Naming Names?

The TimesDaily is one publication that makes no secret of its love for Hispanic immigrants, yet it never fails to get their names wrong. Why? One simple memo to writers should take care of the problem...

John Jones marries Mary Smith. They soon produce little Billy. In the English speaking world, Billy would usually be called "Billy Jones." In the Spanish speaking world, Billy would be called "Billy Jones Smith" and addressed as "Mr. Jones," as well as referred to as simply "Jones" in news accounts.

We were looking at accounts of a local Hispanic pedophile in two publications. Pedro Ramirez Rocha has been arrested in Franklin County for sexually abusing a young child. One online publication called him Ramirez, while another called him Rocha. If you guessed it was the TD who named him incorrectly as Rocha you would be right.

Perhaps the TD writers aren't as cosmopolitan as its editor would like for us to think?

*****

Sexual abuse is everywhere...unfortunately. Percentage wise, more immigrants seem to commit this crime than locals. It could obviously be just a case of these abusers being too obtuse to cover their tracks, but it could also be part of a larger culture. Something to think about...

(Lest any readers see the above item as bigoted, the age for marriage of girls in Mexico is 14 in the majority of states, and many indigenous tribes allow marriage at the first sign of puberty. Bigoted? No. Culture Clash? Definitely.)



Shoalanda