3-year-old Hitler can't get name on cake

[daleduke17]

I am impressed, daleduke17. Seriously, I am. However, the power to derail a thread is still insignificant next to the power of the force.

I'll suggest that, if you'd like to debate dispensation of medications against the will of the person holding said medication, you might wish to do so in a thread more appropriate to the topic, such as this one.

No, I'm not really wanting to discuss dispensing medications, so, pointing out a relevant thread was irrelevant.

This is a cake. Not potentially life-saving, doctor-prescribed medication.

A cake.

That's right, it was a cake. But there was nothing derogatory on the cake, so why make a mountain out of a molehill? The employee should have wrote what was requested, or passed it to a different employee to fill the order. We all have to do tasks we don't feel comfortable doing at work.

These people were assholes when they named their children,

So was Gwen Stefani, Gweneth Paltrow, Tom Cruise and Frank Zappa in my opinion. But it was their choice to name their kids what they did. Is "Aryan Nation" the most well thought out name? No. But was it their choice? Yes. If the kids don't like it, they can change their name when they're 18 (or whatever the age of majority is in New Jersey).

[Rapscallion]

So was Gwen Stefani, Gweneth Paltrow, Tom Cruise and Frank Zappa in my opinion. But it was their choice to name their kids what they did. Is "Aryan Nation" the most well thought out name? No. But was it their choice? Yes. If the kids don't like it, they can change their name when they're 18 (or whatever the age of majority is in New Jersey).

Those people were doing it to get notoriety for themselves, and I think it was abusive towards their children, but they were also able to pay for private tutelage.

Rapscallion

[the_std]

So was Gwen Stefani, Gweneth Paltrow, Tom Cruise and Frank Zappa in my opinion. But it was their choice to name their kids what they did. Is "Aryan Nation" the most well thought out name? No. But was it their choice? Yes. If the kids don't like it, they can change their name when they're 18 (or whatever the age of majority is in New Jersey).

Zuma Stefani, Apple Blythe Paltrow and Moses Bruce Anthony Paltrow, Suri Cruise and Moon Unit Zappa. None of those names have the emotional stigma and immediate negative recall that Adolf Hitler has. And the whole "if they don't like it, they can change their name" thing? Eighteen years is more than enough time for the public to mess you up for good, and your chances of that happening with a name like Adolf Hitler are way higher than if you have a name like Apple.

[AdminAssistant]

Regarding Hitler vs. Stalin, PolPot, Hussein, etc. I paraphrase Mr. Eddie Izzard:

"They killed their own people. And we're sort of fine with that. Hitler killed people next door. Stupid man. After a couple of years, we're not going to allow that!"

Anyone at all interested in Hitler should watch Triumph of the Will. Fascinating and frightening. The German people honestly believed in him.

Stalin was responsible for the deaths of many many millions of people. He completely and totally indoctrinated the Russian people. And we helped him. We...Helped...Stalin. PolPot - we looked the other way. We didn't get involved in WWII until we were personally attacked. How ridiculous!

Sorry, that's OT. These are attention-seeking racist assholes that are forcing their views on their children. However...the best thing the employee could have done is just done the damn cake. By refusing the order, the employee gave this family of idiots the very thing they wanted: ATTENTION. These people, like Fred Phelps, need to be ignored. Every time they cry, "Help, help, I'm being oppressed!" just say, "hm, that's nice. And in other news..."

[AFPheonix]

I don't know, I think making the cake without a fuss validated them more.

Now, if they made the cake and put a Star of David on it with a happy Mozel Tov!, I would have been pretty amused.

[rdp78]

Yep, I have to say to the parents WTF? You named your son after one of the most horrific monsters in history and you named your daughter after a racist organization. Y'll say you're not racist but yet your children have what society considers racist names and you are from what I have heard proud to show it off. I mean you wanted the supermarket to write little Adolf Hitler's full name on there and well, they didn't want to do it because well, they had brains. I mean you could just have Adolf on it and be done with it. When you didn't get your way you made a big fuss over it and pretty much made y'll look the bad guys. I mean do you think you are giving your children a fair shot when you named them these names and think society will treat them as everyone else. Well, your children are still young but society will still not be forgiving.

Okay, my little rant is over. But these people are really fucked up and they think that just because they aren't racist as they put it their way but yet they named their kids Adolf Hitler and Aryan Nation (well, at least her first name is JoyceLynn). They also named their yougest child Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie was named after one of Hilter's henchmen (Heinrich Luitpold Himmler) so I doubt many people will know who this but I doubt it.

[Pedersen]

No, I'm not really wanting to discuss dispensing medications, so, pointing out a relevant thread was irrelevant.

Two points:
First, you are the one who brought it up. To directly quote you:

Yet employees should be forced to dispense medications that they don't feel comfortable dispensing.

If you do not wish to debate the topic, don't bring it up. No one will say anything about you needing to jump into the other debate if you don't bring it up.

Second, I had quite a bit more to say than that in my post. Apparently, either you feel that my entire point was too profound to be addressed, or too lame to be addressed. In either case, I'll address the rest of yours:

That's right, it was a cake. But there was nothing derogatory on the cake, so why make a mountain out of a molehill? The employee should have wrote what was requested, or passed it to a different employee to fill the order. We all have to do tasks we don't feel comfortable doing at work.

A statement does not have to be derogatory to be offensive. In fact, it's possible to make an entirely supportive statement that is extremely offensive. Allow me to provide an example:

"Adolf Hitler was a man with a vision for preserving the purity of races, and he pursued that vision with vigor. Furthermore, he felt that specific groups were responsible for much of the pain and suffering in the world, and he pursued those groups, doing everything in his power to remove them and their ability to cause pain and suffering."

Perfectly supportive. And totally offensive. In fact, if I had meant one word of that, I'd expect to receive some very unkind words from both other board members and from the moderators, in public and in private. Why? Because the sentiments expressed by those words is highly offensive.

Now, let's take this family's cake out of context: A random stranger comes into the store and asks for a birthday cake that reads "Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler". Would you have any way of knowing this was for his son, and not some sort of celebration by a group of neo-nazis? Now, suppose you make this cake, decorate it this way, and then someone else sees it in the checkout lane, or on its way out of the store. How would this person know that the cake was meant for a three year old, and not that same celebration I just described? (Hint: I know that the psychopath's birthday is April 20, mainly because of details about the Columbine shootings. How many others do?)

Again, you are stating that the store in question should ignore the feelings of the employees, the supervisors, and other members of the community, simply because you think they should. Furthermore, you are stating that the entire community is in the wrong, again because you think they are, since it's just words.

Words have power. They communicate thoughts and ideas from one person to another. Change the words, and change the thoughts. One simple example of the same thought expressed by two different groups of people: "Benedict Arnold was a traitor to the Americas, trying to keep them shackled to an oppressive monarchy an ocean away that cared nothing for them." ... or ... "Benedict Arnold was a hero to the monarchy, willing to sacrifice his own life to preserve the lawful government of the Americas."

Same story. Change the words, change the feelings. No matter how much you may like it, the name "Adolf Hitler" conveys a thought, and it is an overwhelmingly negative thought. At this point in history, the western world is not yet ready to change the meaning of the words. Demanding they do so simply on the say so of a small handful of people smacks of arrogance and self-righteousness.

And, for all of this, the worst victim in this is the 3 year old. For at least the next 15 years of his life, he will be forced to use this name that his parents chose for him. And the damage that will be done to his psyche by the school system will be incalculable. To him, I extend both pity and sympathy.

[Slytovhand]

"Adolf Hitler was a man with a vision for preserving the purity of races, and he pursued that vision with vigor. Furthermore, he felt that specific groups were responsible for much of the pain and suffering in the world, and he pursued those groups, doing everything in his power to remove them and their ability to cause pain and suffering."

Absolutely nothing wrong with that statement at all, and I'd hope you wouldnt' cop any flack for voicing it.

Now... agreeing with it is a different matter... Well, agreeing with the sentiment within it at any rate. I agree with said statement (pretty much - not sure how historically accurate it is though). It's a statement about how 1 person viewed his world, not how everyone else around them views that world. It is a statement of fact... not of opinion.

Oh, one slight change I'll make to your thesis - not a disagreement, but an addition... idiots have power

Dale was suffering from the same condition I often do... idealism. It would be nice for Hitler's name not to be an issue - but for the near future, it will.

Still - daddy neo-nazi is still a tosser! Hopefully the school said children go to will handle things intelligently...

[Pedersen]

Now... agreeing with it is a different matter... Well, agreeing with the sentiment within it at any rate. I agree with said statement (pretty much - not sure how historically accurate it is though). It's a statement about how 1 person viewed his world, not how everyone else around them views that world. It is a statement of fact... not of opinion.

That, though, is preciesly my point. The statement being made without an explicit condemnation of the sentiment expressed implies agreement with the sentiment. It becomes a supportive statement, and is extremely non-derogatory. And it is an extremely offensive sentiment to agree with.

As to accuracy, I'll admit to not knowing the mind of the man. From what I believe I know, though, that statement is rather accurate.

Oh, one slight change I'll make to your thesis - not a disagreement, but an addition... idiots have power

Actually, that's totally separate. Words themselves have the power to shape our thoughts. Idiots, though, do not. They do not have the vocabulary necessary to sway us.

When you stop and think about it, it's almost scary how easy it is to change someone's thoughts, just by changing the words you use. Consider these word and phrase pairs, and look at how society views them: pro-life/pro-choice, military action/terrorism, intelligence gathering/espionage, treason/hero.

They are not direct corollaries, not by a long shot. But, somewhere in the world, when someone uses one, someone else can use the other to describe the same action (well, except for pro-life/pro-choice).

Add in the first hearing advantage: If you first hear about someone being called a traitor, it will be much harder for you to change your mental associations later and call that person a hero (and vice versa).

No, it's not the idiots who have power, since they simply have the power of repetition. The words are the source of the power.

Dale was suffering from the same condition I often do... idealism. It would be nice for Hitler's name not to be an issue - but for the near future, it will.

Chances are very good that it will continue to be a problem for the rest of our lives, and even a bit beyond. In this country, Benedict Arnold is still used as an epithet (e.g.: "He's such a Benedict Arnold."). And that man was just a traitor. Well, to the US anyway. To the UK, he would have been viewed as a loyal servant of the government, possibly even a hero.

Adolf Hitler's legacy will live on long after our own lives have ended. And it's not a good one.

Still - daddy neo-nazi is still a tosser! Hopefully the school said children go to will handle things intelligently...

Lots of luck on that. Having been through the school system, and having seen that my sister (who might well be the worst possible candidate for teaching that I've ever seen) managed to become a teacher... I'm not exactly hopeful for how this poor child will turn out.

Oh, and here's another bitch of it all: Suppose for a minute that he does manage to go on to do something great, and worthy of note. How do you think the papers will report it? How do you think the history books will note it? Anything that kid does will be overshadowed by his namesake. He will have to change his name just to be able to be an individual.

I pity the kid more with time I think of the consequences of his name.

[protege]

Let's not forget one thing--the parents did it for attention. If it the cake was simply lettered "Happy Birthday Adolf" I don't think it would even be an issue. I mean, if it was just his first name, the kid could have been named for Adolf Galland, who was a German WWII fighter pilot. But no, they had to tag on "Hitler." In other words, they wanted the attention...and are now upset that the media has "intruded into their little bubble, but shown them to be the racist white trash that they are.

[Kyree]

That's right, it was a cake. But there was nothing derogatory on the cake, so why make a mountain out of a molehill?

Did everyone but me miss the part where they asked for swastikas on the cake?
"Karen Meleta, a spokeswoman for ShopRite, defended the supermarket. She said the Campbells had similar requests denied at the same store the last two years and said Heath Campbell previously had asked for a swastika to be included in the decoration."

After having asked for that, they have no ground to stand on saying that it's not racist.

Let's not forget one thing--the parents did it for attention. If it the cake was simply lettered "Happy Birthday Adolf" I don't think it would even be an issue. I mean, if it was just his first name, the kid could have been named for Adolf Galland, who was a German WWII fighter pilot. But no, they had to tag on "Hitler." In other words, they wanted the attention...and are now upset that the media has "intruded into their little bubble, but shown them to be the racist white trash that they are.

Exactly. I've never heard of someone putting their full name on a cake. Adolf is a fine name, but when you tack it onto that last name willingly, there's a problem. They just want a reaction, and sadly they got what they wanted.

[Pedersen]

I happen to shop at the Shop-Rite in question, stopping in there most weeks for whatever groceries we need. I decided to stop as customer service, and ask if this was the store in the story.

The poor woman behind the counter braced herself. I could see that she was expecting a ration of shit to be handed to her. She confirmed this was the same store, and I just said "Thank you. I'm glad your store refused them." and walked away.

Gotta feel bad for the employees. How much crap have they gotten over this?

[Slytovhand]

Good one Pedersen!!!

Actually - if you happen back in there again, tell them there's a large bunch of people on here who fully support them

[IDrinkaRum]

Adolf Hitler Campbell and his 2 sisters have been removed from their home


Because of abuse and neglect on the parts of the parents of Adolf Hitler Campbell and his sisters, the state of New Jersey has permanently removed them from their home.

[Greenday]

Adolf Hitler Campbell and his 2 sisters have been removed from their home


Because of abuse and neglect on the parts of the parents of Adolf Hitler Campbell and his sisters, the state of New Jersey has permanently removed them from their home.

Keep your fingers crossed for a name change people.