"Why Can't You Just Change Your Name So I Don't Sound So Stupid?": TX Lawmaker Suggest Asians Simplify Names
By Nicole Belle Thursday Apr 09, 2009 8:00amA North Texas legislator during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”
The comments caused the Texas Democratic Party on Wednesday to demand an apology from state Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell. But a spokesman for Brown said her comments were only an attempt to overcome problems with identifying Asian names for voting purposes.
The exchange occurred late Tuesday as the House Elections Committee heard testimony from Ramey Ko, a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans.
Ko told the committee that people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent often have problems voting and other forms of identification because they may have a legal transliterated name and then a common English name that is used on their driver’s license on school registrations.
Brown suggested that Asian-Americans should find a way to make their names more accessible.
“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.
Brown later told Ko: “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”
Oy. I guess Rep. Brown should be grateful she was not facing Zbigniew Brzezinski. That might have made her look stupid.
Login or Register to post comments.
Wow...what a rude bitch!
"Smith" would be too hard for her to spell.
Yesterday, Brown continued to resist calls to apologize. Her spokesman said that Democrats “want this to just be about race.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/09/brown-asi...
No I want this to be about votes kicking your butt out of there... :P
Reslugs just can't help talking like complete uncaring, stupid, fools.
someone give this 2 year old a binkie and send her off for her nap.
... and it saddens me to figure out that I should not be surprised that this came from Texas. Way to go jackass...
I guess there aren't any bigoted, intolerant assholes in your state, huh?
They're in all states. But having just moved from Texas, where I lived for 5 years, I can say the percentage of them is much higher in Texas.
I've lived in 12 states, and I've never seen a populous as willfully ignorant as there. Sure, there are good, progressive Texans, but they're far outnumbered.
Imma Texan.
And you are making asumptions about a population whom you have lived among for just five years. I could say the very same thing about Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, all of which vote more conservatively than does Texas. That is just in the record. I don't say that though. And why? Because regional bigotry is still bigotry
Good Day.
I too lived in Texas for five years (during some of elementary school and junior high days) attended a public school in Houston and developed my opinion about other races during that time.
Except that the vast majority of my friends were non-white, first or second generation Americans and of different religions. But we suffered the same agony of having moms lacking the ability to pack a decent lunch... we were all still nervous to talk to girls... we had to deal with sadistic PE teachers... turns out they weren't so different. When I was around my Caucasian friends we never had a bad word to say about anyone that was different from us.
I still view people the same way... we're not really that different, and I learned that in Texas no less. Go figure.
Except for stupid people and clowns. (I'm highly prejudice towards both of those groups.)
Texas is a very large state and very diverse. Even the cities are not homogenous politically, and culturally very diverse. BTW, Obama did get 44% of the popular vote. I would say that a comment of progressive Texans being "far" outnumbered is, well, ignorant.
..."and I've never seen a populous as willfully ignorant as there."
Ever lived in Utah, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, etc?
No, but I've travelled extensively in all but Utah, and Texas seems to have 'em beat. Maybe it's 'cos there's just so many Texans.
BTW, I lived in SE TX, Hardin and Jefferson Counties. Jefferson, with a very large black population, went for Obama. Hardin, more rural and white, went overwhelmingly for McCain. The overwhelming majority of voters in Hardin are registered Democrats who voted for the remaining Democrats on the ticket.
And from my experience, racism is alive and abundant in SE Texas, even amongst supposedly "progressive" voters. I heard racist comments come out of the mouths of some people that I never would have suspected (because they were liberal on most issues.)
I spent 24 years in Utah, and plenty of time in the other states I mentioned, they are just as bad or more so.
... if it makes you feel better.
There are assholes everywhere, that does not excuse that Texas has a particularly atrocious track record in these matters. And there is nothing bigoted about pointing that out. Sorry if it roughs your feathers, it wasn't my intention in the least.
But apparently calling all of Texas "jackasses" because some northern Texas rep is an intolerant bitch apparently does something for you.
Neither he nor I said ALL Texans. One example of a progressive (and hilarious) Texan is our own ysbaddaden. You are apparently another.
my "way to go jackass" comment was in singular, and if it was not clear enough... the cardinality being singular sort of assumed I was referring to Mrs. Brown.
and I'm an asshole!
A leftist asshole to be sure...
If I were to take umbrage every time somebody called AZ a state full of loony rightwing dipshits, I'd be one unhappy asshole.
Unfortunately, AZ IS full of "Jerky for Jeezis" yay-hoos.
oh well.
Me too! Asshole, that is. Glad to know another one of the asshole brotherhood.
And yes, I'm a leftist asshole as well.
For us!
Oh I'm a asshole, he's an asshole, she's an asshole, we're an asshole, wouldn't you like to be an asshole too!
But fundies presume they're assholier than thou.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp1CmV2m4MQ
And THAT is the only thing they've gotten right in like...forever.
Texas is as Texas does. And in between we have the right to a gun if we want one.
jerk it for Jesus?
That is how a person remains a virgin.
...to stop you from sounding stupid.
What a disgusting woman! I smell a worst person in the world candidate
John Smith's that look suspiciously Asian in a single precinct? This is about bigotry and intolerance and has nothing to do with Voter identification as is transparently evident.
... has one's ability to pronounce a name been the basis for voter identification?
I'm sorry if you can't spell my Chinese last name as easily as Smith, but that's not a problem, either. I'll spell it for you, just as I have to spell the street name where I live (it's Spanish). The job of the poll worker is to confirm that I am who I say I am by checking my name and photo ID (which has my name spelled out for you, BTW) against the registrar's records.
And this woman is an elected representative? Says a lot about those who elected her, does it not?
Glad I do not live in her district.
perhaps she sees no problem with this idea, since the boys in school my have had a simplified name for her.
She's a real Kunte (Kinte.)
Clever play on words ys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4jKKq4LcGo
http://www.seslendirme.org/fr/forum/uploads/a...
"As you know, in the great state of Texas, all Chinamen must change their name. Now, we have instituted a new policy that no one can have a last name with more than three syllables, and we may require that you choose a name that can be traced directly back to western europe.
Cause we just ain't that smart here in the great state of Texas."
Very small Asian population in NE Texas. Where is Kwai Chang Caine when you really need him?
you lazy ignorant halfwit.
Most of the world doesn't have dull little names like "Betty Brown". Millions of people emigrate to the USA for a variety of reasons. I am QUITE CERTAIN your ancestors had similar reasons. Your ancestors had names like Brown. Other people don't. Kindly get used to that fact. If you don't like it, tough.
Before she changed her name it was Braun.
... that would explain soooo many things about this lady.
"Ko told the committee that people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent often have problems voting and other forms of identification because they may have a legal transliterated name and then a common English name that is used on their driver’s license on school registrations."
Maybe I'm not understanding this correctly. It sounds like they are already doing what she suggested and that's what's causing problems.
Wonder what she would think of the name Ysbaddaden?
Even my real last name in its original spelling can be a tongue twister.
Oh little town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in they dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above
While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love
Oh morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth.
And praises sing to God the king, and peace to men on earth.
How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.
Oh holy Child of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, descend to us we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today
We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us, our lord Emanuel.
holy crap, welsh much?
Central University of North Texas
is almost funny. If GOP gets any worse, Stephen Colbert will lose his job, because you can't really beat self-parody.
Actually, there are over 2 BILLION (think small tarp fund )vs only 350 Million of us.
WE should change OUR Names.
Signed ( Chuck oop's I mean CHO )
...now they're fucking up with Asians. Keep up the great work GOP. Mexican hating, gay persecuting, on and on....good luck with diversity in 2012.
"Why can't everyone just be white, it'd make it a lot easier." /sarcasm
Good grief.
If you're not a white god-fearing christan, you're not american.
Some of us are white and of Eastern European descent. I have what I think is a relatively easy last name, by Polish standards anyway. Only 9 letters and 3 syllables. Still it seems to cause many people grief.
So I think you mean white, but the right kind of white /joking :)
Hint: It's not other people's names that are making you sound stupid.
I suggest that Rep. Brown change to her alternate name:
Rep. Betty Shitstain.
Easier for us to know what kinda person she is.
It's spelled Brown.
It's pronounced 'Useless Racist Bitch'
If I were a betting person, I would bet she's never been more than 100 miles from the home she was raised in and no desire to leave that area. Classic closed-minded, small-thinking, hillbilly perspective...Sure will be glad when we give texas back to mexico....
I'm Texan.
Plano. That's surounded by Texas.
She looks like one of those dumpy hausfraus in the faded print dress that to every church occasion brings a quiving mound of lime jello, with grapes inside, on a bed of wilting lettuce.
quiving mound of lime jello, with grapes inside, on a bed of wilting lettuce.
Geeez...she doesn't look THAT old.
It's always seemed weird to me. A lot of Chinese people I meet and work with have some "American" name that they go by instead of their real name. It always struck me as odd, since most of them have names that are pretty easy to pronounce.
examples
Chao = Jerry ?
Wei Hung = Katie ?
Jiangtao = John ?
I wonder if I went to China, what my Chinified name would be.
and as pointed out in the linked article, it causes problems when they have id using both their real Chinese names and their Americanized nicknames.
It's also not limited to the Chinese community. My Iranian friends have Americanized their names, and my own great-grandfather, when going through Ellis Island, changed his Polish surname (though he was from Ireland) from Szmanski to Smith.
Interesting. Did you know one of the heroes of Irish independence from Britain was named Eammon de Valera? Not a typical Irish surname.
I work for a Taiwanese company here in the mid-west and a lot of our Chinese employees have English names (Michael, John, etc). Much of the adoption depends on the education of the folk. Taiwanese and college/upper class Chinese adopt western names for business purposes. There is also cases where people from Indonesia have natively only a first name and they have to pick up a last name, which in at least two cases I know, has just been their first name repeated again.
I know eastern Europeans did/still do some of this also, but AFAIK, no legislator has proposed to them that they should change their names to make the government's job easier.
...trying to pronounce their names.
BTW, your "chinified" name would be "Ignorant White Bigot".
@ Leftandleft
Phonetically it's:
Bun = stupid
Bai = white
Bah pwoh (slang) = bitch
bun bai bah pwoh
Monolingual Americans have the cutest Chinese accent. I want to hug you all.
Is that it's usually phonetic. However, the practice was also common when the 'heathen Chinee' were being converted to Christianity - they'd be given a Christian name.
I'm named after my paternal grandfather, so my Chinese name includes the character for 'younger/smaller,' while our 'American' names are the same (no Jr., II, III, etc.).
But some names have no connection whatsoever to their real names. Like Wei Hung isn't hard to say at all, but she preferred to be called Katie for some reason.
... your Chinese name would likely be based on something you are, or a trait you wish to call attention to.
However, because Chinese is a tonal language, it's not as simple as looking up pinyin/romanization on the web and making something up. There are also traditions/naming conventions to observe - you wouldn't pick a name that's a bad omen, for example.
Like Damien?
Wai Gai.
Inorder for her not to sound stupid, everyone in the world needs to be named Doh!
This 'ol Texan, now living in California, lived in the very town this bigoted woman represents!!!! Believe me, if you had ever been to that town (Terrel), you would not be surprised.........disgusted, yes....but not surprised. Thank goodness I escaped without all the bigotry!!
..."and I've never seen a populous as willfully ignorant as there."
Ever lived in Utah, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, etc?
Many of us STILL live here and left the bigotry. You are no better than this lady with the wide brush.
by Louis Gossett Jr. says "Only two things come out of Texas, steers and queers."
Obviously he missed one: IDIOTS
Bubbette?
Tooooooooo funny!!!!!!!!!!
We call the female "Bubbas" ... Bettys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMGqbmQLIQw&fe...
As the old-school rappers would say back in the day, "She's no Betty."
"you could adopt a name just for identification purposes"
Hmm.. wouldn't that be adopting a fake name? The kind of thing Repugs would use to weed out voters for their possibly being voter fraud? Does anyone know if Asian-Americans tend to vote Democrat?
When immigrants arriving at Ellis Island wer asked their names and the Immigration officials at the dock couldn or wouldn't understand, they simply either "americanized" the names, or gave the immigrant in question a whole new name, arbitrarily...
So this satchel-assed bint's ancestors might have been named strangely, to start, but the Immigration official noticed they were so full of shit their eyes were brown, so they were named Brown.
People who retain their 'original' spelling/pronunciation mostly arrived later than the early-to-mid 20th Century.
That's what they do in China
Chinglish? Do you think I must have a funny accent because I'm Chinese?
you know Chinglish is a sport over there.
LOL
You're coming off every bit as racist as Brown.
We're all human beings I could care less what people look like and where they come from.
You missed my sense of humor entirely.
I don't have a Chinese accent. I worked hard to get rid of it.
And people like you still make fun of people with a Chinese accent.
I don't see the humor.
I am a stupid, idiotic, ignorant American lacking any sense of humor.
I've atoned.
I thought it was rather funny.
I've taken great strides to diminish my southern accent so that people won't think I'm uneducated or simple.
when my East Coast accent finally vanished.
LOL
"East Coast" accent??????
Dude, I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and my accent is TOTALLY different from someone in Boston, NY, Charleston, or Miami.
FWIW, a friend once said that folks on the Eastern Shore "...talk like they've got a mouth full of marbles." And he was right, especially the old timers.
That's dentures coming loose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2batgwYHJc
Nope. When folks on the Shore lose their teeth, they just gum thar food.
Also, ya don't need teeth to eat raw oysters. (I'm salivating just thinking about them!)
Like Cherman in Berlin?
Just . . . WOW
"Why Can't You Just Change Your Name So I Don't Sound So Stupid?"
too late Rep. Betty Brown, you sound stoopid w/o any assistance
Here you go Betty, we've rewritten the legislative agenda so you can read it more easily: "See Dick run! He runs and runs. Oh, Dick has run into someone with a funny name! Oh no! See Dick pass laws so that everyone must be named "Dick" or "Jane" or "Betty Brown".
all Chinese and Korean and Vietnamese names are monosyllabic.
e.g. Chung, Cho, Yu, Tranh, Lee etc.
That's complicated?
Try again. She'd never follow that.
Maybe the Texas legislature can reduce all communication to grunts and "yee haw"!
Worked for the White House for the last eight years.
LOL. I'll send you the bill for a new keyboard, now that mine's covered in coffee after reading your comment!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwlCQJbw8AQ&fe...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqnm3A10m8I
Now that she's warned the Asian population in Texas, you know the Spanish surnamed population can't be far behind!! Wow....the ignorance coming from her is truly overwhelming!!
So Brown didn't even listen to Ko, who said he and other Asians often have a "legal transliterated name", which is presumably their true, original name, and they also have a "common English name", a common English name adopted TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR AMERICANS, as Brown requests. Anyone who has any Asian friends knows that this is commonly done. I myself had a Chinese college roommate named Tsing-We Tse who went by Gerard Jay in the US and a Singaporean roommate named Pak-Sing Chan who went by Andrew Chan in the US. Yet, Brown still requests they make it easier. It's amazing that Brown herself doesn't feel stupid. But she's in Texas, where ignorance and bigotry are the norm.
She needs help?
Ironic name for a bigot
by becoming Mrs Phil Gramm.
ANd the new secretary of commerce, Gary Locke...another toughie.
It was good of Michelle Maglalang to change her last name to 'Malkin' Makes her screeds sound so much more credible.
What an embarrassment you are to your race, the human race that is, Betty Brown
"...if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with"
obviously apple brown betty has a pretty low opinion of americans.
thanks apple brown betty for thinking about us simple, dumb americans... the last thing we need is to try to figure out to pronounce 'Ko'.... i am guessing it has a "mm" sound to it
"...if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes
Why not simply number them? I believe that that's worked in the past.
This ignorant bitch is an insult to ignorant people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF1yU7cE1As
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnkD9KzXji0&fe...
If the Dems had proposed this, it would be more "proof" that Obama was a tyrant and taking away the rights of Americans to keep their names.
If Michele Bachmann takes this up as her next talking point.
I mean, using the same lame ass logic some of you socalled PROGRESSIVES use? Right?
Nope. I said Michele Bachmann, who has a recent record of crying wolf over a bunch of wacky theories from the Glenn Beck end of the gene pool.
If Minnesotans are dismayed that they are being perceived as racist loons because of Bachmann's pronouncements, it's within their reach to stop re-electing her.
(Oh, and according to the Political Compass site, I'm supposedly libertarian.)
I'd stop going to the Political Compass site. Libertarians are worse than Republicans.
They're like Republicans on steroids.
Has anyone seen Penn's YouTube Channel? You know, that guy from Penn and Teller?
I used to like the guy, but when you start to find out more about him you realize that the guys is pretty twisted and full of pointless rage.
Not a nice fellow.... at all. You should see what he says about liberals. He calls them a party of Hate.
How do these imbeciles get elected to public office!?
My God!
Because the majority of the voters in her district are obviously just as ignorant!!
I believe she represents Terrell Texas which is famous
in the area for a very large hospital for the criminally insane. Maybe they are allowed to vote.
just because you're "crazy" doesn't mean you're stupid
Have you ever seen their constituency?
Lived in the same town she lives in...........scary place!!...and they wonder why I came to California??? LOL......
Maybe Betty should change her name to Dumb Ass, I'm sure that's what most people call her already......
"Why can't you change your name to make my life easier?"
I've never had to deal with anything this bad. My full first name is unusual in America, and I almost always use a more common nickname. I run into this attitude occasionally. I'm never annoyed if someone's momentarily confused, because that's understandable, but when they try to change it, we have problems. It has its uses - the pause of panic or mispronunciation instantly flags telemarketers.
She ignores that there are many other indicators, especially birth date and address, for identity. It's not as if there's only one John Smith per voting district.
I'm reminded of Trent "Strom Thurmond is my hero" Lott asking how Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites could tell each other apart, because they all looked the same to him.
You know why dumb Texans and smart Texans look so much alike? Cause their ain't no smart Texans....
Actually that should read, "Cause thar ain't nevah no smaht Texans."
Because Kansas Sucks.:)
Just had to throw in my 2cents worth.
I thought it was because they adjoin Texas?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6dm9rN6oTs
What do you get when you cross an Aggie cheerleader with a pig?
Nuthin' - there's some things even a pig won't do!
Aggies don't have cheerleaders?
Yeesh, I KNEW someone was going to call me on that.
For all who aren't aware: A&M doesn't have "cheer" leaders, they have "yell"leaders, all of whom happen to be male.
A&M does have female dancers who perform at basketball games during halftime and commercial breaks. But they are NOT cheerleaders.
I was using the term "cheerleader" for simplicity's sake (it's an old joke, which can be used w/ any school), not realizing an Aggie was lurking out there to correct me. :)
Dang if that ain't the truth!
Have one on me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTPWsvLnp9Y
I have come to the conclusion that stupidity is a highly desirable attribute in the Republican party and with the the right wing .
Ugh. I'm sure Mr. Ko has heard that a few times, but never from a lawmaker.
This stuff happened at Ellis Island to many European immigrants. Immigration officers couldn't pronounce the last name, so they changed it to Smith or something American-sounding.
One would think that people like her don't exist today, but they do.
and yet we haven't. This woman doesn't make Texas look bad. She makes the whole country look bad. What a moron.
yes, this is part of what we are, sadly.
Good thing she never played tournament chess or table tennis...her head wouldve exploded
Good thing too in the case of the latter, or she would've tried to leap over the net to congratulate the other side on their win.
I just pictured that...too funny!
...the correct pronunciation is, "Dumbass."
The obvious solution here is for evey single person in her district, including her election opponents, to change their name to Betty Brown. Think of what a fun election THAT would be!
THAT is one HILARIOUS idea!!
Of course they don't even notice it in TexASS do they?
She's a representative of a district in Terrell,
Not a senator representing the state,
So there's no need for the state to even know of her existence,
Except for her constituents who might be of a mind to vote her out.
in Frisco.
San Francisco or SF or San Fran
--just sayin'
You know what they say about the word "ASS-U-ME" right? Or do I need to spell it for you?
My Asian girl friends Pichaya Pittisoranada and Sakon Chuajhanada are very appreciative of my knowing their names and how to pronounce them. I want them to move to Ticonderoga New York. I asked them if I could call them Pitt and Sak for short but they did not seem to like the idea. I must say it was easier to learn my friend Xiufen Liu's name. None of them can say my name correctly because it ends with an S. If I lived in Asia I wonder if they would ask me to drop the S from my name or just mispronounce it all the time (the later, I suspect). I think it is all interesting and fun but then I am not looking to get angry about something trivial.
This not only is childish and stupid; it's a prime example of how the Republicans want to dumb down America.
This was one of the first things I saw this morning, and it put me in a foul mood on my birthday!
hasn't your girlfriend given you your birthday present yet? ;o)
Always cheers me up!
Login or Register to post comments.