# The international Pumpkin saga. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 20, 2007, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858 "2007-09-20T09:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/21 "2007-09-20T17:05:21Z")
Calling a little asian girl pumpkin is worse than Hitler, or so I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/22 "2007-09-20T17:21:07Z")
I’ve been referring to her in conversation here at work as Chinkygook McLoveYouLongTime. That wouldn’t be considered racist, would it? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/23 "2007-09-20T17:24:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ghanima] Calling a little asian girl pumpkin is worse than Hitler, or so I’ve heard. [/QUOTE] Who ever called Hitler “pumpkin”? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/24 "2007-09-20T17:24:53Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] I’ve been referring to her in conversation here at work as Chinkygook McLoveYouLongTime. That wouldn’t be considered racist, would it? [/QUOTE] No, that would be considered freakin’ hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/25 "2007-09-20T17:25:54Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] Who ever called Hitler “pumpkin”? [/QUOTE] Eva Braun? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/26 "2007-09-20T17:28:16Z")
[QUOTE=Pleonast] What I wonder is: why were police not waiting for the father when he got off the plane in LA? It must be a 16-18 hour flight from Australia to LA. Didn’t they have the girl identified before then? They should have been waiting for him for questioning, even if they didn’t have enough to arrest him at that point. The police have not shown much competence on this case. [/QUOTE] ::: Sigh::: Perhaps if you read the [link](http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22449709-2,00.html) in the OP for detail, you would know why. The girl was abandoned last Saturday (sept 15th if you don’t have a calendar handy) > [@](#): > > Their three-year-old daughter Qian Xun Xue was found abandoned at Melbourne’s Southern Cross railway station on Saturday. The arrest warrant was issued on September 20th. > [@](#): > > **Arrest warrant for Pumpkin’s dad** > > By staff writers and wires > September 20, 2007 02:35pm… > POLICE in New Zealand today issued an arrest warrant for Nai Yin Xue, By the time he had landed in LA the police in Melbourne had not yet identified the little girl. [Cite](http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22426808-29277,00.html) So the cops are not competent because they are not psychic? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/27 "2007-09-20T17:29:07Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] [Quote=Hentor the Barbarian] Who ever called Hitler “pumpkin”? [/quote] Eva Braun? [/QUOTE] Goebbels? ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/28 "2007-09-20T17:38:23Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Eva Braun? [/QUOTE] You’re thinking of “liebchen.” > [@](#): > > But it’s sure easier for Westerners to pronounce than Xun Xue. Oddly enough, _that_ is pronounced “pumpkin.” ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/29 "2007-09-20T17:39:11Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] I’ve been referring to her in conversation here at work as Chinkygook McLoveYouLongTime. That wouldn’t be considered racist, would it? [/QUOTE] Mc?!?? :mad: You got a problem with Scots? You racist bastid! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/30 "2007-09-20T17:55:06Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] ::: Sigh::: Perhaps if you read the [link](http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22449709-2,00.html) in the OP for detail, you would know why. The girl was abandoned last Saturday (sept 15th if you don’t have a calendar handy) The arrest warrant was issued on September 20th. By the time he had landed in LA the police in Melbourne had not yet identified the little girl. [Cite](http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22426808-29277,00.html) So the cops are not competent because they are not psychic? :eek: [/QUOTE] None of the links indicate whether she identified before or after her father would have arrived in LA. Which is why I was asking “Didn’t they have the girl identified before then?”. I haven’t found any news report saying exactly when the police knew who she was. They could have questioned him about his daughter upon arrival in LA, even without any warrants. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/31 "2007-09-20T18:13:11Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Goebbels? [/QUOTE] Chamberlain? ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/32 "2007-09-20T18:31:53Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/33 "2007-09-20T18:33:53Z")
[QUOTE=Ms. Pumpkin] … [/QUOTE] You McLoveMeLongTime? Awesome! ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/34 "2007-09-20T18:37:01Z")
I would just like to point out that referring to this whole affair as a “saga” is deeply offensive to people from Iceland. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/35 "2007-09-20T18:39:17Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] I would just like to point out that referring to this whole affair as a “saga” is deeply offensive to people from Iceland. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but who cares about those turnips? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/36 "2007-09-20T18:51:05Z")
So it seems I was wrong in that other thread - the family name is Xue, which means her Chinese given name is Qian Xun. “Pumpkin” is an adorable nickname, though. The fuss about the name reminds me of the Madeleine McCann case, where the papers insist on calling her “Maddie”, even though, apparently, the family has never used that name. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/37 "2007-09-20T19:27:16Z")
[QUOTE=kambuckta] A_aaand_ another thing: One day, when Qian is old enough to want to look into her past history and find out what happened to her mum and dad, she might look at these newspaper reports and find that she had a little ‘nickname’. And I can bet you a shitload that she would find it less offensive than you are making it out to be now **blinking**. She might actually derive some comfort that a city (and then a country/two countries and then a third and FOURTH country) cared enough about her and the murder of her mother to help fix things up. You were an idiot the first time I encountered you on this board…how come you haven’t grown a brain in the meantime??? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Maybe you should save your anger for the girl’s father. Or do you have an unlimited supply ? I was not saying that the name ‘pumpkin’ is a racial slur. What I am saying is that it seems racist to keep calling her ‘pumpkin’ days after her real name is known. If the little girl was not of Chinese ancestry, I cannot see this happening. And if a similar incident happened in China I cannot see people putting up with similar treatment of a kid.( Imagine if all the media was calling Madeleine McCann ‘Cherrypop’ ) ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/38 "2007-09-20T19:50:52Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I was not saying that the name ‘pumpkin’ is a racial slur. What I am saying is that it seems racist to keep calling her ‘pumpkin’ days after her real name is known. If the little girl was not of Chinese ancestry, I cannot see this happening. [/QUOTE] Then you’re irrationally deluding yourself so you can manufacture outrage. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/39 "2007-09-20T19:57:18Z")
[QUOTE=CandidGamera] Then you’re irrationally deluding yourself so you can manufacture outrage. [/QUOTE] Yes, there are enough people of Chinese descent in Australia that the media, and people in general, would not regard them as being particularly “odd”. Names like “Pumpkin” just stick regardless of ethnicity, and would be equally appropriate for a young girl of Aboriginal or of European descent. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858/40 "2007-09-20T20:07:25Z")
Aw crap! I’ve been calling my buddy’s kid “Spud”. What have I done??? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-international-pumpkin-saga/419858.md?page=3)