What's in a Name?

Growing up, everyone called me Trina. In fact I didn't know that I had another name until I was eight or nine years old. Now maybe you would think that was odd, but not really. You know when you got in real trouble and your parents used your full name (don't shake your head...you know it happened), well my parents would say "Trina Ann Riley....". My grandmother, Grandma Virgie, was the one who told me I had a different name, a unique name, and great name as a matter of fact.

It seemed that I was named after the landlady of the apartment building my parents lived in in Germany. Kathrina. I don't know if that's the way she spelled it, but that how it's spelled on my birth certificate.

I started using my real or more accurately my given name when I started college. A new group of people who didn't know me as Trina. I also started using the nickname Kat, instead of Trina. I like it better. Everyone pronounces it Katrina and I let it go...it's too cumbersome to explain the pronunciation or origin of my name to everyone I meet. It's not that I'm not proud of my name, but in the course of a day if you have to explain it to every new person I come in contact with, I would spend more time talking about my name than the work I am suppose to be doing. Of course when someone sees my name written, I get asked about it, then the explanation (rote memory of course) begins.

So all of this rambling does have a purpose. I have been doing some thinking about all the flip-flap about Obama and his "allegedly" being a Muslim because of his name. Now I don't know what my name means or what people think about my name...but I would hope that people don't hear my name and say "Oh, well, she has a German sounding name so she must be a Nazi.".

There is a whole body of research on the effect of a person's name on being considered for a job or other employment opportunities. This research found that people with certain ethnic sounding names were discriminated against. I think that this is what's happening to Obama. People are making certain assumptions, both good and bad, about him because of not only his name, but also his race.

Now, I'm not endorsing Obama, in fact I'm not taking any position in the Presidential race, at least on my blog. But I am saying that people should make up their own mind after they get information that can be relied on as much as possible. Don't rely on the word of someone or take those e-mails for gospel or fall back on prejudice that hurts us all. Do your own thinking, weigh the choices, make a decision on your own.

America has never been a herd animal. We don't just follow along and let someone lead us to where "they" think we ought to be. I think we are very much lone wolves who form a pack when we need to make a difference or are in danger.

Don't let a name make a decision for you. What's really in a name?