New Post
Search
HelpWarning: Rant ahead
in reply to a message by kizuko
Don't take this personally, kizuko, but you've hit on a touchy subject, and I find your wording particularly poor.
Do you think this little looks Asian enough to have been given a Vietnamese name? IMO she is Asian enough to have the name because she is Vietnamese
That is a ridiculous way to look at naming. People don't necessarily need to have the background of their names. Do you think half of the little Aidans running around in America right now are anything close to Irish? No, but most people didn't get riled up about it. Why should it be any different if a little Mai doesn't, heaven help us, "look" Asian. Oh, and I'm glad you think Vietnamese is "Asian enough."
In my opinion, this lovely little girl could be named Zoe or Vittoria or Mai or Mercedes or Inanna or Siobhan or Mnemosyne or even Nevaeh or whatever. I may not necessarily like a name, but I would never tell someone not to use it because that person isn't from the same culture as the name. If the name means something to the parents, who cares? Should a Nebraskan born Caucasian not name her daughter Mai because they're not "Asian enough?" What if that Nebraska native graduated from a university with a degree in Asian civilizations, lived in China for a few years, and then returned to Nebraska before having her kids? Or what is she just thinks Akemi is a beautiful name? Who cares whether or not she's Asian!
I was just commenting to a friend the other day how no one thinks twice about a non-Italian using Alessandra or the like, but then, someone wants to use Mercedes, and we hear that it's too Spanish sounding for a white person. This attitude has really been bothering me lately, and I think it's deeper rooted than names. I hope the people who think this way get over it because we live in a global world, and they sound ridiculously close-minded.
//Soapbox. Sorry.
Edited for structure
Do you think this little looks Asian enough to have been given a Vietnamese name? IMO she is Asian enough to have the name because she is Vietnamese
That is a ridiculous way to look at naming. People don't necessarily need to have the background of their names. Do you think half of the little Aidans running around in America right now are anything close to Irish? No, but most people didn't get riled up about it. Why should it be any different if a little Mai doesn't, heaven help us, "look" Asian. Oh, and I'm glad you think Vietnamese is "Asian enough."
In my opinion, this lovely little girl could be named Zoe or Vittoria or Mai or Mercedes or Inanna or Siobhan or Mnemosyne or even Nevaeh or whatever. I may not necessarily like a name, but I would never tell someone not to use it because that person isn't from the same culture as the name. If the name means something to the parents, who cares? Should a Nebraskan born Caucasian not name her daughter Mai because they're not "Asian enough?" What if that Nebraska native graduated from a university with a degree in Asian civilizations, lived in China for a few years, and then returned to Nebraska before having her kids? Or what is she just thinks Akemi is a beautiful name? Who cares whether or not she's Asian!
I was just commenting to a friend the other day how no one thinks twice about a non-Italian using Alessandra or the like, but then, someone wants to use Mercedes, and we hear that it's too Spanish sounding for a white person. This attitude has really been bothering me lately, and I think it's deeper rooted than names. I hope the people who think this way get over it because we live in a global world, and they sound ridiculously close-minded.
//Soapbox. Sorry.
Edited for structure
This message was edited 1/5/2007, 1:07 AM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1