Should government have a say in what parents name their children?

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by samwise of the shire
I dont even want to think what would happen if they moved to the US.

Well if they name their child Osama bin Ladin - I doubt they have much love for the United States. I don't think they'd be moving here anytime soon.

[Draken]

Originally posted by jerseydevil
Well if they name their child Osama bin Ladin - I doubt they have much love for the United States. I don't think they'd be moving here anytime soon.

Maybe it's just a case of Germanic humour...or is that an oxymoron?

[Elvellon]

Originally posted by jerseydevil
This I thought was weird. A couple wants to name their child Osama bin Ladin - but Germany has refused to allow them to name their child that.



I think the government should NOT have any say in what a couple names their children. Granted some parents do pick ridiculous names - some people in the US have named their children numbers. I'm really surprised at how much freedom people are willing to give up. Although I personally disagree with the couple naming their child Bin Ladin, but I also feel they have a right to choose that name.

I was also surprised by the side poll on CNN.com. 76% felt the name was offensive and only 24% felt it was the parents choice.

Naming their child Osama Bin Laden IS offensive. It is as offensive as if they were going to name him “I’m-going-to-kill-you-all-Infidel-Dogs”. It is not a right; it is a provocation, or worse, and should be acknowledged as such.

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Elvellon
Naming their child Osama Bin Laden IS offensive. It is as offensive as if they were going to name him “I’m-going-to-kill-you-all-Infidel-Dogs”. It is not a right; it is a provocation, or worse, and should be acknowledged as such.

A lot of things offend others. It's not my place to judge why they want to name their child that. If someone wants to name their child "f-u" it's their stupid decision. It has no affect on my life. It's only a name. The only way it has power is if we let it have power. I can care less whether they name their child Osama bin Ladin - it has no bearing on what happened on 9/11.

By Germany ruling against allowing this couple to name their child Osama bin Ladin - it has given the name MORE power. It would not have even have been in the news probably (and if it was - it would have quickly died out) if the government had just let it go. How much government interference are we willing to put up with in our lives?

[crickhollow]

the government having a say in what parents name their children? ridiculous.

although...I remember seeing a posting in our local newspaper a couple years back...some couple named their child Polly Crocker. Not so bad, except when you say it wither her middle name: Wanda. I am not joking.

[Elvellon]

A lot of things offend others. It's not my place to judge why they want to name their child that. If someone wants to name their child "f-u" it's their stupid decision. It has no affect on my life. It's only a name. The only way it has power is if we let it have power. I can care less whether they name their child Osama bin Ladin - it has no bearing on what happened on 9/11.

I disagree. There are limits to individual freedom. It ends were the freedom of others starts. Wanting or not that name already is a symbol of much that is vile. It is a symbol of those that would plunge us into an era of obscurantism and violence, robbing us of our freedoms. When they choose it they were making a statement, a challenge to all the freedoms we hold dear.

By Germany ruling against allowing this couple to name their child Osama bin Ladin - it has given the name MORE power. It would not have even have been in the news probably (and if it was - it would have quickly died out) if the government had just let it go. How much government interference are we willing to put up with in our lives?

No. It gave it LESS power. The challenge was met, and their wishes were denied. Otherwise the stake would most assuredly be raised (probably not by them but certainly by someone else).

I think we (the West) may have been overly tolerant in the past. We should be tolerant with those that don’t chare your values, but not with those that desire nothing less then our destruction. As I said that name in a symbol, and symbols carry power. It could not be allowed.

How much government interference are we willing to put up with in our lives?

As much as we deem necessary to make a group of persons into a society. We need laws, that we, as a society have agreed upon (even if we disagree of some at an individual level).

[Artanis]

To name a child Osama bin laden when living in Germany sounds extremely ... unwise. Unless they plan to emigrate to one of the Arabic countries. I don't feel provoked by it myself, but I understand people who does.

Still I think people should be able to pick a name for their child freely, without interference from anyone. If the child isn't happy with the name, he/she can change it when he/she comes of age.

[Earniel]

Originally posted by Anduril
What's wrong with weird? So what if some lttle girl wants to name herself Superman or Wonderwoman...

I thought the basic reason of allowing kids to change their names was to escape the weird name their parents had given them. If you let young children choose their own name as often as they want too, there will be a lot more weird names. It's the very thing you want to prevent so it has no benefits in my eyes.

[Rána Eressëa]

Originally posted by jerseydevil
Obviously the couple is Osama bin Ladin supporters. Why else would someone name their child that - except maybe as a sick joke.

Maybe they like the name. Ever thought of that? It is quite catchy.

Originally posted by samwise of the shire
Calling your kid Osama bin Laden is cruel in itself. When that kid grows up to be of school age and if the government lets the parents name him Osama he's gonna be teased, shunned, hated, maybe even beaten up to the extent of death. I dont even want to think what would happen if they moved to the US.

Proves what a sick, indecent world we live in when we're judged by a name. If something like that ever did happen, I'd rank the people who did it on the same level as Osama bin Laden himself.

It's gonna cause problems, though, that's for sure, so if it's for the kid's safety, then don't let him be named that. Save him before the evil, blood thirsty Americans get ahold of him. Oh yes, they're out there . . . somewhere . . .

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Rána Eressëa
Save him before the evil, blood thirsty Americans get ahold of him.

I never realised you were evil and blood thirsty.

[Nibs]

I maintain my stance. Every one involved should have their freedom of choice. The parents, to name their child, and the child, to change their name. It should not involve the government.

[jerseydevil]

This is the small article that the Star Ledger had in todays paper about the German couple.

Germany won't let pair name boy for bin Laden
BERLIN - German authorities have denied a Turkish couple's request to name their newborn son Osama bin Laden, a court spokeswoman said yesterday.

"Osama bin Laden is a great man," the baby's father, Mehmet Cengiz, an unemployed truck driver, told Germany's RTL television. "He's a good man for his people, for my culture."

German laws make it illegal for parents to give their children names that dishonor them or harm their dignity.

"That could be the case with this name," Birgit Neepmann, a spokesman for the district court in Cologne, said of the parents' wish to name the boy for the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

[BeardofPants]

Speaking of govts being TOO controlling....


http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121692,00.html

[HOBBIT]

Originally posted by Anduril
Can anyone say "Moon Unit Zappa"?

And btw, why do I only have 995 posts all of a sudden?

I believe this is because you had hundreds of posts in old closed topics such as the old 3 worder topic. Bmilder just recently deleted some of these old closed topics (not me! he did it). Calvinball was deleted some weeks ago, the old 3 worder, and other old closed topics. If they were not worthwhile, we did not keep them. When a post of yours is deleted, it is no longer counted towards your post count. Sorry. No other 3 worders are currently open, but you may do so under the new rules listed at the end of the closed topic "the new 3 worder" in the middle earth section. For example, Mirahzi has 374 posts in the recently closed worder (lizra has 348 and others well over 100). This topic will eventually be closed. Maybe not next month - but in several months. Their post counts will go down by how many posts they had in the topic. Its not a big deal.

[Andúril]

Earniel:
I thought the basic reason of allowing kids to change their names was to escape the weird name their parents had given them.

Why shouldn't they be allowed to change their names for any reason? Why restrict it to the alleviation of weirdness? Why shouldn't Christopher be allowed to change his name to Steven?

More:
If you let young children choose their own name as often as they want too, there will be a lot more weird names. It's the very thing you want to prevent so it has no benefits in my eyes.

I disagree. Just because a child chooses a name, it does not follow that the name will necessarily be weird. As in the above example, a kid may choose a conventional name from preference.

Also, since when have we, as a global community, agreed that "weird" names should be prevented?

Why shouldn't one's name be exactly what one wants it to be?

I don't mind if a senile old woman decides to change her name to Ice-cream. Similarily, I don't mind if a child names herself Stank Ho. Or even if a little boy names himself Jesus Christ.

And even names such as "Nigger". It is the person who interprates the name to be contraversial, not the name itself.

[Earniel]

Originally posted by Anduril
Why shouldn't Christopher be allowed to change his name to Steven?I disagree. Just because a child chooses a name, it does not follow that the name will necessarily be weird. As in the above example, a kid may choose a conventional name from preference.

True, but it also might not.

I don't mind people being able to change their names, in fact I'm glad that it's possible. But I just can't see the use of letting people change their name several times just for fancy. To me, it's more trouble than it's worth.

[Rána Eressëa]

Originally posted by jerseydevil
I never realised you were evil and blood thirsty.

I'm not one of them. But you could be.