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My name is Kevin. I'm 27 and I'm from (west) germany. Most people I get to know will bring the topic up. I got a master's degree in physics and I have heard peo

My name is Kevin. I'm 27 and I'm from (west) germany. Most people I get to know will bring the topic up. I got a master's degree in physics and I have heard people say something like 'your name doesn't fit your profile at all' more times than I can count. I've seen girls in my sphere discard guys on Tinder partly due to being named Kevin. People do joke about the name and that's ok. It's not terrible but it isn't great either.

artfucker1996 7y ago
same. being named kevin is a hard life in germany, but sometimes i can't help but wonder if it actually benefited me in some way. it tought me a great lesson about people being spiteful without realising it, just because it's been established by the social environment that you live in. while some people are just consciously being dickheads, others might have this negative stigma associated with the name Kevin without ever meeting a person named Kevin. to me this is fascinating and in my opionion extends in some ways to people being racist or homophobic without ever meeting people of the "other group".
- nothrabannosir 7y ago
  > ... people being racist or homophobic without ever meeting people of the "other group". In my limited experience, this is the norm, not an exception.
  - moomin 7y ago
    What is even more entertaining is that when they do know people from the other group, they have a habit of treating them as shining exceptions to the rule, not questioning whether or not the rule is even valid.
    - foozed 7y ago
      "no, that's different. [name] is my friend!"
    - mieseratte 7y ago
      > they have a habit of treating them as shining exceptions to the rule, not questioning whether or not the rule is even valid. That doesn't stop with the -ism's, I routinely run into programmers learning about DRY and cargo-culting the hell out of it. People seize onto absolute rules and superficiality, failing to consider deeper conceptual dissimilarities that would negate the application of the rule.
    - msla 7y ago
      "The Exception That Proves The Rule": Yes, you can interpret it so it makes sense. No, that sensible interpretation isn't the one that caught on. It has a nasty symbiotic relationship with the "But you're one of the good ones" phenomenon, which is what you're more directly referring to.
- pjc50 7y ago
  Have you heard the Johnny Cash song "Boy named Sue"?
chadlavi 7y ago
My name is Chad, similar deal.
- unixhero 7y ago
  Just play the part bro.
- craigzucchini 7y ago
  At least your name isn't Virgin Edit: Might as well leave a link for regular people https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/virgin-vs-chad https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/virgin-vs-chad
cgh 7y ago
From the article: "The word "Alpha-Kevin" (combination of Alpha male and the given name), as being representative of a particularly unintelligent young person, was, for a time, at the top of the list, which was the subject of a 2015 online poll for the Word of the year (Germany) and, particularly, the youth word of the year." In your interactions with the other Kevins of Germany, have you encountered any of these Alpha-Kevins? Are they held in particularly high esteem in Kevinish circles?

artfucker1996 7y ago

same. being named kevin is a hard life in germany, but sometimes i can't help but wonder if it actually benefited me in some way. it tought me a great lesson about people being spiteful without realising it, just because it's been established by the social environment that you live in. while some people are just consciously being dickheads, others might have this negative stigma associated with the name Kevin without ever meeting a person named Kevin. to me this is fascinating and in my opionion extends in some ways to people being racist or homophobic without ever meeting people of the "other group".

nothrabannosir 7y ago
> ... people being racist or homophobic without ever meeting people of the "other group". In my limited experience, this is the norm, not an exception.
- moomin 7y ago
  What is even more entertaining is that when they do know people from the other group, they have a habit of treating them as shining exceptions to the rule, not questioning whether or not the rule is even valid.
  - foozed 7y ago
    "no, that's different. [name] is my friend!"
  - mieseratte 7y ago
    > they have a habit of treating them as shining exceptions to the rule, not questioning whether or not the rule is even valid. That doesn't stop with the -ism's, I routinely run into programmers learning about DRY and cargo-culting the hell out of it. People seize onto absolute rules and superficiality, failing to consider deeper conceptual dissimilarities that would negate the application of the rule.
  - msla 7y ago
    "The Exception That Proves The Rule": Yes, you can interpret it so it makes sense. No, that sensible interpretation isn't the one that caught on. It has a nasty symbiotic relationship with the "But you're one of the good ones" phenomenon, which is what you're more directly referring to.
pjc50 7y ago
Have you heard the Johnny Cash song "Boy named Sue"?

chadlavi 7y ago

My name is Chad, similar deal.

unixhero 7y ago
Just play the part bro.
craigzucchini 7y ago
At least your name isn't Virgin Edit: Might as well leave a link for regular people https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/virgin-vs-chad https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/virgin-vs-chad

cgh 7y ago

From the article: "The word "Alpha-Kevin" (combination of Alpha male and the given name), as being representative of a particularly unintelligent young person, was, for a time, at the top of the list, which was the subject of a 2015 online poll for the Word of the year (Germany) and, particularly, the youth word of the year." In your interactions with the other Kevins of Germany, have you encountered any of these Alpha-Kevins? Are they held in particularly high esteem in Kevinish circles?