Week 9

On an episode of The View, Raven-Symoné made headlines yet again for some controversial comments relating to race and discrimination. The View panelists held a discussion surrounding the question, are you judged by your name? The group talked about whether or not they judge other people based on their names and Raven commented that she would never hire someone based solely on their name. She used the name “Watermelondra” as an example and laughed that she would never hire them based on that alone. She also mentioned that she would prefer if people used the word discriminatory rather than racist when referring to her choice of words. Unfortunately, Raven fails to see the irony in this situation because her name is unique as well, and she has been afforded many opportunities throughout her career. Sitting at the panel is Whoopi Goldberg who is taken aback by Raven’s comments while the rest of the panel tries to reason with Raven.
The first point that was argued at the panel is that people cannot help what they’re named, and thus should not be judged for it. The point I’d like to make is, even though Raven believes it is only discriminatory, it is actually really racist. People with ethnic names (like Raven herself) are often judged in America because people associate certain stereotypes with those names. From the stereotypes I have heard, individuals judge African American names that are uncommon to be “ghetto” and thus they make false assumptions about that person and their background. I have many Asian American friends who have two names. Their birth name is related to their ethnic background, while their second name is an “American” name, which makes it easier for other people to say and remember.  If we were to judge anyone based on his or her birth name, how would we ever know who he or she really is?
Personally, having the name Brittany has often caused a lot of confusion when people first look at me. The name Brittany supposedly gives off this image of a white blonde girl, so when people learn my name they are surprised. When my mom named me, she heard the name from one of her favorite television shows in the 90s and had no idea what associations people would make with it. Due to my first and last name, people usually see me as a “white-washed” Indian, but they hardly know anything about my identity and cultural practices. It’s crazy to me that a name can hold so much power, when they do not really tell much about who you are as a person. With all of the stereotypes that are perpetuated in society, I understand why people hear a name and quickly jump to conclusions about that person, but names are only surface level, and we should be able to see beyond them.