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by techsupport1

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
Sorry, had to take down this post for personal reasons. Thanks for your comments

85 replies

by jdclyde

If it is difficult because it is a traditional name from another culture, then by all means this is a chance to learn something. ( and if you don't like to learn things, then you made a big mistake going into IT )

Now, the latest trends in the US where people give their kids stupid names just because they think it is cool or different, the parents should get slapped.

My name is NEVER pronounced correctly as it is German. You get used to it (I guess).

by jaqui

is when someone from Great Britain can't correctly pronounce my last name..a good Scottish last name. :P

Actually there has only been one person I have met who pronounced it correctly right off the top, and HE was from Scotland. :D

by m_a_r_k

Seems to me that your coworker was being one-sided. Difficult to pronounce names are a matter of perspective. If your Indian vendor did not grow up in the U.S. and was unfamiliar with some of our names, I am sure he could say the same thing about our names that your coworker did about his name. An "easy" name to one person might be a "hard" name to another. And vice versa. I can't pronounce or even spell a lot of Polish names, for example. I grew up with a kid of Polish descent. I never could figure out how to spell the kid's freakin' last name. But I'm sure Poles have no problem at all with Polish names. And many Poles may have difficulty pronouncing some American names. It's funny that your coworker is just now finding out about this. He needs to get out more. Or read more books. This has been a problem since Adam and Eve ate the apple, which caused God to give every nationality a different language. :D

by montgomery gator

It was the collapse of the Tower of Babel (the guy who built it was a real Nimrod), not the fruit from the Tree of Knowlege that Adam and Eve ate, when God gave us different languages. It was His way of having us spread across the whole world instead of being concentrated in Mesopotamia after Noah's Flood. :-)

by stargazerr

I would say give the guy a good Wallop ....

I have heard this loads of times that my name is difficult too pronounce ... but most of the people I meet, including my co-workers, make an effort to try it ...

And if I come across someone who doesn't bother to pronounce it correctly, well I just become deaf and blind untill they do ....

]:)

by jardinier

not only to learn how to pronouce a person's name, but also to learn basic words in foreign languages -- and here I am referring mainly to Asians because I happen to like them.

They are flattered and grateful that I can pronouce even one word correctly.

I am invariably complimented on my pronunciation of Mandarin. I know six words, but that is more than sufficient to demonstrate that I respect Chinese people sufficiently to bother to learn a few words of their language.

I know one word of Hindi, one word of Japanese and one word of Korean. But just one word can be guaranteed to produce a smile.

My former mechanic was a Hindu Indian from Zimbabwe. Everyone called him "PJ" and he was quite happy with that, even though it was easy enough to learn his full name which was Pravan Jinabai.

I always ask check-out girls and service station attendants and any other foreigners I meet where they come from. They are always happy to tell me, and I ask them how to pronouce their names.

I guess I'm just an Asian-lover.

by jardinier

well it's a start.

In my area of Sydney there are a lot of people working in petrol stations and supermarkets, as well as on the railways and just about everywhere else, who are from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Of these of course there is a much higher proportion of Muslims than Hindus. I am quite familiar with the Hindu religion and have a great respect for Indians on this point alone.

So I first learnt the word "namaste" from a young Indian who was working at a petrol station.

As I have computer software covering all the major languages of the world (which I never get around to using) perhaps you could suggest the next most common word of Hindi.

Incidentally I absolutely LOVE the unique way Indians pronounce English. Often I mimic it to amuse Indians.

by amcol

I have several Sri Lankan colleagues, a country known for multisyllabic names. I'm the only one in my organization who has taken the time and trouble to learn the correct pronunciations, which are not easy considering the dipthongs.

Since I work in the international foreign aid community I'm exposed to many different names from many different countries. I always make it a point to learn the correct pronunciations. Your name is your identity, and I show you respect by making an effort to learn how to say it.

On the other hand...people who have long, difficult to pronounce names should also recognize that in the case of voicemail they may not be too readily understood. As a matter of fact, unless your name is Smith or Jones we all have this problem. I always make it a point to spell my name, which only has six letters in it. I find that helps avoid any confusion.

While I'm at it...ever notice how some people rattle off their phone numbers at light speed in their voicemails? Sorry, I don't write that fast, and I find myself replaying the message three or four times to make sure I've got it right. Mumbling your name and/or number is another one of my favorite things.

It's a two way street, folks. As in most things.

by old guy

You are definitely right on the "your name is your identity." We don't really have a whole lot that is strickly and uniquely our very own. I, too think it's important to try to pronounce or to learn how someone's name. Usually, if I see the name then I will try to pronounce and then ask, "now, how do you really say it?" and most people are happy to explain.

It definitely shows others respect.

by jardinier

Yes, what is the problem with these people who can't leave a coherent message.

I am in regular telephone communication with a French woman who has a very heavy accent. So on my advice, her recorded message now asks for the phone number to be pronounced slowly, digit by digit, and repeated.

by amcol

Another thing that frosts me is people who call up and just say "Hi, how are you?" without saying who they are, or even worse leave voicemail messages along the same lines. My brother-in-law (who my kids refer to as Uncle Dork...explains a lot) is particularly guilty of this, and I since I speak to him about once a year it's just the height of conceit that I'm expected to recognize who's on the phone on the basis of four quickly spoken syllables.

Business colleagues who leave me voicemails without indicating who they are, or who invite me to call them back without leaving their number (apparently I'm expected to go look it up or, more likely, know it by heart) don't generally remain on my Christmas list too many years in a row.

by jamesrl

Some Indian Calls centres actually have "Americanization" classes, where the students change their first name and learn american slang and cultivate an american accent.

The call centre here (starts just feet from my office) has many people from many nationalities - I am happy to be exposed to some very interesting people. If nothing else, the pot lucks are great! A couple of the caribean accents belong to one guy who is Chinese in "race" but whose family lived in Jamaica, and similarly a guy whose "race" is East Indian, but who similarly came from Barbados. I put race in quotes, because I believe both scientifically and historically there is only one race - the human one.

James

by stargazerr

I hate those call centres .. They are killing our culture ... the kids are turning into Americans just because they have a FAKE american accent ...

]:)

by beads

Early on in the outsourced call center years I had a support call to "Bubba". Now, when I think of a "Bubba" I don't usually think of someone with a thick sub-continental accent. However, I did play along through the call supressing my myrth along the way.

Must have been comming down with a cold that day as I kept having to interupt the conversation with my "coughing".

No biggee in the long run. Niether my first nor my last name seem to be easy enough to pronounce as they are both English in origin and follow standard phonetics. You know phonetics the rules you learned back in say the second grade?

- beads

by m_a_r_k

I've noticed that on the rare occasions when I've travelled to a foreign country, the locals will be a lot more inclined to help you if you at least try to fumble your way your through a few words in their native language. Walking up to a local and asking in English, "Do you speak English? I'm lost." doesn't get a very courteous response. Thumbing my way through a translation dictionary and trying to say "I'm lost!! I need directions." in the local language seems to make someone want to help more.

by stargazerr

I never could pronounce English in the usual Indian accent ... My friends kidded me so much about my "accent" that I never used English ...

You could try the sentence "Aap Kaise Hain" ... it means How are You?? ... aap is "you" but in formal terms ... we have the word "you" in 3 formats ... but lets not go into that .... Kaise means "How" ... and hain means "are" ...

1st lesson in hindi Complete :D

]:)

by old guy

I leave at noon CST. I'll be back from Mississippi on Monday and will be on and off the TR while I'm off.

BTW what does Namaste mean?

by stargazerr

but namaste means hello ... it is how we greet someone ... lay your palms flat against each other and say namaste

]:)

by jdclyde

is it pronounced NAM est e, NAE Mast, Na MAst e?

Another problem with globalization. Different rules for grammar and pronouncing.

by old guy

According to some folks I'm always gone (out there). But I'm back now. Hope you are having a great time in your secret place.

Thanks for the language lesson and for the pronounciation.

by oldbag

I am English-Canadian. Would you believe that I have the most trouble with French names? I just can't seem to get my tongue around French even though French is mandatory in schools here.

by montgomery gator

I agree with your post 100%. However it reminded me about what I read about Call Centers in India. Some of the workers in Indian Call Centers have taken classes on how to sound like an American, and use names like "Steve" or "Mike" instead their real names like "Rajiv" and "Sanjay". I guess they don't want the customers to know that Support was outsourced to Bangalore, Hyderabad, or Mumbai.

Then again, there are Indians that do have names we think of as typical "English" names. I used to have a co-worker from India whose real name was Dennis. It was his last name that was hard to pronounce for many Americans.

Remember, many people from other countries may have the same problem with American names as some of us have with their names. I have enough problems with names of some of my fellow Americans, that sound like their parents made them up by taking Scrabble letters and seeing what they could rearrange them into. :-)

by road-dog

Mitch Rozonkiewiecz, that name was enough to make a substitute teacher give up taking attendance in disgust....

The Indians I've dealt with are more than happy to go through their name syllable by syllable to make sure you get it. It's a simple courtesy to at least try, time permitting.

by faradhi

That showes an underlying bigotary. Bigotary stims from fear and hatred. I do not get angry at those individual, I pity them. I would not want to live in a constant state of fear and hatred that individual like that do.
I pray for them. I hope that their hearts are healed.

by jdclyde

Everytime someone laughs at a 7/11 style joke on The Simpsons, they are a racist that fears and hates?

Can this be carried on to any "joke" that makes fun of anyone else? Polock jokes, black jokes, blonde jokes?

While yes, many ARE intended to be mean, I find that is what most of what passes for humor these days is.

How far does it go? Everytime you hear a Bush "joke" it is always intended to be hateful and mean. Is that fear and hatred too?

by faradhi

"Everytime someone laughs at a 7/11 style joke on The Simpsons, they are a racist that fears and hates?"

No, it is about intent. Simpson jokes do not intend to defame. They are equal opportunity offenders. The intent is to make fun of the stereotype not the race.

"Can this be carried on to any "joke" that makes fun of anyone else? Polock jokes, black jokes, blonde jokes?"

IMHO if the intent is to defame a group of individuals then Yes. Every time you make a joke about a stereotype, you reinforce that stereotype that probably started from fear and hatred. On a side note, how did the polish get the rep of being stupid?

"While yes, many ARE intended to be mean, I find that is what most of what passes for humor these days is."

That may be but I refuse to let my morality and conduct to be governed by what passes these days.

"Everytime you hear a Bush "joke" it is always intended to be hateful and mean. Is that fear and hatred too?"

Every Bush joke is not intended to be hateful and mean. Further, Bush does not get jokes just because he is a member of a particular his religion, race, or physical appearance. Bush gets jokes based on what he does individually. Finally, Bush chose to place himself in a position that is always joked about. (Like waving at Ray Charles at the Concert for America.)

The line for me is very clear. Criticizing a group of people for something that is beyond their control with the intent to defame. Like I said, I pray for those individuals.

by evmafau

Humor is designed to make comments on behavior. Doesn't neccessarily imply racism: when Chris Rock or Bill Cosby rails against some black behavior, are they being racist or making comments to try and affect some change?

There is a base of fear and hate because of a level of uncertanty and unfamiliarity with different cultures. Humor helps deflate that, in many circumstances, especially, as above, it comes from within.

On a different note there is a level of fear in Bush jokes because of the power that's been "bestowed" upon him and how he chooses to (mis)use it. Really, who waves at Stevie Wonder?

by zlitocook

If I can not understand what they are saying I have a problem. I work with people from all over and most try to learn what they are talking about. In major companies it is a requirement to learn that countries languages to be able to interact with them.
Our country has a lot of people from every continent and every nationality. All of the people from other countries made sure they could talk to us .

by mjd420nova

I have to work with a large cross section of humanity from just about every nation on the planet. We strive to reach a common point on
which we can communicate, and it may take some
patience and some effort but I find it easy and
sometimes act as a go between for a co-worker
who might not understand another worker well
enough to break the barrier. A little learning
can also be learned from them by exchanging
greetings in native languages. I commonly walk down a hallway of 20 offices and 10 laboratories
and won't use the same greeting twice. I didn't
realize it until my trainee asked if I'd learned
each language. This can be difficult if the person involved wants to make it that way and
even some do it intentionally. I like to ask for
nicknames and welcome others to use them, even they make up their own or wish to use one for me.
One lab tech in a refinery chemical lab saw me
in a store with a young man (30) and started calling me DADDY as a nickname when he found out the young man was my son. PERSPECTIVE HELPS

by jardinier

I have lunch in a cafe owned by a Korean. He knows very little English and when I talk to him he just smiles and afterwards I realise he hasn't understood a word I said. As he lived in New Zealand for seven years before coming to Australia a few years ago, I think he should BLOODY WELL learn English.

I have the same problem with a Chinese man who processes my films. However instead of smiling he just tries to bamboozle me with a lot of irrelevant conversation.

by levannah44

When I was at school - and I'm talking primary school here, not secondary - all my classmates had difficulty pronouncing my name. So did the teachers, although they all tried to get it right.

The problem was because my name contained a dipthong sound not found in English, so it never surprised me that so many people couldn't get their tongues around my name.

The only person who ever pronounced it the correct way was my German teacher in Year 10 (Intermediate), and by then, I'd become so sick of everyone mispronouncing it that I'd already shortened it (out of sheer frustration) to something everyone could say.

Now, even my family call me by the shortened version, and I doubt I'd be able to respond to anyone calling me by my real name, because I'm so used to the other by now.

Pity that, in a way. I like my full name, but simply won't tolerate those who can't take the trouble to say it properly. I always try to pronounce other people's names correctly, and when unsure, I ask them to tell me how to say it.

So take heed all those of you out there with long or complicated 'foreign' names like me. Don't do what I did. Persevere and get your friends to practice your name until they've got it down pat. It's much easier in the long run.

Gret (or, if you prefer, Gretchen, with that tricky 'ch' sound simply not found in English)

by amcol

I'm assuming from your story you grew up either in the US or in an English speaking country.

The "tch" dipthong exists throughout English. For example, fetch, latch, catch, and snatch, just to name a few.

"Gretchen" is not that hard a name to pronounce. You may have been the victim of perhaps not-so-subtle discrimination growing up. I can't imagine how any English speaker could have to much trouble with your name.

I know three women named Gretchen. Two go by that name, and the third prefers "Greta" for reasons unknown.

by levannah44

I grew up in Australia, amcol. My parents were European.

Yes, you're quite correct when you say that the 'tch' dipthong rhymes with words like fetch, catch, etc., except I wasn't including the 't' because that's not the correct way to say my name.

I know other Gretchens have anglicised their names by making them rhyme with the above words, but that's not the correct pronounciation.

The true 'ch' dipthong sound is not an English sound, and many English speakers have a real problem with it. The nearest I can get to it in English is the Scottish word 'loch', and even that's not quite right.

The German 'ch' is very gutteral, yet quite soft at the same time, pronounced from the back of the throat, a little bit like the Dutch 'g'. That's the best I can explain it, but I can assure you, amcol, that however your other Gretchen friends pronounce their names, it's not correct for the German pronounciation, to which I was referring.

Gret (aka Gretchen!)

by amcol

I'm assuming from your story you grew up either in the US or in an English speaking country.

The "tch" dipthong exists throughout English. For example, fetch, latch, catch, and snatch, just to name a few.

"Gretchen" is not that hard a name to pronounce. You may have been the victim of perhaps not-so-subtle discrimination growing up. I can't imagine how any English speaker could have too much trouble with your name.

I know three women named Gretchen. Two go by that name, and the third prefers "Greta" for reasons unknown.

by stargazerr

you should try some of the other alphabets we have ... even my brother cannot pronounce them correctly .. :D

It is "Na" pronounced "Nuh" + "ma" pronounced "muh" + "ste" pronounced "stay" ...

.. writing pronunciations down is difficult

]:)

by m_a_r_k

That's the second time in a month that I've heard this word here on TR. Two different people have said it's the only Indian word they know. Two people each know one and only word--and it's the same word--out of 2 billion words in a language. What a bizarre coincidence. ?:| Uh...I forget. Does the Indian language have 2 billion words or is that the number of people living in India. Well whatever, you get my point about the coincidence. Hell, the only Indian word I know is [i]outsource[/i]. hah!

by stargazerr

Namaste is the word that means Hello in Hindi ... Hindi is the national language of India but there are more than 3 dozen languages in all ...

Gosh, I need to buy you guys some GK books .... ;)

]:)

by maxwell edison

.
If a person is offended because someone else has trouble pronouncing his/her name, then it's the former that has the real problem, not the latter. And to them, I'd say, T-O-L-E-R-A-N-C-E, and get over it, already.

People mispronounce my name all the time, and I couldn't care any less. They start it with an A, while I start with an M. Go figure.

by levannah44

Max, I have all the tolerance in the world, and never flinch if someone mispronounces my name once or twice.

It's when it gets to be all the time, even deliberately, by those who simply can't be bothered to take even a moment to stop and learn to say a name. They exist.

I always try to say other people's names correctly myself; if I don't know, I ask, and practice until I've got it right. Surely those people could learn to treat myself, and others in the same boat, with enough courtesy to pronounce our names correctly.

As for yourself, I'm at a total loss. Maxwell seems straightforward enough to me. No hidden 'foreign' sounds or anything of that nature. Axwell, if that's what you're driving at, completely floors me.

Cheers

Gret(chen)

by old guy

Man, am I glad you keep asking these questions so I don't have to. (You know, I have to keep up the appearances of wisdom with age :) )

by m_a_r_k

by so easily turning Max into A$$ ? :D I thought that might be what he was referring to about his name but it seemed way too much of a stretch. Funny thing about my name is that most eople pronounce it correctly but they often misspell it. They leave out the underscores between all the letters.

by maecuff

That is because typing MunderscoreAunderscoreRunderscoreKunderscore is a pain in the Max..

by jck

It's a prevalent mentality nowadays.

Lots of people only take time to do what they want...not what they should/what is proper.

If I can learn to pronounce and spell names like Schultingkemper, Vayavahare, Lakshmivirahan and Kopcyznski...anyone can do it.

by jmgarvin

"No one in this country can ever pronounce my name right. It's not that hard: Samir Na-gheen-an-a-jar. Nagheenanajar."

"We'll be getting rid of these people here... First, Mr. Samir Naga... Naga... Naga... Not gonna work here anymore, anyway."

by stargazerr

Is it only in India that we use the short cut, or do you really really need that book? :p

]:)

by dc guy

Be careful, not all people feel the same way about a foreigner attempting to speak their language.

Parisians cringe when they hear our mangled (and frankly incomprehensible) pronunciation of French. (But not the Quebecois.) Japanese simply don't believe that anyone would try. I have a friend who speaks fluent Japanese but when he walks up to people in Japan and talks, they assume he's speaking a European language and they don't even recognize it. He's learned to approach people from behind!

Chinese people, on the other hand, think that Westerners who can speak Chinese even at the level of a three-year-old are the most wonderful people they've met in a year. Czechs will invite you into their home for dinner if you can make it through one sentence without tying your tongue in a square knot.

by oz_media

I read the end post (due to the great link system on TR) then backed up and read it all forward. I really thought there would be some clever wit in there but A$$ and Max was about it, I must give Dawg kudos for the MARK MARK MARK though, an old joke, long forgotten.

In the end though, I was smiling so I guess it was worth it.

Happy new year guys (and gal).

by oz_media

Yeah we'd all sound like Yahoo mail users.

If there were say 100 available common names, we'd have to register them and have them say, 'sorry, that name's taken, how about Rick09763534_763?"

Thank God for diversity, and we laughed at Frank Zappa for naming his kid Moonbeam?

by dc guy

You must be thinking of Moonbeam McSwine, one of the inhabitants of Dogpatch in "Li'l Abner."

by oz_media

Dweezil_6945369? Pretty common name isn't it? Surely they must be into the Yahoo numbering system already.

OM_7635242

by Member 25348569

Ok, boys and girls? Don't you just love a name with 'LLLL' in it?

I know, it's a place name, but I have been there [b]and[/b] I can pronounce it!

If that's too much, try 'Llwch' or 'Ffrwd'.

Neil :)

by faradhi

I am part welch. I am gonna name my one of my children that. I figure, I will leave it just that name. No last name like Madonna.

Then I will complain that my child's full name is not on his/her report card. >:)

so how do you pronounce that.

by Member 25348569

I got this off Wikipedai and I roughly agree with it as a first approximation. They have a link to a WAV. Try saying it like this, running the syllables together, obviously:

[i]Clan vire pulth gwinn gith gor gerrick win drob uth clan tay see lee oh go go gogch.[/i]

Nobody Welsh will take you for a Cymraeg-speaker but you'll impress the hell out of the rest...

Many of the syllables, especially pulth, gith, gerrick and the 'gch' in the final syllable are much more glottal, similar to the sound in the Yiddish "l'chaim". Two lls (said as Clan, above) are pronounced more properly as an 'l', while blowing air out of the mouth (sort of whistling around the teeth).

Good luck.

Neil :D

by m_a_r_k

I need to think of a new name for myself. I've been wanting to for years anyway. Coincidentally, this subject came up in another discussion this morning when someone else changed their name. But I have no imagination with this. Hell, it takes me an hour just to think of an email alias. Maybe I'll change my name to Underscore.

by m_a_r_k

:D I've heard of the queen of England and I've heard of queen bees, but what the hell is a Queen of Irony? (Seems like all I do anymore is ask people to explain their jokes.)

by Member 25348569

Irony (n)

1. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.

2. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning.

3. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect.

Mae's one-liner posts generally are textbook examples of #3. She's good at irony so she deserves a title and she's a lady (well, I think so), so Queen of Irony it is.

Neil :D

p.s. Sorry, Mae, but you can't have sarcasm without the verbal signals. If it's written, then it's irony.

by maecuff

I stand corrected. You realize, I'll have to have you put down now. (See if you can IMAGINE my verbal signals..) :)

by m_a_r_k

You guys/gal are killing me. I THOUGHT she was being sarcastic in the first place. My reply about Moon Unit being a wierd name was me reciprocating her sarcasm. Or was she being ironic? You guys thought I was being serious?? sheesh! Now I am the one who is devastated! Mae, I'll gladly take you on in a battle of sarcasms. :D

Neil, your queen of irony thing threw me totally off because you made me think the Mae's Moonbeam/Moon Unit retort was from some movie/TV show called "Queen of Irony"! Your "[u]from[/u] the Queen of Irony" did it. So, Neil, this is all your fault. Now will someone please tell me if I'm being ironic, sarcastic or serious? I don't know myself anymore if I'm coming or going...

by maecuff

First, you'd have to ask Neil what the hell a Queen of Irony is. I'd never behave so self importantly as to give myself a royal title. Others are welcome to do so, but I would never do it myself.

Secondly, I am far from devastated. I was being sarcastic when I posted that. :)

by Member 25348569

as the conversation just gets out of control. Somebody on at least one side of the dialogue has to try and keep it together.

As for 'sarcasm'. Nope. Can't do it. Don't get me wrong, I'm one of those people who believes that sarcasm is one of the highest forms of wit. When used well, it's devastating.

Sarcasm is irony with the specific intention of hurting the person at who it is aimed. You can't use sarcassm in TR, because, being vocally-oriented, it doesn't work anywhere near as well in print. When you read your own post to yourself, you subvocally add in all of the verbal nuances of stress and tone that flag up sarcasm and you mutter "Damn! That's telling him".

What you wrote was, at best, irony whether you like it or not. Without the body language and tone to give us the clue, it wasn't sarcasm. Except that you can't have irony as Mae got there first.

Anyway, it must have been irony as you're surely too nice to be sarcastic with Mae. You can have cynicism - which is also ironic - but that doesn't really work in this context.

Unfortunately, 'Pedant' is my middle name.

Neil :D

p.s. This entire post [b]could[/b] be ironic...

p.p.s. If you take on Mae in a battle of sarcasm, can I watch?

by maecuff

I would never agree to a battle of wits with anyone. Then I'd have to THINK about it. I'd have to worry about saying just the right thing. I don't operate like that. I'm better off just tossing off comments when they come to me.. In other words, I don't perform on demand.

by cbalness

I've known some marvelous folks, many have had decidedly "anglicized" names.

Sometimes a query will bring out the true stories behind why Zolton prefers to be called Les, or why Vinko and Bozo Raposo prefer Doug and Bill...

There are many cultures that have ethnic names that we find it hard to bend our tongues and minds around, and it makes me wonder sometimes if Valheideur thinks Nancy is a funny name ??

by faradhi

I cant remember, I just remember the wave and Mrs. Bush yanking his arm down.

That's one I can actually understand. We are conditioned to wave back when someone waves at us. It is still very funny.

by evmafau

Found this link to a blog:

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/bushwave.htm

So it may have been blown out of proportion. I think it just lends to the need for intellectual screenings to be eligible for certain government posts. If we've got regulations on age and nationality, then there should be a questionaire also. We already discriminate both religously and racially for the position (not explicitly, but it's there), why not get the dumb people out of the equation as well?

This discussion is closed to new replies.