@swirlie I cannot say who decided, it's just tradition. It has been that way for centuries. Who are you to question tradition?

@spjennifer That was just a daft song, not meant to be taken seriously. I like some of Johnny Cash's songs myself, especially this one:
[media=https://youtu.be/re2bFccqyFM]

@MissBarbara Johnny Cash wasn't exactly known for singing "Daft" songs, most were from either personal experience or the experiences of others. This song however was written by Shel Silverstein, who was a well known cartoonist for Playboy magazine and he also wrote songs for Dr. Hook so I guess you may be right on this one 🙄

@spjennifer It wasn't his usual style, it was an exception.

@mindstruggle

@thepeculiarpanda
Yo that's me

@mindstruggle "Oi! Pubes!" Poor kid!

@DancingStarGoddess Anyone naming their child Gaylord in 2025 knows exactly what they're doing and should be ashamed haha.

@thepeculiarpanda yes!

@DancingStarGoddess
Gaylord will always be funny 😩

@AbsolutelyFabulous Polly Esther is beautiful 🥴

@Elessar Where's Clotilde?

Brunhilde, Clotilde, Hildegarde

@Elessar That would be hella interesting with what I’m guessing is an Italian surname. 😄

@bijouxbroussard Needs to be German for the best effect though

@Punxi My son is Rick and My Dad was Richard…..🤣

@FreeSpirit1 I see what you did there.

@Punxi I’ll I didn’t want to give him someone else’s name so I compromised….lol.

@ElwoodBlues That name may be unpopular in many circles for generations.

@SunshineGirl I see what you did there.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman I saw what they did too 😬

@Elessar Genesio 🤌

@Younameit Guidobaldo

@Thodsis Yes.Donald Duck has a lot to answer for... ;)

@basilfawlty89 There's a concerning number of Benitos still around here

@AthrillatheHunt Agreed

@rinkydinkydoink With the boy’s name I will always think of bleach, the girl’s, a 70’s tv show. 😉

@bijouxbroussard

For Ajax you need to watch Duckman - a short-lived but brilliant/edgy cartoon show with Jason Alexander voicing the lead duck.

@pride49 I remember on Yahoo! Answers, over in the Baby Names section, people would ask about names that were that awful, if not worse. A lot of them had to be joke questions, but there were some who legitimately thought it was smart to come up with these names. I would always respond anonymously, saying, "As a child psychologist with two mortgages, I strongly recommend you give that name to your child."

@Dewms
Girl whyyyy

@mindstruggle ugly name ate ahahaahhaahah

@Ducky Archie is a cool name

@ChipmunkErnie The book and the tv series also got people talking about the reality that was the U.S. participation in the slave trade and what followed afterwards.

Now, in my community it had always been discussed , because my parents’ generation had known elderly family members who had been born enslaved. In 1976, when the book first came out, there were still people living whose parents had been slaves; the history isn’t as far away as folks like to pretend.


But what was different was, for the first time, white people were also speaking about it seriously.

That this specific story didn’t happen doesn’t change the fact the people were captured and brought on ships in chains to this country, and sold. That is documented fact, and its legacy remains.

@bijouxbroussard Never said the story didn't create discussion, just that it was NOT the historical truth it was first presented as so far as being the true story of Haley's family. And it wasn't the first time ALL white people spoke/took slavery and it's history seriously. Perhaps the white people you knew, but I grew up in an educated household. ROOTS was an extremely emotional TV experience, but bit wasn't news to anyone in my family, though we knew more of the Holocaust to be fair, since half the family is Jewish.

Re the captured and brought on ships, very true -- but the capturing was done by other Africans, not by whites. Not too long after ROOTS there were plans for a similar international production re the history of the slave trade, but the US backers reportedly dropped their funding when they discovered a major part of the story dealt with black slavers selling their fellow blacks in Africa.

@ChipmunkErnie I’m not arguing with you, simply relating my specific experiences and observations when the book and series came out.

But a big part of the racism that persists in our country and nationwide is the idea that Africans selling other Africans and having the institution of slavery in their countries somehow justified Europeans and Americans purchasing and selling Africans.

And unfortunately that IS why people need to make that point, in spite of the facts that A.In African countries there were tribal differences between slavers and enslaved. (Same way Europeans have different nationalities.)
and B. Americans were still bringing Africans for sale into the United States after the 1807 law prohibiting further importations.

The story of slavery in Africa and African slavers does need to be told. But it is probably closer to the stories of how slavery looked in places like Rome or Greece.

It is definitely not the same story as what happened in the United States, and cannot be compared, because here it was solely about race.

@BohoBabe
Epstein Goldfinger would be more appropriate.

@swirlie Jews do love gold.

@BohoBabe
Actually, gold is the catalyst that makes the world go around!

@bijouxbroussard

Jimmy Stewart's mom in that Christmas movie... Beulah Bondi.

@rinkydinkydoink I remember this actress.

Identifying at least 5 actors in any old movie is a favorite pastime of mine. It's a pleasurable addiction.

Bondi steals many a scene so she is easy to remember for sure :D