Bongo and Mich.Ro sent this my way yesterday. It took vested effort for me not to throw a hissy fit at work. Tried to sleep on it, but no, it’s still absolutely ridiculous.

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions (Fair person that I am.), but let me just say this. I actually do believe that Betty Brown’s statement is not racially motivated. I think it’s stupid-motivated, that is to say, it is entirely founded on stupid. (I know that the correct form of the word in that sentence is “stupidity,” but come on, who has the time to write “stupidity” when we’re dealing with hundreds of busy readers? Right? Don’t you appreciate my making it easier for you?) She clearly lacks any base of understanding that:

1. Asians aren’t the only ones with “complicated” names.
2. The world and its individuals’ names are not based on an Anglo alphabet, nor formed by Christian roots.
3. “Complicated” names are not a “problem,” period.

This is ignorance in a most supreme form. I question if this Brown Bitch (Because saying “Brown Bitch” cuts off an entire syllable! My fingers shiver in fear every time I have to type more syllables than I have to.) has ever ventured outside of Texas. Were Brown Bitch ever to make the trip to Indonesia, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t bother trying to “adopt” an Indonesian name. (Unless she’s into that whole touristy keychain-with-a-name-on-it thing.) She’s promoting assimilation in a country that is not comprised of homogeneous constituents. Her proposal immediately shuttled me back to the days of slavery when “Cotton” denoted the White family’s industry and was forced upon the slaves who made that plantation operate. She may as well have said, “Can you please just change your last name to ‘Chinese?’”

If you really want to get into it, I say Jews, Russians, the British English (They don’t pronounce “aluminum” the same way Americans do, and quite frankly, it’s confusing.), Polish, and French (Their rs are so tricky. I once came across a “Delacroix” in a book and I was like “WTF is that?”) should all simplify their names, too. And what about those Serbs? “Blagojevich?” Come on!

Finally, she’s just a frightening lady. I’d prefer it if her face, complicated with wrinkles and Wet n Wild lipstick, were just simplified and kept under a paper bag. For the good of the people. That’s right, Brown Bitch. You’ve single-handedly embarrassed all of Texas. And your face offends me.

Lawmaker defends comment on Asians

Call for voters to simplify their names not racially motivated, Terrell Republican says

By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

April 9, 2009, 11:58AM

For the Chronicle

Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, made the remark during House testimony on Tuesday.

AUSTIN — A North Texas legislator during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”

The comments caused the Texas Democratic Party on Wednesday to demand an apology from state Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell. But a spokesman for Brown said her comments were only an attempt to overcome problems with identifying Asian names for voting purposes.

The exchange occurred late Tuesday as the House Elections Committee heard testimony from Ramey Ko, a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans.

Ko told the committee that people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent often have problems voting and other forms of identification because they may have a legal transliterated name and then a common English name that is used on their driver’s license on school registrations.

Easier for voting?

Brown suggested that Asian-Americans should find a way to make their names more accessible.

“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?” Brown said.

Brown later told Ko: “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?”

Democratic Chairman Boyd Richie said Republicans are trying to suppress votes with a partisan identification bill and said Brown “is adding insult to injury with her disrespectful comments.”

Brown spokesman Jordan Berry said Brown was not making a racially motivated comment but was trying to resolve an identification problem.

Berry said Democrats are trying to blow Brown’s comments out of proportion because polls show most voters support requiring identification for voting. Berry said the Democrats are using racial rhetoric to inflame partisan feelings against the bill.

“They want this to just be about race,” Berry said.