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People tend to judge names by class, not skin color. Shaniqua & De'Andre will have issues getting called for an interview if it's anyone other than a poor Black doing the calling. However, a Black person named Michele or James probably wouldn't have a problem, not because they don't sound Black, but because they don't sound poor and lower class. Same with a White people named Joe Bob and Tammy Rae. Good luck getting that call back from that Public Radio job in Liberal Minnesota if you're name is Joe Bob or Billy Ray.
My kids were born in Latin America. Even though they have an Irish last name, I made sure they had common names that would not stand out as different from mainstream Latin America because I didn't want them to be at a disadvantage their whole lives. or I could have named them Ashley & Brittney and complained they weren't being treated as equal to Maria & Carmen their whole lives? It just makes no sense to do that to your kids, imo.
And that is your choice. BTW, even the name 'Maria' is subject to pejorative commentary here in the US...and it has to do with the name being common in Mexican, Hispanic, Latin American cultures.
Well at least you admit it's not racism. Move to Nigeria and see if you get called by the HR Dept if your name is La'Shante? Obviously the Nigerians aren't excluding you because of your race. It's your culture. you're not part of mainstream Nigerian culture if your name is La'Shante. Not that hard to grasp.
It's not White privilege either. You can name your daughter Ashley or Brittney if you like and sound mainstream. That's not exclusive to White's. In the United States, mainstream culture is largely Eurocentric though, as it is in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Austria, et al. In Africa, mainstream culture is largely Afrocentric. In Asian, it's Asian, in Latin America, it's Latino. Wishing the world wasn't the way the world is, is a waste of time. You can be a part of the mainstream if you choose, or you can choose not to be. If you choose not to be, then that's your choice. Name your kid Shaniqua and you have doomed that child to not being part of mainstream culture. Name your child Lilian or Margaret and they won't have that working against them. It's your choice if you want to burden them like that or not.
Actually I think it is still racist, I just have no interest in arguing with you over what you think is or isn't racist.
You do realize that saying it is mainstream culture is the same as white privilege. So it is acceptable racism because it is the mainstream.
So if you want your child to be more accepted, give them a white person name...yeah, that isn't racist or white privilege at all.
There are people of all kinds who blame their failures on other people. Uneducated Whites blame affirmative action. Rich people whose business fail blame big govt. And yes poor Blacks blame all their problems on racism. In reality things are complex, some failure is because of govt, racism, more competition from diversity, but those things are never 100% of the problem. A lot of our problems among the poor of all races is like of health literacy and financial literacy.
Having growing up poor, rural, and White I see one main difference between poor Blacks and poor rural Whites. Poor Whites are mostly left alone by law enforcement and are more insulated from outside elites who prey on the poor. Rural What few police there are mostly ignore anything that isn't violent. My "white trash" family members can grow marijuana, do drugs, get involved in brawls outside bars, even illegally make and sell guns (including big guns like AR 15) and never fear criminal prosecution. They also deal with land lords who are sympathetic and don't put collection agencies on you because you failed to read something in the fine print.
By contrast poor urban Blacks live under constant surveillance by law enforcement who are trying to force White middle class suburban rules on them. Every mistake you make risks giving you a criminal record that means you will struggle to ever get any job or student loan - for life. Every time you call in a store or drive down the road you are followed by police. And when you rent an apartment or take out a loan it done from someone who makes money on taking financially illiterate people to the cleaners. When you get behind on rent the result isn't compassion from someone of your ethnicity, it is heartless capitalism. There is nowhere that poor Whites are constantly harassed every time they leave home like poor urban Blacks. The Ferguson P D is not a rare case when it makes revenue on the backs of poor Blacks by writing tickets for minor non criminal things like broken tail lights.
I'm in Bullhead City and this town def has its share of PWT. Hell, even I would like to see their kind rousted a LOT more because MOST of us here HATE meth heads. Far better a decent Black family next door than a bunch of anglo white low lifes and I'm also "white".
I'm in Bullhead City and this town def has its share of PWT. Hell, even I would like to see their kind rousted a LOT more because MOST of us here HATE meth heads. Far better a decent Black family next door than a bunch of anglo white low lifes and I'm also "white".
You say that, but what classifies as decent Black family for you? I bet your neighborhood would flip it's lid if Black families started moving in because the assumption would be they are all poor people with black sounding names.
This is just ridiculous.
Lets see... So the Indian lady with black skin and non-pronounceable name who came to here with 4000 dollars and made all the way to Developers manager in my large corporation did it because of her white male privileges. ok.
Michele and James both sound like white names, so maybe that has something to do with it. Also none of those names sounds poor.
Billy Ray and Joe Bob just sound like southern names, though Billy Ray can just go by Bill, and Joe Bob can just go by Joe or Joseph. Though is it common for white people to give their children two first names? Regardless, their name shouldn't be held prejudice against them.
So do you still live in Latin America, or did you change their names to sound more American white when they moved to the states?
What does White sound like? Michelle is our Black 1st Lady's name isn't it? James is a Biblical name and a very popular one among Black men. They aren't White at all, they're common and mainstream. They're non descriptive. You hit the nail on the head though when you said they don't sound POOR! That's the deal right there.
Well, if your name is Billy Ray or Joe Bob and you live in Minnesota that name is going to be held against you all the time. The world's not fair. But, as you smartly point out, if you want to avoid that discrimination you could just go by Bill or Joe. To not do so is a choice and choices have consequences.
I moved back from Latin America and didn't have to change my kids' names. Their names are mainstream, common and easy to pronounce in both languages. However, both my best friend and myself changed our names when we lived in Latin America. His name is Brad. Ask a Latino to say "Brad", lol. It sounds like "Braaaaaahh". He just started telling people to call him "Roberto", problem solved. I had a similar issue & one simple tweak made my name is to pronounce for them. Of course we didn't have to. Of course it would have been nice of them to all learn to pronounce our names properly & not think of them as strange or foreign. Ultimately though we had a decision to make: Fit in, or not fit in.
I think white privilege is a socially constructed concept to make the dominant groups in society feel guilty.
I've known a lot of poor white folks. I don't think they've ever been blessed by white privilege. One guy I know worked from 7pm - 3am in the morning, he has been stopped by police officers many times at night because he didn't have a car.
Interesting point. When I was in college, I worked two nights each week until 2 am. I was frequently stopped, as well. My "White privilege" didn't protect me from suspicion for being out that late on a week night.
And that is your choice. BTW, even the name 'Maria' is subject to pejorative commentary here in the US...and it has to do with the name being common in Mexican, Hispanic, Latin American cultures.
Sad, really, since it means MARY.
I catch what you mean. Too; "black Maria" was another nickname for a paddy wagon.
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