2y ago

Australian journalist calls her baby ‘Methamphetamine Rules’ as a test of naming regulations

www.theguardian.com

23 comments

“A name registered at birth remains on the NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages Register forever,” the spokesperson said. “Even if the name is formally changed.”
nice way to fuck your kid up for your 5 minutes of journalism fame there.....
- If the name is formally changed, who cares? It's their stupid register that is fucked up forever.
  Plus, while it would be awkward as a kid, I could totally rock that name now that I am older.
  
  It'll come up every time you need official government documentation. Something like "Have you been known under other names?"
  Getting married? It'll come up.
  Need a police clearance for work? It'll come up.
  Need a Working with Children check for work? It'll come up.
  Getting a visa to work/travel overseas? It'll come up.
  Yes, it can be explained away. But I can see this costing the kid jobs, at the very least. Some employers might ask the candidate to explain this, Others might just not bother.
  
  As an adult it would be the story everybody heard as I introduced myself, "my birth name was methamphetamine rules and I'm being 100% serious"
  
  Might turn into a Streetlamp Le Moose situation.
- You have a great point, they could have at least chosen a ridiculous name that wasn't quite as life ruining.
  
  "Life ruining" is pretty extreme.
- transphobia: not even once
- what is this nsw register used for? why would it matter if their name is legally changed? who would see it, apart for maybe people running police checks and credit reports?
  Also, please everybody reading this, go and watch the show they reference, What The FAQ (WTFAQ) on ABC iView. It's fantastic!
I'm kind of astonished.
Why would she think the name "methamphetamine" is not in the public interest?
It seems absolutely absurd to me that she thought someone would see that and just go "nope, I'm gonna change that to john".
Obviously the agency would only choose a name in exceptional circumstances, like if mum died in childbirth and there were no surviving relatives or some such.
Also yeah, there's a bunch of processes which involve listing previous names. His birth certificate will have that name. Try applying for citizenship in UAE or South East Asia (unlikely as that may be). Or more to the point, don't use your kid in an experiment for work at all ever.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
It’s a question many wanted answered by the ABC’s new show What the FAQ, says Kirsten Drysdale, a journalist at the public broadcaster.
She submitted his given name to New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages as “Methamphetamine Rules”.
They said they had strengthened the registry’s process in response to this “highly unusual event”, and would be working with the family to change the name.
She had reached out to the registry for answers to her show’s segment on what names can be legally given to a baby in Australia which will air on Wednesday.
The spokesperson for NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages said it “does not choose what name parents give a child”.
It also will not approve given names that are more than 50 characters, include symbols, or an official title or rank such as princess, Queen, or goddess.
The original article contains 474 words, the summary contains 141 words. Saved 70%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Only slightly worse than techno mechanicus
- Shit name for a kid, flawless name for the future Fabricator General.

23 comments