White? Wealthy? Male?

[ender4]

It depends where you live in the world.

In Saudi Arabia, most important is that you are a male. Females are treated like crap.

Wealth is not important, and white would be a detriment.

 

In a lot of the middle-east being white probably wouldn't be an asset.

White would be a slight benefit in European countries, but these countries are tolerant of other colours anyway, so not a major asset.

 

Wealth rules wherever you are in the world.

[Skruff]

Wealth, could always pay for a sex change or new organs.

[Xann]

Freakonomics puts forward a view that parents in the US, particularly Afro Americans, doom the next generation by giving them whacky names.

 

Jane and John get to interview and the chance to impress, black or white.  L'Teecia and l'Velle get the shrug off.

[rjw63]

Don't forget Shani'Qua

[legov]

Don't forget Shani'Qua

 

Straight out of the Star Wars book

[chrisp65]

good point on the names

 

I live in a town with a good proportion of 'white poor' and my wife's job revolves around trying to give them a decent start in life and making sure they get fair life chances.

 

Unfortunately, what she can't do, is suggest some of the names chosen for the kids are moderated or even just put as second names. The number of kids given the name Angelwing or Madonna Vogue or Whitelightning is just unreal. None of those names are real, but some of the names really are bizarre. There are usually one of two reasons spouted. Either it was 'just a laugh', or there is a bizarre belief that if you call your very average sink estate comp educated kid F'nar F'nar Biscuit then it will be instantly recognised as a celebrity in waiting.

 

What it actually does is make little biscuit the victim of 'straight' prejudice.

[MakemineVanilla]

Freakonomics puts forward a view that parents in the US, particularly Afro Americans, doom the next generation by giving them whacky names.

 

Jane and John get to interview and the chance to impress, black or white.  L'Teecia and l'Velle get the shrug off.

 

Not quite.

 

What Freakonomics actually says is that single-mothers who are highly dependent upon the help of their African-American community tend to give their kids African names out of loyalty to that community and no doubt with some pragmatism in mind.

 

The question then arises as to whether subsequent failure arises because of the disadvantages of single-parenthood, or a collection of other reasons.

 

No one can deny that success can be seen as class-betrayal, even amongst white folks.

[mjmooney]

good point on the names

 

I live in a town with a good proportion of 'white poor' and my wife's job revolves around trying to give them a decent start in life and making sure they get fair life chances.

 

Unfortunately, what she can't do, is suggest some of the names chosen for the kids are moderated or even just put as second names. The number of kids given the name Angelwing or Madonna Vogue or Whitelightning is just unreal. None of those names are real, but some of the names really are bizarre. There are usually one of two reasons spouted. Either it was 'just a laugh', or there is a bizarre belief that if you call your very average sink estate comp educated kid F'nar F'nar Biscuit then it will be instantly recognised as a celebrity in waiting.

 

What it actually does is make little biscuit the victim of 'straight' prejudice.

 

Yup. Go into any pound store in Bradford and you'll be guaranteed to hear stuff like: 

 

"F***in' give orver, aar Chardonnay, or I'll f***in' belt ya". 

 

Then again, the hippy middle classes do it too - when we lived in the social worker zone of Headingley, the local primary school was full of middle class kids with names like Sky and Mistral. 

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

What's in a name?

[legov]

 

good point on the names

 

I live in a town with a good proportion of 'white poor' and my wife's job revolves around trying to give them a decent start in life and making sure they get fair life chances.

 

Unfortunately, what she can't do, is suggest some of the names chosen for the kids are moderated or even just put as second names. The number of kids given the name Angelwing or Madonna Vogue or Whitelightning is just unreal. None of those names are real, but some of the names really are bizarre. There are usually one of two reasons spouted. Either it was 'just a laugh', or there is a bizarre belief that if you call your very average sink estate comp educated kid F'nar F'nar Biscuit then it will be instantly recognised as a celebrity in waiting.

 

What it actually does is make little biscuit the victim of 'straight' prejudice.

 

Yup. Go into any pound store in Bradford and you'll be guaranteed to hear stuff like: 

 

"F***in' give orver, aar Chardonnay, or I'll f***in' belt ya". 

 

Then again, the hippy middle classes do it too - when we lived in the social worker zone of Headingley, the local primary school was full of middle class kids with names like Sky and Mistral. 

 

 

Ah yes, the desire to be seen as "working class," or similarly as a member of a historically disenfranchised group.

 

White hippies speaking black all of a sudden (Justin B, I'm looking at you), Boston "Irishmen", fake Cockney accents (I hear the Stones are notorious for that...?), the list goes on and on

 

Everytime I notice it, it's hilarious

[chrisp65]

Data protection and all that, but I do know a kid called 'Minogue'. The reason? Why it's obvious isn't it, she liked Kylie Minogue, but every chav in town was calling baby girls Kylie at the time so she wanted something different.

 

The result, in school just a few short years later, a class containing Kylie and Minogue.

[mjmooney]

 

 

fake Cockney accents (I hear the Stones are notorious for that...?)

 

Definitely. Try and find a YouTube clip of Jagger being interviewed in the early days, and he sounds exactly like what he was - a nice, well-spoken middle-class home counties boy. 

 

Now he's all exaggerated mockney. 

[legov]

 

 

 

fake Cockney accents (I hear the Stones are notorious for that...?)

 

Definitely. Try and find a YouTube clip of Jagger being interviewed in the early days, and he sounds exactly like what he was - a nice, well-spoken middle-class home counties boy. 

 

Now he's all exaggerated mockney. 

 

 

To be fair, I'm not great at differentiating between different varieties of the British accent. (I can tell if someone's a southerner or a dirty northerner but apart from that, not much) I did a quick search just now and the Jagger of today still sounds pretty posh to me he certainly doesn't sound like Arry

Edited December 8, 2013 by legov

[tonyh29]

I can tell if someone's a southerner or a dirty northerner

He he

[mjmooney]

 

 

 

 

fake Cockney accents (I hear the Stones are notorious for that...?)

 

Definitely. Try and find a YouTube clip of Jagger being interviewed in the early days, and he sounds exactly like what he was - a nice, well-spoken middle-class home counties boy. 

 

Now he's all exaggerated mockney. 

 

 

To be fair, I'm not great at differentiating between different varieties of the British accent. (I can tell if someone's a southerner or a dirty northerner but apart from that, not much) I did a quick search just now and the Jagger of today still sounds pretty posh to me he certainly doesn't sound like Arry

 

 

Actually, it's not really mockney, more a sort of drawled estuary. Massively different from what it used to be though. 

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

Terry Wogan did what I think is more common: poshing up one's accent when one has a bit of money.

 

He certainly wasn't born a middle-class Englishman, that's for sure.

[mjmooney]

Terry Wogan did what I think is more common: poshing up one's accent when one has a bit of money.

 

He certainly wasn't born a middle-class Englishman, that's for sure.

 

He still sounds Irish to us. 

 

Just like the late Alistair Cooke (the "Letter From America" broadcaster, not the cricketer) - all British listeners thought he sounded American, all American listeners thought he sounded English. 

[dont_do_it_doug.]

Terry Wogan did what I think is more common: poshing up one's accent when one has a bit of money.

He certainly wasn't born a middle-class Englishman, that's for sure.

He still sounds Irish to us.

He does but less and less as the years go by. It's natural, it happens to everyone, no matter how sure you are you won't let it. You can only affect an accent for so long.

There's a cockney underbelly to my accent now, especially in the way I elongate certain vowels, which comes naturally to a brummy anyway. I'm happy with it, London has played a big part in my life so I'm happy to wear it.

[ender4]

Freakonomics puts forward a view that parents in the US, particularly Afro Americans, doom the next generation by giving them whacky names.

 

Jane and John get to interview and the chance to impress, black or white.  L'Teecia and l'Velle get the shrug off.

 

 

that happens in the UK to some degree as well. 

 

Who gets an interview when faced with a pile of CV's are somewhat similar? Mohammed Hussain or Jack White?

I've seen colleagues at work choose Jack/Jane over Mohammed/Fatima, even when Mohammed/Fatima has the stronger CV.

Edited December 9, 2013 by ender4

[mjmooney]

 

 

Terry Wogan did what I think is more common: poshing up one's accent when one has a bit of money.

He certainly wasn't born a middle-class Englishman, that's for sure.

He still sounds Irish to us.

He does but less and less as the years go by. It's natural, it happens to everyone, no matter how sure you are you won't let it. You can only affect an accent for so long.

There's a cockney underbelly to my accent now, especially in the way I elongate certain vowels, which comes naturally to a brummy anyway. I'm happy with it, London has played a big part in my life so I'm happy to wear it.

 

 

Not always. My mate left Brum for Canada in the early 80s, he still sounds exactly as he always did. 

 

And Jeff Lynne (ELO) - lived in LA for about 40 years, still as Brummie as you like.