Annoyed....

[elizebethjoy.livejournal.com]

I'm a little appalled after reading some of the responses in gothikbutterfly's post. Specifically, when folks were saying stuff to the effect of "what were they thinking?" in reference to the parents of someone with an "odd" name. Really, what do you do when you meet someone whose parents were from the Ukraine, or some other place where the names aren't familiar to most Americans? Do you really make a snap judgement on that person's parents? Don't you think that's a little closed-minded? How about assuming something good, like that their parents are from an exotic place, or have a interesting family background?

On a slightly different topic: I know people feel strongly about names, but tact is an important part of being a member of society. It IS possible to not like a name, or a person's opinion, and not trash that person using strong and, sometimes, innapropriate language. It would be great practise to try to phrase your opinions in such a way that you don't cause new members to run away crying. I mean, come on, gothikbutterfly's baby was due yesterday, and some of you treated her like garbage. Couldn't you find a more eloquent way of expressing yourself?

And for the record, there were some posts from people who didn't like the names she suggested, and were able to say so in a way that fostered conversation and constructive feedback. Thank you so much for being here and for speaking up.

Comments

(frozen)

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Put yourself in the place of a woman who is due to give birth any moment now, and re-read the thread. Some things that were said simply could have been worded more gently and still have gotten the point across.

I appreciate what you're saying, but not everyone is going to be nice about this stuff all the time. If things had gotten ugly, I feel sure that our moderator a_green_faerie (?) would have clamped down on it, because they seem to be good about not letting people be abusive.

I'm working my way through month eight now, so I sympathize with the hormones on both sides of the issue.

DV