kind of birth defect. Stayed out the full 30 days. Told co-workers on her return how much fun she had vacationing in Jamaica with her new boyfriend.
4) Male in his 20s. Hired as an administrative assistant. Has no social skills, no job skills and is of low intelligence. Has trouble entering the three number combination all other employees use to gain access to the offices. Has trouble using his desk phone since it requires that he press the button that is currently lit and then speak. Asked for a typewriter since he is uncomfortable with using a computer to type up reports. Caught stealing food from the break room fridge. Wants to be an executive.
Un Tel:
At the rate things are going, whites will soon feel obliged — or be required — call their children things like Loser, Dogdo, Bigot, Dodo, Klannie, Dara (as in DAR), Snotti, Snobbi, Pooch, Catpan, Tanker, Bomber, Napalm, Dresdena, Xenophobia, etc.
I lovingly remember the days when we had help in the host with names like Euthanasia or Aphrodesia.
And imagine Dickens bowdlerized to be more “inclusive.” David Copperfield’s nurse might well become an effeminate male of indeterminate age called Feggotty. “Barkus is willing” would then be given a whole new slant.
Can’t wait, can you?
71 Richard: Your nephew’s Black wife is all Black, and a lawyer, with no White mix? I have to say I find that unlikely. All the high achieving Blacks I see in the news are obviously carrying more than a few White genes. Look at BHO’s “Black” appointees. “Tan” is much more like it.
Schoolteacher:
I think I know my nephew’s wife better than you do. I repeat, both of her parents are Black.
Secondly, what do you mean that all successful Blacks are mixed? This is nonsense.
I am afraid that you are beginning to go off the deep end.
76 Richard: I smell falsehood and a willful refusal to read the clear meaning of a sentence. Who are these non-mixed successful Blacks? That is, successful in a civilized way, no football thugs, rappers, or African tyrants. No doubt, out of the hundreds of millions of 100% Bantus, there will be a few statistical outliers, but BHO’s friends are the reality, and your all Black relative with her all Black parents are fantasy.
Schoolteacher:
Why is it so hard for you to believe that there are no Black successful people who have two black parents? I work in at an consulting firm and I know a number of Black people who parents are both Black and are successful.
In all due respeact , you usually make intellgent responses, but on this issue you are out to lunch.
Again, I ask: Where are these 100% Sub-Saharan African-Americans who are successful? Before I am accused of going off the deep end or being out to lunch, read what I have written (#70, 75, & 77). In both my personal experience and from what I have seen and read of public figures, there is an intelligence gradient among Blacks that follows their proportion of White ancestry, which is most easily determined by the lightness of their skin. Personal testimony that one knows a successful Black person with two Black parents dodges the issue. We say that Obama’s Black, that Colin Powell is Black, or that Rev Wright is Black, because as a practical matter we use the one drop rule, but genetically speaking, they are all at least half White. The existence of successful middle class Blacks, rather than making a case for racial tolerance, does the opposite. Their success is made possible by the large proportion of White genes they carry, sufficient to outweigh their African ancestry.
