The “Baby Obama” Syndrome: The Perils of Naming Your Kid After A Popular Politician
11 December 2008, 2:30 PM. By Guanabee Staff
President-Elect Barack Obama has definitely been an inspiration to us all. He’s inspired many people to pursue their dreams even in the face of accusations that they are under-qualified and he’s inspired many foreigners (apparently mostly Eastern Europeans) to name their kids after him. Romania’s Gypsies cite his opressed African-American background as their reason for loving him. Says Maria Savu, a Gypsy, about Obama:
“When I saw Obama on TV, my heart swelled with joy. I thought he was one of us Gypsies because of his skin color.”
Oh, racists. Surprisingly no one stopped to think, “Hey, Jews have been persecuted and oppressed a lot during the last 5,000 years and yet they keep their heads up. Maybe I should name my kids after one of them?”
Despite all the love, we here at Guanabee want to take the time to remind you (nay, WARN you) that naming your kid after a living, popular politician is always a bad idea. As Solon used to advise Croesus not to count any man happy until he is dead (Sorry, is our Ivy League education showing? Ha ha, jk. We totally Googled that.) we would like to remind people not to count politicians as amazingly Messiah-like until after they have completed their terms in office. We know, we know: You’re having kids now and might not be having kids in 4 to 8 years. But, trust us, that amount of time can change everything. We won’t give obvious names (like Adolf Hitler or Che Guevara), but these are our examples of inspiring baby names that you might want to wait a few years before choosing:
Vladimir Putin
We used to absolutely love this guy. In 1998 he was just the new public politician with pretty blue eyes, an obscure political background, and promises to make his nation great again. After the death of Alexander Litvinenko in 2004 and the “election” of current Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in 2008, it’s becomingly increasing clear as soon as Putin dies there’s probably going to be a deluge of formerly secret information about his political activities that isn’t going to make your kid, Vladimir Putin Gonzalez, feel good about himself. Luckily Putin’s mesmerizing hold on the media is mostly confined to Russia, but, just a heads up: We don’t think this career will end well.
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton is definitely an inspiring figure for women. However, with so much to prove in this man’s world, it’s likely that she might have misstepped (or will eventually misstep) while trying to make a good reputation for herself. We don’t see her going down the road of her husband and being pictured in the National Enquirer for having sex with an intern who will go on to design handbags. We imagine something involving torture, maybe some extortion of some kind, or just audio recordings of her cursing and rambling in a paranoid manner like Richard Nixon.
Alberto Gonzalez
Al-Gon has already been busy racking up a list of failures and disappointments. But, on the off-chance that you were not concerned with Alberto Gonzalez’s resignation from his post as Attorney General, or the accusations of committing perjury before Congress, or his indirect involvement in a scandal involving teachers, administrators, and guards having sex with under-aged juvenile delinquents in Texas Youth Commission programs, then rest assured that there might be more on the way. Anyone involved in W’s administration is probably going to be facing questions, indictments, or public disapproval as the new president takes office, but Gonzalez faces an especially hard time due to his love of misusing the USA PATRIOT Act (Fun fact: It’s an acronym.) and his prime position between President Bush and imprisoned “terrorists” (quotations because some of their files aren’t fully disclosed or fully believable). Regardless of when this guy dies, children bearing his name might have a difficult time entering politics as the “First Hispanic” Anything.
(And, just a P.S. - we aren’t comparing any of these people directly to Adolf Hitler, the Nazis, or people who might have ideologies analogous to the Nazis. That’s so Fox News. We don’t do that here.)
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I think it’s mean to name your kid after someone in politics because you just don’t know what in the hell the politician will end up doing. Also, I think it’s unfair to tie someone’s identity (good or bad) to another person.
I share a last name with a former president. My family has a strict, unspoken rule against naming the kids in our family anything similar to that name. Not that he was a bad president; it’s mean to the kid.
I’m confused. Are you saying that the person cited here is a racist? Can someone clarify? Eastern Europeans don’t consider Gypsies Eastern European, and definitely not white. And Gypsies are not racists. They have also been the target of systematic and violence racism for about 5,000 years. A horrific, more recent example:
http://www.reproductiverights.org/pub_bo_slovakia.html
I was joking, but, yes, I was referring to the Gypsy as a racist. Oppressed people can be racists, too. She clearly points out that she thought Obama was “one of us” because of his skin color. Taking the whole source article into account, I pointed out that Jews have a longer history of being enslaved and oppressed, so naming your children after Obama because of his skin color and because (in other cases) he’s an African-American and African-Americans have a history of enslavement just like the Gypsies is stupid and selective. I considered the selective factor in this case to be racist.
I’m not debating Gypsies are oppressed people and have had a rough, horrific time. I’m saying that the fact that they choose to name their children after Obama, who personally does not have a history of enslavement or any particular oppression, is stupid and racist.
So, yeah, I’m calling the Gypsy lady a racist.
@EnAnita: I kind of want to buy you a drink now.
So my relentless fingering in the car during that family trip to Carlsbad Caverns didn’t count, Lizzy? :( whatevs u suck
(PS. This comment is meant for the previous post. I only posted under this post because comments are disabled for that one. But, feel free to impersonate Lizzy here, in a what will hopefully turn into an extended role-playing session that starts off hilarious but ultimately leaves us both disturbed and seeking refuge in scripture just to feel clean again.)
So my relentless fingering in the car during that family trip to Carlsbad Caverns didn’t count, Lizzy? :( whatevs u suck
(PS. This comment is meant for the previous post. I only posted under this post because comments are disabled for that one. But, feel free to impersonate Lizzy here, in a what will hopefully turn into an extended role-playing session that starts off hilarious but ultimately leaves us both disturbed and seeking refuge in scripture just to feel clean again.)
@ Lizzy’s bro: Fixed it. Now you can leave your comments about third base / incest on the other post, if you wish.
@dijo Alex: Thank you, much obliged.
@dijo Alex: Thank you, much obliged.
I read the following AP story and immediately remembered this post. It somewhat illustrates the pitfalls of this naming practice in action: “Cake request for 3-year-old Hitler namesake denied” (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_on_fe_st/odd_hitler_cake)
The difference here, of course, is that, unlike parents who’ve accidentally gotten stuck with children named after sullied public figures, these two knew of Hitler’s infamy beforehand, and relished in it. Admittedly, the Nazi dad’s sense of humor is simply wonderful, as his explanations attest.