I don’t think it’s that they don’t pay attention. It’s just that they aren’t invested in the media hoopla leading up to the primary. I’m not either. I think the majority of people are not fence-riding party switchers. They will either vote Republican or Democrat. When they go to their prospective primaries (which most…

Of course I realize that regarding my last name. Also it is an Asian name so even when the connotations are negative, they are not as hostile as they would be for someone named Shaniqua. I’m not sure what you are educating me about. I think we are saying the same thing, just from a different point of view. And I never…

Ha ha. Was this before or after the prequels?

Is that pronounced like Ky? Like an alternate spelling? Or do you mean the name Kay pronounced like the letter K? I always assumed Kay was short for Kate or Katherine? Ky is traditional in that it is European (is it Icelandic? Nordic?) but it's not unusual at all. It's extremely common now. Kay though- I don't know if…

Oh yes. Cussing and insults. People cannot honestly discuss difficult things, and so they stay difficult. What prejudice is that? How do I fuck up kids? You literally have no idea what you are talking about.

lol, I have said absolutely nothing that every single teacher who has worked in a wide variety of schools has not said. I think people have weird concepts about what reality is like. Also, don't worry, I'm not a teacher anymore.

Probably. But to play devil's advocate, Obi Won spent a long time in exile on Tatooine. And Luke is a Jedi too, so?

I’m not sure why you are blaming me for something that has happened to you in larger society. What is your solution to this problem? As I said in maybe my first post. Parents have two options. One is to acknowledge that this happen (even though it is unjust) and then decide to name their kid whatever they want anyway.…

We are discussing this now, so it probably sounds like I go through the roster and make up stories about each kid. That’s absolutely not true- I just have to read it when I call roll. You notice general trends, but also, when you are around thousands of kids a year, you also stop paying attention to their names unless…

What is? I really don’t understand how we’ve become the sort of society where you can’t even point out that it is a very common thing for a name to represent someone’s background. So when you receive a roster that says “Antonio, Juan, Matias, Maria, Maritza, Santiago” or when you get one that says “Deja, Destiny,…

So in the future, another author writes a different sequel, and in this one Hermione is a transgendered Australian (or whatever) who takes up horseback riding. The fans will say, oh no, that’s not canon. But both plays are sequels to a completed work written by a different author. Why in god’s name should one be…

I hope he's the next Bond, and I hope he also gets a pair of little blue swimming trunks.

Yes. A canon doesn't actually exist unless it is somehow enforced. It's arbitrary. It's like when people talk about "the Western Canon". Well, according to whom? The publishing company that compiles a selection of works? An editor? University deans? It is constantly changing. Same thing with this. So of course,…

I’m not ignoring that. The name has always been around. But in the year that the Pitt movie came out, Tristan went from like 500 to 100 in popularity. That is NOT because there was suddenly a resurgence of interest in medieval romance poetry. It is because a lot of people saw the Pitt movie and thought, “that’s a…

What attitude? I’m pointing out that anyone can look at the name Malik (or Shaniqua but to be honest, I’ve met loads of Maliks and never a single Shaniqua) and tell that they are probably black. Now this is a fact, and it seems rather silly for us to pretend that it’s not a fact. I’m sure there are some exceptions,…

No. I think this is a good argument for the names listed in the article. If Milo and Asher really are in the top 10, then in twenty years they will sound to us like Jason. But I don’t think that’s what she meant (or at least it’s not what I meant). It’s when someone has a cute or unique or creatively spelled name that…

What a strange comment. It’s not even remotely the same. Harley has consistently ranked 300-350 of the top 1000 names for a decade now. For girls. For comparison, that’s the same ranking range of names like Sierra, Selena, Alicia, Leslie, Laura. If you did not know already that this is a popular name, then you must…

You’re right. Should have said parents.

I wonder the same thing. The only thing I can add to that is that I taught for many years, but when you teach, you only get to know a certain number of kids a year and they are from similar backgrounds (roughly) unless you change schools. Then afterwards, I was a substitute teacher for many years. This was eye-opening…

I don't know. I don't know you, but some people do get upset about online discussions believe it or not! To me, your tone sounded frustrated. Though of course tone is famously difficult to hear in text so maybe not. I was just saying that although we are miscommunicating to the point that it has gotten silly and it…