Political - New Zealand seizes kid because of strange name

[Ysabel Kid]

Now, listening to some of the names of kids these days, I can appreciate the desire to slap their parents upside the head and ask them what they were thinking (or smoking) at the time they named their little bundle of joy. But this? Is this the kind of power any free country wants to give the state?!?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_ ... arre_names

[Griff]

I don't know... when parents are so irresponsible as to not consider the child's welfare... someone does. Namin' yer son "Sue" falls in that category. Talula might have been bad enough, kids being kids, they might've come up with the "...does the hula" on their own. But to actually put that on the birth certificate... Maybe they just shouldn't be allowed to have kids.

'Sides, I believe NZ made a huge mistake when they relaxed the immigration laws back in the early '90s. The family may have been saved from the embarrassment of their stupidity of becoming public knowledge.

[Doc Hudson]

I have mixed feelings about this. I sincerely believe that the parents should be horsewhipped for pulling such a lowdown dirty, underhanded, cruel trick on a poor defenseless child. However, I hesitate to endorse the judge's action, though I heartily applaud the action.

When I was an insurance agent, one of my customers, a teenage black girl, gave birth to a baby girl. (And a cute little scutter she was.) When I talked new Mama into adding the baby to her insurance policy, I asked the baby's name for the forms. New Mama replied, "I gotta go git da paper."

She brought back one of those cutsey certificates hospitals give with all the cherubs and bows. I can't remember the poor child's name, but the first name was 21 letters long and the middle name was 17 letters long. I was shocked. I looked at the certificate for a moment, then looked at new Mama and told her, "You should be slapped for pulling such a lowdown dirty trick on a poor defenseless baby." Her mother started laughing.

New Mama mumbled something about, "Ma sista come up wi' it."

Little sister chimed in, "It a Africa name."

I turned on her and stormed, "When the hell is that baby going to Africa? Is she going to grow up in Africa or Belzoni, Mississippi? That baby's name won't even fit into the spaces on a government form. You've saddled her with a name that her own mother can't pronounce or spell! Do you have any idea the ridicule that child is going to face when she goes to school? Do you have any idea how many problems she is going to have filling out forms for job applications, government forms, school forms, or any other kind of form? She'll probably be a teenager before she learns to spell that godawful name! Both of you should be well and thoroughly slapped!!!

The whole time I was unloading on those two foolish girls, their mother was sitting on the other side of the room laughing and urging me on, "You tell 'em about it! I done tried! Tell 'em how it is!"

I still sold the policy. I ended up just putting the baby's initials, A.K., on application.

[handirifle]

Not saying I agree or disagree with it but did you guys read this part, the court didn't just do this on it's own.

"New Zealand law does not allow names that would cause offense to a reasonable person, among other conditions, said Brian Clarke, the registrar general of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Clarke said officials usually talked to parents who proposed unusual names to convince them about the potential for embarrassment."

He was acting within the laws, SOMEONE had passed. On this case they obviously crossed the line, and since she was in the middle of a custody battle, I guess he felt neither parent had done such a hot job.

[The Lewis]

Well, seems to me anyone who really has a problem with their birth name can legally change it when they are 18, unfortunate as that name is I can't abide the court spending time on it. But then, I guess it's NZ's problem...

[El Chivo]

Come on, the kid can always use a nickname.

I liked Frank Zappa's names for his kids, his son is Dweezil and his daughter is Moon Unit. Apparently when the daughter was born Frank gave the wife her choice of Moon Unit or Motorhead.

[Andrew]

Parents should be free to name their kids whatever they want. Period. But I will bring up a fantastic quote that works perfect here:

"The words 'rights' and 'responsability' are so intertwined it's really a shame there are two definitions for what is essentially the same idea".

Name your kids; don't give them crappy, ridiculous names.

[Ysabel Kid]

Andrew pegged it.

Bottom line - when we let the state interfere in our lives - regardless of how good the reason may seem - we release a bit more of our freedoms with every intrusion. I agree, parents like this need to be beaten - but not by the state. This is just another excuse for the government to intrude on private matters. Look at what the law said - "offense to a reasonable person". That's wide enough to drive a Mack truck through it. What happens when that "reasonable person" is a Muslim who is offended by Christian names?

Same reasoning - different situation. What happens when the state takes your children because you expose them to something that would "offend a reasonable person" - like firearms and shooting? How about when you expose them to the Bible, Christianity, and religion as a whole?

This is where those things go...

[Carlsen Highway]

I think that you will find that the vast majority of NZ'rs agree with the judges sentiments....as for worries about Big Brother interfering in such a way, I really dont think we have the fears of the State the way I have seen it described in other countries. "...Reasonable offence..." means just that and people would trust a judge to know the difference over here I suppose.

I understand what your saying, and its something I believe - if the state takes care of everything then no one is indiviually responsible for anything. Thats one of the reasons that I appreciate hunting in this day and age more and more, out in the bush you are solely respinsible for yourslef, no one is going to get you out and you cant just quit and go home...but the judge mentioned above is doing the right thing i think. When you go to far the other way, sooner or later the community as a whole needs to stop someone.

As for the hunting and shooting coming under fire somehow the same way....we dont have the anti hunting contingent anywhere near what they seem to do in UK, US and Australia. Dont think I ve ever met an anti hunter really. There were six people in Auckland last year who didnt like the duckshooting season, but you know, you just push them into the pond on the way past...I mean, theres only six of them...

Dont confuse NZ with the tyrannical totalitarian Australian government. Sooner or later we will invade them and set things straight. (And theyll pay for winning the rugby tonight.)

(BTW - I am fairly sure no one was 'seized'. She was made a ward of the state only so far as it was necessary that the name change should go through....I am sure the little girl slept in her own bed that night...)

[shawn_c992001]

And I thought some people in the southern part of the state naming their kids "Elvis" and "Tarzan" were strange.

[gundownunder]

Parents should be free to name their kids whatever they want.

Yeh, and kids should be free to sue the behinds off their parents for saddling them with a lifetime of embarrassment or ridicule.

Frank zappa names his kid, Moon Unit, the response would probably be " hey can you get me yer dads autograph ".
Anyone elses kid named Moon Unit would get something like " what kind of freak names a kid Moon Unit, what are ya, some kinda spacecadet".

Dont confuse NZ with the tyrannical totalitarian Australian government. Sooner or later we will invade them and set things straight.

I might agree with you about the government, though I'm not sure what yours is like.
As for the invasion bit, hell, half of you are over here already so I've got no choice but to believe it

[Hobie]

And what about Chinese, Korean or Thai and Native American names (particularly)? Yeah, I get it and it is stupid but ILLEGAL?

I do have to pass this one on. A guy I worked with always talked about his then wife Laura. So one day she comes to work and I noticed that the license plate said "Loria". I was puzzled enough to ask about it. He said his mother-in-law couldn't spell "Laura" and was so stubborn she wouldn't let the hospital staff correct it lest she appear dumb. So, his wife was stuck with a name she either has to spell for everyone or pronounce for everyone.

As for me, my first name is a good German name nobody can pronounce. I was supposed to be named for my 2Xgreat-grandfather but his name was legally the dimunitive of mine, so I'm not actually named for him... MY parents have Masters Degrees! I named my kids David and Margaret.

[handirifle]

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, now that takes you back, but the thing he NEEDED to invent for himself was a brain, but the band broke up before he could.

Pitty the kids of that moron.

[Old Ironsights]

Don't forget:

Shanda Leer (Daughter of Leer Jet founder)
Ginger Snap (Daughter of my JrHigh Math teacher)

And any number of children of the sixties with stupid names like "Rainbow Peace" or some junk.

There is a whole chapter in Freakonomics about this and the sad attempts at naming done by low SES parents in tha Hood...

("But I thought Chalymidia sounded pretty when I heard it in the ER waiting room....":shock: )

[Carlsen Highway]

The judge got to meet the parents...we didnt. Its not illegal to have a funny name, but come on. I mean, come on. And all foreigners have to change their names to Smith and Jones when they enter the country.
Apart from stupid people its usually the PC liberal types that have funny names, so no problem oppressing them anyway.


Gundownunder Bondi is an official part of New Zealand, we have taken it by conquest, just no one decided to make an issue of it so we are now homesteading the place.....we cant actually finish an election till we get the votes counted there...

[Rimfire McNutjob]

About 15 years ago I ran into one when I had to create a login on the domain for a telecenter employee. It was pronounced Shi'Thead by her but it was obviously spelled without the apostrophe. Must have been trying to have parents as stupid and irresponsible as to punish a kid with that name.

[Ysabel Kid]

So, my son goes by his middle name - "Gannon" - an old family surname. Since it is not "John" or "Mike", will someday I get hauled to the pokey? I'm sure I'm probably offending somebody who doesn't like Irish names...

Apart from stupid people its usually the PC liberal types that have funny names, so no problem oppressing them anyway.

I agree, however, it all depends on who is making the decision. Remember, over here, Obama thinks all gun-owners and Christians as "bitter, poor and without options". He might have just as well added "stupid". I'd hate for him or his ilk to be calling the shots on who gets oppressed and who does not...