How White People Subtly Reinforce White Supremacy When They Laugh at Black Names

[Prism]

111. We do both

There's no denying there's a strain of racist humor that white people engage in when it comes to black names. Even mainstream sitcoms will do it. I'm a big fan of 30 Rock, but there are several incidents where they'll poke at black names (Two examples off the top of my head include Kenneth returning to his high school reunion at an all black high school, and a black telemarketer from Time Warner cable). But they also have a go at white people ridiculousness, like when Liz and Jack tussle over the fact Liz's new boyfriend spells his name Criss. "I'm saying his name with an H and only one S!"

But white people can be merciless against other white people when a child is given what is, in their eyes, a silly name. I listen to the radio every morning during my commute, and they do a little celebrity news and gossip segment. When white celebrities have children, if the child's name is something different (Gwynneth Paltrow, I'm looking at you), it comes in for a fair bit of mockery.

It's sort of amazing how effective we can be at otherizing, often with class or social distinctions even within a racial group. Suburban soccer moms are a favorite target of other white people, usually using the child's unusual name to criticize what they see as suburban white people who coddle and elevate their children's preciousness. (Edit: Or look at the Palins. We ripped their children's names as a tidy way of calling them white trash).

And then there's the racist asshats who, when relaying an encounter with, say, a black customer service employee, will denigratingly fabricate a name. "So I got on the phone and had to deal with Sheniquonda *eye roll*"

Yeah, this kind of racism is a thing, and I hear it all the time.