This thread has totally gotten off track
No one is saying that you can't name your kid whatever you want.
They are saying that parents should probably (emphasis on probably, because we can't force anyone to do this) think about the name they chose for their child and how it might effect them in the future.
NO ONE can deny that studies have been done. The one I read and saw on 20/20 was with african americans who had what people would consider "typical" african american names. These participants put up the same resume on monster.com. The resumes with their "white" names (i.e. Michelle, Heather, David) got more hits than the "real" resumes. Of course every company was told at the end about the study and they all released statements that they "don't discriminate".
But guess what we live in a world that discriminates.
People will discriminate until the end of time. We can't change that. They are going to discriminate on your name, the color of your skin, the color your eyes or hair. They will discriminate on whether you have money or not. The type of clothes you wear.
What people are arguing is that parents should think about this and give their children a name that might eliminate some of the discrimination. That they should think about it ahead of time.
Does that mean they have to? NO
Does that mean
everyone has to agree with that line of thought? NO
But yet people are still arguing over the point!
It's totally fine if people don't want to think about the names and how it might effect their child in the future. But it is also fine for people to think about the name and how it might effect their child in the future