If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Racism
In New York, I had a boss with the last name "Rickey." A few of us who worked with him used to joke that he had two first names. In fact, you could use them interchangeably, and if somebody put last names first, with a comma, you could easily confuse which was which.
In the constant push to find racism at every turn, while I was out hearing a beautiful, talented writer friend of mine (who happens to have skin the color of fine dark chocolate) speak at an event, some person calling him or herself "brownmenace" left this remark about my TSA grope post:
"neither name sounds like a typical American first name or last name" "typical American name" Here we have the epitome of prejudice. Her name was not American enough for you? Her name was not white enough for you? Not WASP enough? Not typical for the names of the people where you live? Bigot much? The names that you in your prejudice think are 'typically American' will be replaced by 'typically American' names like García, Fernández, Hernandez and Gonzalez in the next few years. Look up the current top 20 American surnames right now. How many of them fit your idea of "typical American names"?
This comment was in response to my update on the post:
UPDATE: I forgot to post the TSA woman's name when I wrote this last night. I think it might have been Thedala Magee. Or Magee Thedala. I was really upset, and neither name sounds like a typical American first name or last name, so I can't remember if I wrote it down in the right order.
Luckily, kenmce and jazzhands were around to bat cleanup. Here's kenmce:
>brownmenace at April 26, 2011 7:08 PM>Here we have the epitome of prejudice. Her name >was not American enough for you? Her name was >not white enough for you? Not WASP enough? Not >typical for the names of the people where you >live? Bigot much?
*Hmm, goes upthread to see the original paragraph
*ah, here it is:
>>UPDATE: I forgot to post the TSA woman's name >>when I wrote this last night. I think it might >>have been Thedala Magee. Or Magee Thedala. I >>was really upset, and neither name sounds like >>a typical American first name or last name, so >>I can't remember if I wrote it down in the >>right order.
*Actual quote says nothing negative about the woman, her color, her name, her ethnic background, hair, shoes, perfume or anything else. Actual quote just says that she had oddball name and that it is hard to remember which is the first part and which the last.
*Racecard FAILS miserably, but thanks for playing.
Here's jazzhands:
@brownmenace, Kenmce pretty well beat me to it, but since you are SUCH an expert on names which the rest of us are not, please enlighten us as to which of the choices is a "common" last name, and also where it is common? I certainly don't want to be accused of being racist should I come across the name in the future.BTW, Amy lives in LA. If any of the names you listed (García, Fernández, Hernandez and Gonzalez) were the name of the person doing the assaulting, I'm sure she'd remember which was first or which was last. Hell, I grew up in a mostly Czech farming town in MN, without one single Hispanic or Latino in my high school, and I know those are surnames. Thedala and Magee are both names I've never heard of, though. Sorry I'm not as enlightened as you seem to be. Please help rectify that.
Meanwhile, my people are WASPS -- if you can be considered WASPS by way of Russian peasanthood and German-Polish border poverty, arriving in this country in steerage class. My mom's family was Smollofsky, and my great grandpa fed his family by picking up trash and selling metal for scrap. (Still, I'm sure it's somehow possible to trace my lineage back to the Queen of England...don't you think?)
Like jazzhands points out, if my groper's name had been Rosa Gonzalez, I wouldn't have wondered which came first. Roman Genn, on the other hand, another Russki...Genn Roman? If he gropes me, I could get very confused!
Brava, Amy! There's enough actual racism in the world that we don't need to manufacture any.
By the way, my latest comment on your TSA post got drop-kicked to your spam folder. There may have been too many links -- three. Take a look. Merci!
Lisa Simeone at April 27, 2011 2:55 AM
I do love the smell of manufactured outrage in the morning. Smells like....Winning!
Heh, brownmenace should try being a skinny kid with the last name of Baum in a mostly Italian neighborhood. I only survived because my dog was bigger and she'd follow me to and from school each day.
Seriously, tho, when do we get to declare the race card off limits? Just say "no more", and declare people who use it automatic losers. (did I just ...yeah, total redudancy there, sorry).
Kat at April 27, 2011 5:50 AM
I am still confused on how she got "racist" out of "I can't remember her name but it wasn't a traditional American name". ???
One order of manufactured outrage and false sense of self-righteousness... Coming right up.
Sabrina at April 27, 2011 7:04 AM
Racist?! Questioning the origin of a name? Since when?
Kristen at April 27, 2011 7:46 AM
Ok, so a funny thing happened on my way to doing my dishes. Obama released his birth certificate. The real, long form one that Trump has been bleating about. So, with all the talk of name origins, I got curious. (heh, or maybe racist :p )
Seems there are several origins/meanings given for the name Barack, but the only one agreed upon by most scholars is "Lightning".
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_the_name_Barack
Interesting, in an amusing sort of way.
Kat at April 27, 2011 9:18 AM
When in danger, when in doubt
Call her racist, scream and shout
Martin at April 27, 2011 9:36 AM
Yes! Heinlein rules!
Sadly, he also said this:
I also think there are prices too high to pay to save the United States. Conscription is one of them. Conscription is slavery, and I don't think that any people or nation has a right to save itself at the price of slavery for anyone, no matter what name it is called. We have had the draft for twenty years now; I think this is shameful. If a country can't save itself through the volunteer service of its own free people, then I say : Let the damned thing go down the drain!
Guest of Honor Speech at the 29th World Science Fiction Convention, Seattle, Washington (1961)
The Quotable Heinlein
He was talking about the military draft, but the same could be applied to things such as Kelo vs New London, or the Wisconsin debacle.
Kat at April 27, 2011 9:48 AM
How's Eric Holder's monologue on race feel now, cowards? You didn't seriously think anybody was going to listen to what you actually said, or do anything but talk at you, did you?
I'm not playing kids, start without me.
MarkD at April 27, 2011 12:52 PM
I wish D.D. Harriman would get off his fictional ass and build that damned ship so I could say "Stop the world, I want to get off.".
Kat at April 27, 2011 2:28 PM
"(Still, I'm sure it's somehow possible to trace my lineage back to the Queen of England...don't you think?)"
Yes, because you are a redhead, there is a Tudor (or a Tudor ancestor) in the woodpile somewhere. :-)
daughterofaredhead at April 27, 2011 5:53 PM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/04/if-its-tuesday.html#comment-2081096">comment from daughterofaredheadOr a tutor in the woodpile.
Amy Alkon
at April 27, 2011 6:22 PM
heh heh, you ALL have names that are NOT "traditional" American names, so how about them apples Brownmenace?
LoneEagle son of StandingBear at April 28, 2011 8:58 AM
Once I helped straighten out a lawyer's filing system. I remember one guy's file was divided under 2 names in two different boxes, it was either something like Taylor, Nelson or Nelson, Taylor, we only discovered it by listing info from all the files and sorting on various fields. We put together a lot of divided files that way, also women who married, divorced and married again.
nonegiven at April 29, 2011 10:24 PM
Okay goddess lady I work for tsa at the airport u went thru an to me it sounds like your just one of tjose typical people who when something was to happen you would point a finger at tsa an you must feel that why should I go thru all this an im no terroist by the way terriost can be any body an you talking about a pat down when the police pat down is more.intruding an also we ask you is that.okay we go thru.sensitive areas with back of hand to me your just a typical blogger with.nuthing else to do. An sorry for all these periods im on my phone
Blank tso at June 23, 2011 4:52 PM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/04/if-its-tuesday.html#comment-2299422">comment from Blank tsoyour just a typical blogger with.nuthing else to do.
Actually, I'm not. I go to presentations at Rand Corp. on terrorism and talk to, interview and read security experts.
Here's one of the experts I read regularly (Bruce Schneier), quoted in The Economist:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2008/10/airport_security_does_not_make_you_safer
You earn a living violating Americans' rights, and that's despicable.
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" -- quote on the title page of a book by Richard Jackson, published by Ben Franklin (and usually attributed to Franklin)
Amy Alkon
at June 23, 2011 5:23 PM
i saw your story on drudge today and it reaffirms that the only way to effectively deal with the injustices inflicted to us citizens by the tsa is to take direct and personal action such as you did. complaints to the us govt go nowhere. only a popular uprising directed at tsa employees will work. we all need to:
1. upon any verbal contact by the tsa tell them what you think of them.
2. upon physical contact by the tsa complain loudly of this physical violation to your rights.
3. do this each and every time.
martin mercado at September 6, 2011 4:55 PM
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