what do you call this sense of routine shame in one's leaders?

Just in case anyone out there hasn't finished breakfast and wants a good case of heartburn:

Texas lawmaker: Asians should change their names to make them ‘easier for Americans to deal with.’ from Terrel county's Republican state rep, Betty Brown. (No, really. That's her actual name. Which makes me want to email her a link to snopes.)

...it's like Bush wasn't enough or something.

However, her logic is impeccable:

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?”

Just to make sure this fail is understood to be part of a context of fail (because nothing is so bad it cannot look even worse), this speech came while she was addressing Ramey Ko, a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans during testimony regarding that utterly brilliant and revolutionary piece of legislation to finally end this huge problem of non-white people voting in public elections in Texas like they are, y'know, equals or something.

...I mean, non-white non-citizens voting in public elections. You see how it's really hard to tell those apart. Betty seems to have that problem, too.

“Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

Charming.

More here.

Comments

[annaalamode.livejournal.com]

to quote someone funnier and wiser than I, "If you took all the fools out of the state legislature, it wouldn't be a representative body anymore".

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*snickers* I like that.

[wrenlet.livejournal.com]

I think you call it "being a progressive in Texas."

*SIGH*

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Can't they spend one day not making us want to flinch? Just one?

[niqaeli]

I think what's truly charming is what amounts to an outright statement that they are not, in fact, American. Only white people can be American, apparently. Despite the fact that we are a country that was founded on ideals, on ideas and not on, say, racial or ethnic identity.

But never you mind that.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I think what's truly charming is what amounts to an outright statement that they are not, in fact, American.

That was a special moment.

Despite the fact that we are a country that was founded on ideals, on ideas and not on, say, racial or ethnic identity.

That sounds suspiciously un-American of you there. *suspicious look*

[deadlychameleon.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhhhh man. Because "why don't you get a more 'American sounding' name" has never been done before. Certainly not with any other groups, say, such as Jews, Eastern Europeans, African Americans...

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I think these people have never seen even the cheesiest of the afterschool specials in their entire lives.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

*blinks*

Are you serious?

Wow. The fail is just epic.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Sadly, not a hallucination.

[apetslife.livejournal.com]

Oh my god. I am not nearly caffeinated enough to handle reading that kind of thing. I think my brain just EXPLODED.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I was eating a kolache which became suddenly less delicious.

I keep hoping it'll turn out to be a hallucination.

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

I'm confused. Non-citizens can't vote where I live, no matter what their race. Or were you being sarcastic?

However, for those who can vote, why should they change their names just because this woman can't bother to deal?

For crying out loud, people have trouble with my last name and it's Slovak, never mind some of the Polish names we get around here. Does this woman think they should change their names too?

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I'm confused. Non-citizens can't vote where I live, no matter what their race. Or were you being sarcastic?

Sarcastic. The voter ID thing comes up in the legislature fairly regularly because Certain Members are convinced that the entire election process is being hijacked by undocumented immigrants from Mexico here to undermine the American way of life or something. It's--well, humiliating for everyone not one of them to watch racism in action under the guise of voter rights.

For crying out loud, people have trouble with my last name and it's Slovak, never mind some of the Polish names we get around here. Does this woman think they should change their names too?

God knows. I still can't quite work out what on earth she thought she was saying.

[incapricious.livejournal.com]

*head explodes*

WHAT?!?

This is like... a fail fractal.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

You can see the endless spirals too?

This just--Voter ID bad enough. This is the cream cheese frosting on top.

[cat-77.livejournal.com]

WTF? No, seriously, what the fuck? "Let's go back to the times of old where exhausted immigrants stood in long lines to be registered and told, 'Oh, by the way, you will now be known as Smith and not Schmidt because we say so...' - it will be a grand ol' time!"

[Not even going into how they decided to take the "-ski" off this Polish girl's name...]

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*flinches* These are the kind of people who thought that sort of thing was pure genius.

[lazar-grrl.livejournal.com]

Given that my incredibly white first name is mispronounced half the time, and that I grew up with white people named Chmielewski, Stoistavlovich, and Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley), and Asians named Vang, Li, and Long, I must laugh in this woman's stupid, stupid face. Not only is she racist, she knows nothing about names.

And considering how many Asians adopt "white" first names to fit in and not make the idiot white people all confused, I want to punch her repeatedly.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

And considering how many Asians adopt "white" first names to fit in and not make the idiot white people all confused, I want to punch her repeatedly.

This.

[rhinemaiden.livejournal.com]

Yes, because my Chinese last name, Liu (pronounced loo - easy enough right?) is so much harder than say, oh I don't know, Shickelfridzcno (pronounced shicK-ul-frid-iszsh-no) which is part Polish and part German.

Her entitlement, let me show you it.

Ooh, or another good name, Harazkaiewicks (pronounced hav-as-kavage). Really?

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Ooh, or another good name, Harazkaiewicks (pronounced hav-as-kavage). Really?

...I really want that name now. I would love telling people how to pronounce it. Daily.

[sleepingfingers.livejournal.com]

This makes me ashamed to be a Texan. Just. Ugh. Vu (my last name) is so obviously harder to say than other Western names that are ten million letters long. :/

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I really want to know where this frightening place she grew up in is where all the names are so basic that even looking at a Chinese last name is terrifying.

[cabayuki.livejournal.com]

Yeah, so... what do they do with Asians whose last name's Lee (or a variation: Li, Ly, Le)? There are quite a lot of those.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

LIES.

[mrshamill.livejournal.com]

You know the worst part of it? In her brain, it made perfect sense. She seriously didn't think she sounded racist, I'm certain of it. She was just trying to help, and thought that might be a good idea.

Forget making an intelligent statement before voting. I think people who are running for office need to make an intelligent, informed statement about the district they will be representing. At least one, anyway.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Good luck with that. I'd be happy with coherent. Though Obama is raising my standards on that score.

[ladyvyola.livejournal.com]

It's Friday, I'm gonna get off early, my favorite relative in the world is coming to visit for Easter, I'm planning a really nice family meal for Sunday...

...I can't bring myself to follow these links because I just know that the epic fail will raise my blood pressure and my head just can't take the inevitable impact(s) with my desk.

Says the Ukranian girl. "No, no, Y, not J. Yaw, not Way -- No, sky, not ski...." Honestly, people. 8 letters, all of them pronounced exactly in the most common American manner, and no tricky consonont-only groupings.

[renshai.livejournal.com]

Man, some of the pronounciations I've heard of my mom's very Ukrainian last name just make me shake my head. It's not even a tricky one like Wasiliciew, since at some point during my Dido's immigration its spelling got changed.

[justabi.livejournal.com]

I kinda wanna move back to Colorado now.

[terribilita.livejournal.com]

We have Tom Tancredo here. I don't think it's much of an improvement.

[brownbetty]

I wish to note, for the record, I have no connection with this woman whatsoever!

[queenydiva.livejournal.com]

LOL!

[twistedchick]

My question, which may be impertinent among other things: what was Betty Brown's ancestors' family name before they arrived on these shores, or did they change their names in shame at future descendents' stupidity when they left the Old Country?

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*g* Do you think she'd admit to it if there was?

[trobadora]

I'm finding it very hard to have any response to this besides "stabbitystabbitystab". :(

[seperis.livejournal.com]

You and me.

[unamaga.livejournal.com]

*messy explosion of rage*

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. That was pretty much my shocky reaction.

[omglawdork.livejournal.com]

Oh, Representative Brown. Keepin' it classy. I saw this link yesterday and I've sent it around a lot (even though it makes all of us Texans look like assholes, thanks, Betty). Sadly, this is absolutely no surprise coming from her (and the only tiny surprise I got from it was that it wasn't Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler)).

Rep. Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) had a fantastic response (http://www.poli-tex.com/2009/04/baffled-by-betty-brown.html) on his blog. In "the spirit of bipartisanship," he created the BETTY BROWN NAME GENERATOR (http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/12054/). So, you know, you can have a name that doesn't confuse her. They all end in "Brown."

I am LaVerne "Cracker Barrel" Brown.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

I'm Crystal "Chicken and Dumplings" Brown. How d'ya do? ::curtsies::

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Jesus, haven't we all outgrown this? My mom changed her name from Chiara Antoinette to Claire Ann in the 40s due to anti-Italian sentiment. Personally, I think she should have stuck to Chiara (pronounced Key-AR-ah), it's a gorgeous name, but who knows the pressures she was put under to conform. All her brothers & sisters changed their Italian names to "American" ones. I couldn't find any bios on good ol' Betty that told her age, but she certainly looks like she could date from that era, where buckling under was considered normal.

The really sad thing is that there are gonna be all kinds of people rallying around her now and she's going to get lots of attention from this where she had none before. It's like Palin all over again.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*shudders* I hate that idea.

[queenydiva.livejournal.com]

The best thing about it is that she was completely serious. I mean, the woman was earnest in presenting what she considered a reasonable solution to a problem she perceived. The best thing about this? She accused the Democrats of "trying to make everything about race" when they called her on it! The stupid, it BUUUUUUURNS!!!

[seperis.livejournal.com]

See, I can see how she thinks it's brilliant in its simplicity while everyone stares at her, wordless.

[eleveninches.livejournal.com]

I saw that in the news yesterday and started foaming at the mouth.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

It's a very special kind of stupid.

[eal.livejournal.com]

Just when you think it can't get any worse . . . it does.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I keep hoping a bottom will be reached.