What's In a Name?

First, more bits and pieces...

If you know a Union member, it wouldn’t hurt to stop and say “Thank You!” this weekend. For the last 100+ years, labor unions have fought for reasonable working hours, safe working conditions, and a whole host of other things we take for granted in our terribly misnamed “Right to Work” states.

As your Captain and First Mate prepare for a long Labor Day weekend at and on the lake (with only a few minor interruptions from my work), I have been working on The Tiki Hut trying to get the water system up and running. We ignored it last year – I had other, more pressing, matters to attend to.

Like the engine… and the throttle… and learning how to drive her… and how to dock her…

I tackled the water system this Summer, as soon as the engine was replaced. And here we are knocking on the door to September and still no running water.

The first attempt to fill the water tank revealed a crack in the holding tank, most likely created by the mechanics as they replaced the engine.

After a conscientious search for the appropriate material to repair the breach, your Captain settled on a tube of that “as seen on TV” stuff.

You know what I’m talking about… the commercial where that guy installs a screen door in the bottom of his dinghy and coats it with this waterproof stuff.

So far it is holding…

Tonight I returned to check for leaking connections and discovered there is another crack in the tank, an older one, previously coated with panel adhesive or some similar stuff that had long since lost its will to hold.

So now that is repaired. What next?

We cast off tomorrow. Wish us luck!

But that is not what I am writing about tonight.

On Facebook today, George Takei shared an article about how a person’s name might be detrimental to one finding a job. While not necessarily new, it was interesting to revisit that topic.

Back in 2004, ABC News did a report on this very topic. It is as true today as it was then.

They found that HR people judge job applicants by the name on the resume – long before they ever initiate an interview. Thus, a woman named Lakisha has less of a chance of getting an interview than a woman named Emily.

Which is why I go by “The Captain”!

Who wouldn’t hire a Captain?

University of Chicago did a survey and discovered that a person’s name matters. They had people submit identical resumes under different names; those with white-sounding names were called for interviews 50% more often than those with black-sounding names.

Racism, pure and simple.

And some HR people said they were given specific directions to not call applicants with unusual-sounding names.

Because black people…

Sadly, the take-away from the Takei article was not that HR people need to stop doing this. No, the article suggested that parents should be careful what they name their children. Forget about ethnicity or heritage; aim for a white-sounding name – “as close to John Smith as possible”, to ensure their kids will have a chance in the job market later on.

Yep. It’s the parents’ fault.

SMH!

Interesting enough, racism isn’t the only factor holding people back. Stereotypes have developed around certain names – white names – from a number of sources.

Take, for instance, television shows. When “South Park” introduced “Timmy”, a lot of men with perfectly good names were immediately stereotyped.

And when was the last time you met someone named “Festus”?

There are other perfectly good names ruined by current events. It has been found that since 1996 there has been 223 convicted killers with the middle name “Wayne”:

John Wayne Gacy

Elmer Wayne Henley

Monty Wayne Lamb

One might steer away from that combination.

On a more positive note, celebrities’ names also tend to create a stereotype. For example, if your daughter is named “Emma”, one might assume she is beautiful, like Emma Stone or Emma Watson.

And then there are the general stereotypes, simply because someone met a person with a particular character trait and ignorantly assume that all people with that name are the same.

For example, according to Reddit:

-if your name is Kyle, people might assume you are a druggie.

-Guys named “Mike” are generally considered assholes.

-Barb is a slightly-overweight, middle-aged office worker who has been at the job forever but has never advanced… and she’s okay with that.

-Crystal is white trash, possibly a stripper – as are Bryttani, Tyffani, and Brandi (when spelled like that).

-Bertha is a fat woman.

-Trey is a spoiled rich kid.

-Anyone named Lance is gay.

That is, according to stereotypes.

A few years back the Captain checked into my own given name. The common stereotype was that guys named “Dave” are either bartenders or used car salesmen.

Curious.

That doesn’t take into account musicians like Dave Matthews or Dave Grohl, or the unfortunate astronaut in “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

Then there’s my favorite Cheech & Chong skit...

So, what’s in a name?

Only what you make of it.

But it would be sad to miss an opportunity to meet or work with someone really neat because you judged them solely on their name.

Bits and Pieces

The Captain presided at a funeral today.

Yes, I wore a necktie.

That fact was not lost on several people with whom I came into contact over the last three days.

Some people naively think funerals are relatively simple affairs. Not so for the immediate family – who must make a thousand irreversible decisions within a few short days. And not so for the pastor, who must meet with the family, provide comfort in their grief, prepare and deliver an appropriate worship service (often for a person/family we do not know), and coordinate a meal for the family to follow.

Have you ever driven in a funeral procession for 50 miles... at 40 mph?

So that was my weekend.

Lacking the mental capacity right now to think up something really creative, the Captain will simply offer to you snippets of my reality.

Since last I wrote, the irritating rash I’ve suffered since May is slowly going away. A visit to a dermatologist (finally!) resulted in a diagnosis of “eczema”.

The First Mate is not convinced, but the prescribed ointment has been effective.

Unfortunately, there is no “cure” for eczema, and small, itchy spots continue to pop up. The rash appears to be migrating north, now mostly affecting my face and scalp (although not as severely as it did my leg).

Fear not: it is not contagious.

Also since last I wrote, the world has lost some very precious people:

Singer Aretha Franklin (8/16)

Playwright Neil Simon (Sunday)

TV personality Robin Leach (Friday)

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (8/18)

And then there was Arizona Senator John McCain who died from a brain tumor on Saturday.

McCain graduated from the Naval Academy and was a naval aviator during the Vietnam War. His plane was shot down in October 1967 and he was held prisoner until the war ended in 1973. Upon returning home, he entered politics – first as a Representative, then as a Senator. He ran for President in 2008 against Barack Obama… and inadvertently unleashed upon the world Caribou Barbie.

For whatever reason, McCain and President Trumpf never hit it off; during the presidential campaign, Trumpf declared McCain was not a war hero – because heroes don’t get captured! The relationship continued to erode to the point that, upon McCain’s death, Trumpf refused to issue an official letter of condolence from the White House and did not order flags to be lowered to half-staff (although most people did so automatically); and McCain requested former President Obama speak at his funeral… and Trumpf is not invited!

As Jim Wright over at Stonekettle Station noted, wouldn’t it be ironic if Trumpf got the military parade he wanted… only it was the funeral procession for John McCain!

Don’t expect lauds for McCain from the Captain, despite the Captain's rule, "The enemy of your enemy is your friend". People called the Republican Senator a “maverick”. In reality, he was simply unpredictable, often voting with his party, but sometimes upsetting their plans.

And finally, Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater – a paramilitary security firm – is back in the news. 

No, he didn't die.

The baby brother of Education Secretary Betsey DeVos launched a media blitz (read: FOX News) trying to convince President Trumpf to turn over the malingering Afghanistan War to him. He claims he could win the war quickly with 6,000 of his specially-trained mercenaries operatives.

Think of all the money this would save us… out of our $700 billion defense budget…

Prince proposed a War Czar who would answer directly to the President… to cut out all the red tape and expensive bureaucracy that burdens our military forces.

Captain’s Note: The U.S. government frequently employs private security firms to handle jobs like protecting embassies, escorting dignitaries, etc. But as yet, none (to my knowledge) have been used in front-line combat.

The Captain can see THOUSANDS of flaws with this idea, not the least of which includes the numerous occasions in the past that Blackwater mercenaries employees have ignored international laws and fired upon civilians.

With the above-proposed chain of command, who would hold them accountable? And what other purposes might this President find for his own private army?

As for cost-effectiveness, in 2007 the congressional Committee for Oversight and Government Reform found that we were paying Blackwater $1,222 per day per guard ($445,000 per year) – six time the cost of a typical U.S. soldier.

Captain's Note: If you do the math, 6,000 mercenaries would cost $7.3 million per day. A month-long campaign would cost $219.9 million. Annually, we would be out more than $2.6 billion.

And then there is the familial relationship between Prince and Betsey DeVos.

The plan just stinks.

And that's coming from a Pirate!

Hopefully Congress will find a back-bone before turning over its Constitutional powers of war-making to a group of mercenaries.