Because they think differently from you?
What is really objectionable the co-worker’s statement in the OP is that it presupposes that parents should sacrifice their right to make a personal decision as intimate as naming their child for the sake of economic viability. Did it occur to anyone that maybe Shaquanda’s parents don’t put her economic viability above all else? Maybe they value Shaquanda’s repore with her neighbors, friends, and family, poor as they may be. Maybe they don’t put economic viability above all else either.
jawdirk. Economic viability doesn’t come from a name. It comes from how you manage the money you earn, the wealth you invest, or the assets you inherit.
Right, and how much money you earn. I’m talking about the opinion in the OP:
I assume that “advance in the world” is referring to economic viability. Did you read that some other way?
What I’m saying is that what is offensive about the opinion in the OP is the implication that everything a parent does, down to naming their child, should be to improve their ability to “advance in the world.” Whether a child’s name actually effects their ability to “advance in the world” is irrelevant to my point.
Here’s how I see it. There are some people who will be prejudiced against a persons name (or any other number of superficial characteristics) for whatever reason. This may or may not make things more difficult for that child when they enter the job market. As a parent, you should try to find a balance between your right to name a kid whatever you want and the reality that people may pre-judge you one your name.
Corporate America generally likes a kind of upper middle class, regionally and ethnicly neutral manner about their employees. I remember a public speaking trainer one of my employers hired giving a talk on how you can get by without fixing an accent if it was a “prestige” accent (IOW, accents like English or French that supposedly indicate intelligence and culture). She was right but only because there’s enough idiots like her who care about that stuff.