Which is more evil, meat, soy, gluten, or southpaws?

[Xist]

I am fluent in Spanish, but I am pretty sure that nobody would hire me if a native Spanish speaker applied, even though every Spanish-speaking employee that I have heard used words in English that I knew in Spanish. How much English do native Spanish speakers speak?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Ecky

...I got to see an educated, pretty young black woman have her application for a front desk position tossed in the trash solely because her name was "Shaniqua".

That works both ways, though. Why do parents give their kids names that will immediately mark them as members of a minority group, if not their own racism? Suppose that young woman had been named Sally or Sandra instead?

[Ecky]

So it's hers and her parents' fault that she was discriminated against? After all, she can change her name at any time. There's probably a lot she could do, even, to make herself look white, given enough effort and money.

Edit: I'm sure it's very pragmatic advice, and I probably came on a little strong there, but I'm not a big fan of telling people "be less obviously black".

[freebeard]

Soy Boy | Know Your Meme

The earliest archived use of the term “soyboy” as a pejorative on 4chan was submitted to a thread on the /tv/ (television & film) board on April 18th, 2017 (shown below).[11]

That's still the Current Year.

[Xist]

I have a good Judeo-Christian name and my supervisor said there are too many people with that name.

Not everyone has that problem.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

That works both ways, though. Why do parents give their kids names that will immediately mark them as members of a minority group, if not their own racism? Suppose that young woman had been named Sally or Sandra instead?

Gotta have to agree on that. Some irresponsible parents, not only blacks, give embarassing names to their kids, sometimes doing that as some sort of "political" statement which sounds like they don't really want to integrate into mainstream society and would rather lock their kids in a bubble. Anyway, the problem is not "looking obviously black", it's acting obviously stupid and then trying to put the blame on others for their own misfortunes.

But anyway, and back on topic: some years ago I was talking to a Brazilian black guy who was heading to Texas, and we got into food stereotypes. It was quite surprising for us as Brazilians to find out that fried chicken is often depicted as a stereotypically-black staple (I'm a white/native Brazilian mestizo and eat it regularly), while here in Brazil other foods with a black influence such as feijoada and acarajé ain't really so much of a taboo.

[freebeard]

I knew a woman once that named her kid Sativa. Most people would have called her a hippy. I got a pretty close look and decided she was a government spook monkey-wrenching the County government.

I nicknamed him Travis.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Gotta have to agree on that. Some irresponsible parents, not only blacks, give embarassing names to their kids, sometimes doing that as some sort of "political" statement which sounds like they don't really want to integrate into mainstream society and would rather lock their kids in a bubble.

Yes, it's not really the name itself so much as it's a signal that the kid probably has been indoctrinated with a certain set of beliefs, and that those beliefs are likely to cause the employer trouble down the road. For instance, if the kid has grown up believing in pervasive racism, then the employer has to worry that a justified dismissal will turn into a discrimination lawsuit. See the definition of self-fulfilling prophecy

It was quite surprising for us as Brazilians to find out that fried chicken is often depicted as a stereotypically-black staple...

Surprising to me, too, since I grew up in a part of the rural US northeast where there weren't any black people, and ate fried chicken just about every Sunday.

[Natalya]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Why do parents give their kids names that will immediately mark them as members of a minority group, if not their own racism?

Maybe the real problem is that it's seen as bad to be part of a minority group?

I have an eastern-european name, is that irresponsible? Should I go to the courthouse and pay to get it changed to Natalie?

[freebeard]

Should I go to the courthouse and pay to get it changed to Natalie?

Only if your think jamesqf is right, unless the question was rhetorical — then no.