Posted on 07/08/2014 8:58:16 AM PDT by Steve Peacock
(Based an actual encounter in an inner-city Trenton, NJ charter school). A poem.
Keeper of Names
By Steve Peacock
Why
do so many
black students’ names
end with
“-quan” and
“-asia,”
the middle-aged white teacher
inquires
of the sole black
educator
in the break room.
As I understand it,
she replies humbly,
(so as not to claim expertise on the matter),
“quan,”
like “DaeQuan,”
has African
roots.
But what about “asia”? We’ve got
Ta’Asia,
Ti’Asia,
Sequasia,
Shyasia?
I am truly unsure,
she says. Still,
he persists.
There’s also Arquasia,
Tintasia, and…
I said I don’t know.
Then there’s
Quintasia,
Sashasia…
Oh my goodness, yes I’m
black, the only
black woman
on the staff
but I am not
the keeper
of the world’s
black names, in fact,
my name is
Brittany,
and I live
and always have lived
an hour
outside the city.
You may
know
more than I
know
about
these kids.
The authors of “Freakonomics” found that for persons with odd names, those names correlated more to the economic success of the parents than they did the children, themselves.
Why do you come here to post racist garbage? Are you a troll?
I don’t see anything the least bit ‘racist’ in the observation of something so obvious as the made up and nonsensical names used by the illiterate and uncultured.
These names have No meaning.These parents give their kids these names just so they fit in.Popularity reasons.
Not even real Native Born Africans have names like those.
It’s just like the Street Dialect that you hear in the Black Ghetto’s.You won’t hear anything like that in Africa or Jamaica for that matter.
Boogaloo.
‘Blacks’ are not the only people who give their children weird names. Remember MOON UNIT ZAPPA ?
However, they do it in greater numbers.
The SOURCE (and popularity) for all the ‘african sounding’ names comes not from AFRICA, but from the movie ROOTS.
Oh, reeeeeallly? Then why did the article only mention illiterate and uncultured black names, leaving out illiterate and uncultured white, hispanic and asian names?
Well... we thought about naming our daughter Morgan... because a bottle of the Captain may have had something to with it.
As someone with a very ethnic name (Italian) I think it is great to honor ancestors and feel a sense of connection to them. But it is also cumbersome. It gets pronounced wrong. Spelled wrong. And at times assumptions are made about you... In my case the assumption is that I’d be a meatball with mob connections, pinky ring, and always complaining that the sauce isn’t like Ma’s.
To the parents considering an oddball made up name I’d suggest thinking about your child’s perception imputed on him by name. About the job interview. About having to spell and explain it to others...
Probably for the simple reason that the majority of the people the author sees doing this are black. If he were in New Zealand you'd call him a racist for complaining about the same practice even though it's principally the Maori down there who do it.
In any case, the names are an expression of ignorance and ignorance comes in many shapes and colors.
Still not buying it.
Still not buying it.
Like I said, ignorance comes in many shapes and colors.
OK, now come the ad hominems. Just straight out of the liberal playbook. Nasty.
Given that you started this by calling another FReeper a racist for observing a fundamentally obvious truth then if you don't like the liberal playbook then don't use it.
What is your beef? Are you married to the guy who posted this stuff?
Well, congratulations on your spirited defense of the right to make fun of obviously struggling children whom your earlier post characteriized as illiterate and uncultured. By the way, the English aristocracy is so over.
Who was making fun of children? I said, “the names are an expression of ignorance”.
Certainly you’re not playing an Alinsky-style tactic and smearing me with an illogical accusation? “Rules for Radicals” being one of those ‘liberal playbooks’ you said you don’t care for.
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