4 ms·

My friend, in America, is named Alok. When he started school the teacher said “That’s not a name, in my class your name is Alex.” You know that not everyone is

My friend, in America, is named Alok. When he started school the teacher said “That’s not a name, in my class your name is Alex.” You know that not everyone is relating to you with good intentions, right? And that their convenience isn’t the most important thing in the world? How far does your magnanimity extend? Can people just say “hey you, shithead” and you think that shouldn’t affect the interaction?

crossroadsguy 3y ago
It was horrible of that teacher if it was not just an icebreaker sort of light-hearted remark. Though I might find it inappropriate nonetheless. Did Alok protest?
- lazyasciiart 3y ago
  It was not an icebreaker, it was a racist asshole who was absolutely serious - he wasn't going to say some shitty foreign name, and he didn't, all year. As a 5yo? No, he did not protest. It wasn't an isolated incident anyway.
  - crossroadsguy 3y ago
    Oh. I didn’t take the “teacher” part seriously. I assumed it to he a professor. My bad.
kortex 3y ago
I think there is a huge difference between mapping over to easier phonetics/phonotactics or common names in the native language, and "hey shithead". The attitude isn't great, but Alok->Alex checks out. In Italy I'd be Michele, in Japan, I'd be Maikeru/マイケル, in Ukraine I'd probably be Mykhaylo/Михайло.
cat_plus_plus 3y ago
Why isn't other people's convenience the most important thing in the world? Utilitarian: there are many of them, there is only one of me. Egalitarian: I don't want to me inconvenienced by accepting an alternative pronunciation of my name, so I insist on THEM being inconvenienced? Self-interest: I have some business with them, the less distractions we have getting to it the sooner/better it will get done. I had plenty of experience with people intentionally calling me mean nicknames in my native language. There is zero overlap between this situation and someone who just wants to have a useful interaction.

crossroadsguy 3y ago

It was horrible of that teacher if it was not just an icebreaker sort of light-hearted remark. Though I might find it inappropriate nonetheless. Did Alok protest?

lazyasciiart 3y ago
It was not an icebreaker, it was a racist asshole who was absolutely serious - he wasn't going to say some shitty foreign name, and he didn't, all year. As a 5yo? No, he did not protest. It wasn't an isolated incident anyway.
- crossroadsguy 3y ago
  Oh. I didn’t take the “teacher” part seriously. I assumed it to he a professor. My bad.

kortex 3y ago

I think there is a huge difference between mapping over to easier phonetics/phonotactics or common names in the native language, and "hey shithead". The attitude isn't great, but Alok->Alex checks out. In Italy I'd be Michele, in Japan, I'd be Maikeru/マイケル, in Ukraine I'd probably be Mykhaylo/Михайло.

cat_plus_plus 3y ago

Why isn't other people's convenience the most important thing in the world? Utilitarian: there are many of them, there is only one of me. Egalitarian: I don't want to me inconvenienced by accepting an alternative pronunciation of my name, so I insist on THEM being inconvenienced? Self-interest: I have some business with them, the less distractions we have getting to it the sooner/better it will get done. I had plenty of experience with people intentionally calling me mean nicknames in my native language. There is zero overlap between this situation and someone who just wants to have a useful interaction.