UPDATE: For some reason this popped in my head while rereading this post. It contains cursing (it’s Samuel Jackson) so if offended don’t click on the link and keep it moving.
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Last night my husband and I went to a football game. While there we saw friend of ours who happens to be Asian and of course has a Asian name. As he got closer we heard someone refer to him as “Bob”. We looked at each other with disgust. Later on the friend made his way to our bench and sat with us during the game. I asked him who the gentlemen was that referred to him as “Bob”. He told me it was his boss. My heart sank as this reminded me of the scene in Roots where LeVar Burton refuses to take his slave name “Toby” until beaten into submission.
While my friend doesn’t seem to mind (I’ve heard other’s refer to him as “Bob”)- I find this to be insulting and disrespectful. Why can’t folks be bothered to pronounce his real name? While it took awhile for me to learn to pronounce his name correctly – I did until I got it right. It’s not rocket science – it just feels like the right thing to do – call someone by their given name.
Taking the time to pronounce someone’s name correctly (or to even bother learning their name) would mean you actually give a crap about someone other than yourself!
I can’t stand people like that. But I also have a problem with the people who allow others to continually call them out their name without correcting them.
I always want to know the real name of the manicurist who is doing my nails at the salon. She may say her name is “Julie” but I always ask what her real name is. And I make sure to call her that…
I think it is disrespectful to call someone out of their name, and more than that, to not even make the effort to learn it properly.
I’ve had folks mispronounce my name…I mean really, how hard is Marva?