From the “I can’t believe they’re stupid enough to say that!” files:

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 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.

…

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.

Read the entire story here. Needless to say, there are so many things wrong with that remark that an Asian-American would not know which part to be more offended by.

Here’s the thing: Speaking as a Chinese-American, it does make sense in a lot of situations to adopt an American name. My Chinese first name has two X’s, one of the hardest consonants for Westerners to pronounce (there is simply no English equivalent). When I came to America, my elementary school teacher suggested that I consider picking an American name to help me better assimilate into society. In many ways, it has. One of my recurring pleasures in life for the last 20 years has been to watch people I just met stumble left and right trying to pronounce my Chinese name and then bashfully apologize for butchering it. It doesn’t bother me. I always just smile and tell them it’s ok, followed by “I go by ‘John’”. I appreciate the effort they make to try to pronounce my Chinese name, but I’m also thankful, for them and for myself, that they don’t have to try to wrestle with it every time they just want to say hi to me in the hall, as it would serve as a constant reminder that somehow we are different even though it is such a superficial divide.

That said, what leaves me speechless about this particular incident is the utter stupidity and insensitivity the legislator displayed. Yes, I go by an American name to make life easier for myself and others, but I also take great pride in my Chinese name as it is part of my heritage. When I became a U.S. citizen, I had the chance to change my legal name to whatever I wanted, yet I opted to keep it, even if it means having to clarify that I have a different legal name every time I fill out paperwork or having to listen to customer service reps butcher my name every time they pull up my account information. To suggest that Asians adopt American names just because poll workers can’t bother to spend an extra 30 seconds getting a name right is just asking for a spanking in the realm of public opinion.

In fact, this remark is so idiotic that even though I’m not all that offended from a race perspective, I would act enraged just to punish this legislator for being stupid enough to not consider how her comment would be received. I’m no big fan of political correctness, but these are the times we live in, and it’s shocking to see a politician say something like this seemingly without any warning lights going off in the back of her mind.

I’m reminded of a recent exchange with my wife about new restaurants in the area:

Her: Hey look, they’re getting a Cat in the Kettle and a Chinese restaurant.

Me (deadpan): What’s the difference?

(Slight pause … and then we both have a good laugh)

Ok, maybe that was funny, maybe not. But in any case, it was something that would probably elicit pretty different reactions if it were said by a Chinese person vs. a white person. Face it: There are just some things a white person can’t say to or about Asians without coming off as racist in this particular time in human society, and a public official should be aware of that.

By the way, since I have already adopted an American name to make non-Asian Americans’ lives easier, I’m wondering if they can do something to help me with my problem: I can’t tell white people apart. It’s a problem I’ve struggled with ever since I came to the U.S. I try to hide it by smiling politely and nodding acknowledgingly when I’m in the company of white people, acting like I know Ben from Jerry. But after a time, it just wears on you.

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On a related note, a lot of people in China are giving themselves English names (presumably to make white American pollworkers’ job easier in case they emigrate to America):