Why Can't Rafael Use His REAL Name?

[kpete]

Born
Rafael Edward Cruz; December 22, 1970 (age 44); Calgary, Alberta, Canada

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130818-ted-cruz-born-a-citizen-of-canada-under-the-countrys-immigration-rules.ece

[Scuba]

1. Only in America can a hispanic immigrant become a white supremacist.

[marmar]

7. You win the Internets!

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. Cruz isn't "Hispanic"

not as the term is commonly used in the USA, anyway (it usually means "Spanish-speaking person of largely Native Mexican/Latin American/South American or mestizo ancestry&quot . Cruz's grandfather was from Spain. Spaniards are not "Hispanic" as the term is commonly used in the USA, either.

[Scuba]

13. Thanks. The vast universe of my ignorance is now a tiny bit smaller!

[H2O Man]

39. See post #18

for the actual correct answer.

[marmar]

17. But his grandmother was Cuban, no?

[kiva]

18. Actually Hispanic is correct,

Latino would be incorrect.

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Hispanic_vs_Latino

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/difference-between-hispanic-latino-and-spanish_55a7ec20e4b0c5f0322c9e44

http://hispanichouston.com/hispanic-vs-latino-whats-the-difference/

I used three links because I think each makes some interesting distinctions.

[Scuba]

40. Oh great, I'm more ignorant than even I thought I was.

[kiva]

42. I used to use them

interchangeably, so finally looked them up a few months ago and discovered I'd been doing it wrong all along

[DFW]

70. I agree

I have lived in Spain, majored in the language in college. Even in Spain, "el mundo hispánico" is a term covering the Spanish-speaking world, including most of Spain and all of Cuba. Ironically, I lived in a part of Spain where the local language is NOT "Spanish (correctly, actually, Castilian)," so while our schooling WAS in "Spanish," as required by law in those days, everywhere else, people never spoke it among themselves.

[maxsolomon]

21. Nope. Hispanic = Spanish-speaking.

Also Latino, because they are from Latin (Spanish and Portuguese) America.

Rat-faced Rafael!

[Bucky]

23. Just about all ethnic categories are bullshit once you start to unravel the details scientifically

So, since it's a social construct and not a scientific definition, it's perfectly legit to call Cruz Hispanic as well as to call him Ted. No Democrat got onto Thomas Wilson for running as Woodrow; no Democrat cared that James Carter ran as Jimmy. We sure got pouty whenever Republicans mentioned Obama's middle name. It's a distraction.


Quit trafficking in petty distractions. With all the crazy-assed bullshit Cruz believes in, certainly you could find something worth talking about.

[liberalhistorian]

56. When I teach social science classes

it's always fascinating to see the reactions when we discuss race and ethnicity and I talk about how race is a social construct based on similar physical features, it's not biological, and how ethnicity simply means a shared culture, it has little to do with race or physical features/characteristics. They're often blown away by that. When we do a "pick the right race" exercise that NPR has, none of them ever get it right. It's really interesting.

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

60. That's very intriguing.

Do you have a link to the NPR exercise?

[Bucky]

67. Oh!! send me that NPR link!!

I tried googling and searching thru NPR's site, but couldn't find it

[WestSeattle2]

76. try this link

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/08/04/416827667/so-you-flunked-a-racism-test-now-what

[WestSeattle2]

77. Harvard link

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/index.jsp

[Baitball Blogger]

35. The US definition will probably be tweaked as the Latin American

community grows in the US. Their concept of personal identity will probably overrule the "conventional" definition.

Latin Americans view Hispanics as people who originated from Hispana, or Spain. Though, they would refer to them as Hispanoles. Thus, Cruz's grandfather would qualify as an Hispanic, in their viewpoint.

Latin Americans view themselves as...Latin Americans. That would include Central and South Americans.

I suspect that Mexican Americans are capable of holding onto their identity as Mexican Americans because of their geographic proximity and numbers.

[RedCappedBandit]

59. No - you're thinking of Latina/o

[Drahthaardogs]

61. David Chapel skit...

Blind KKK member does not know he is black. Parody become reality in the GOP.

[Politicsandhiphop]

2. Rafa Cruz sounds much cooler than Ted.

[Buzz Clik]

3. Cruz has a lot of vulnerabilities. This isn't one of them.

[Nye Bevan]

4. I don't know. Why did John Fitzgerald Kennedy go by "Jack"?

And Edward Moore Kennedy go by "Ted"?

Or indeed, why does Bernard Sanders use "Bernie"?

There are a million reasons to oppose Ted Cruz, but quibbling about his chosen moniker is pretty far down on the list.

[jeff47]

28. Ted is now short for Rafael?

[Ms. Yertle]

38. His middle name is Edward

and lots of people go by their middle name, and Ted can be a nickname for Edward. You know just like Edward (Ted) Kennedy.

If the only thing you can find to criticize about Cruz is the name he chooses to use, then I think you aren't thinking very deeply.

BTW, I also didn't have a problem with Jindal calling himself Bobby. People can call themselves anything they like. There are more important things by which to judge them.

[B2G]

44. And Rafael is also his father's name.

Why am I even posting to this thread?

[elehhhhna]

5. Would his nickname be Rafe or Phael (pronounced Fail)?

[2naSalit]

8. I LIKE that one!

[Bucky]

24. Standard Spanish diminutive for "Rafael" is "Rafa"

but I like "Fael Cruz" as nickname

[libdem4life]

27. I once dated a guy named Rafael, and he changed it to Ralph. That seemed a good Anglo

choice. He was Panamanian, so maybe it's different there.

Edit: I think the answer is pretty self-explanatory, but unfortunately it's been that way for decades with people immigrating. It's another form of accepting the culture of the country, also de-emphasizing the differences. Back in the day, kids would laugh at "strange" names or accents and life would be hard.

[Historic NY]

6. Will his nickname be allowed on the ballot?

[Person 2713]

11. Mitt Romney ? Did that go on ballot I can't remember

[Reter]

30. Yes

Same with Jimmy Carter.

[Person 2713]

58. Thanks I thought so but could not remember . Trying to forget Romney :)

[Xyzse]

12. That's actually quite interesting.

I wonder if some of his primary voters would recognize his name if they have to actually use his real name.

I wonder if "Ted Cruz" would then be a write in.

[Historic NY]

15. I know here where I lived a nickname cannot be used...

lots of write in ballots get spoiled when people do it.

Historically recognized abbreviations or nicknames for a candidate's given name are acceptable for use on the ballot, such as "Bill" for William, "Ned" for Edward, or "
Bob" for Robert, etc

Ted for Rafael

[Xyzse]

45. That is very true.

Well, I don't care that he uses Ted, but the idea of not being able to use a nick name for the ballot is interesting since I didn't even know that he was named Rafael.

[Reter]

31. Jimmy Carter wasn't James Carter when he was on the ballot

Mitt Romney also appeared like that.

[onenote]

51. Of course. Just as Sen. Sanders can be listed as Bernie, not Bernard

[bigwillq]

9. I really don't have any issue with whatever name a candidate uses.

I don't see the big deal. Lots of folks have nicknames or use a variation of their first or middle name.

[jberryhill]

14. Why didn't Jimmy Carter, Jerry Ford, or Bill Clinton use theirs?

What a non-issue. Many people go by names found nowhere on their birth certificate.

[Facility Inspector]

19. James/Jimmy, Gerald/Jerry, William/Bill

are a lot different than Rafael/Ted.

Get it?

[jberryhill]

20. "Clinton" is not "Blythe" and "Jerry Ford" is not "Leslie King"

I suggest you find out what their names actually are, on their birth certificates.

Bill Clinton is William Jefferson Blythe. His last name wasn't Clinton.

Jerry Ford is Leslie Lynch King, Jr.. NONE of his names resemble the ones he went by.

Both of my sons go by variants of their middle names, and what they are commonly called has very little connection to their legal names. This is more common in some parts of the country than others.

And, yes, there were people who got all a-twitter when GOP speakers emphasized "Barack HUSSEIN Obama". The larger point here seems to be that if he went by "Rafael", then he would be less appealing a candidate to certain people. I don't think we need wallow in that pool of slop. He's obviously gone by "Ted" for a long time, and he is entitled to be referred to by the name he prefers.

[Facility Inspector]

22. You have a lot invested in this

scary.

[onenote]

25. No less than you do.

The difference is that he's right and you're wrong.

[Facility Inspector]

41. Um, not really

it's cute to see you stick up for your Internetz buddy though!

How precious!

[onenote]

47. yeah, really.

Of course, maybe you're the one person on the planet who refers to President Grant as Hiram and President Cleveland as Stephen and President Wilson as Thomas.

Having a passing knowledge of history is a good thing. You should try it.

[Enrique]

26. it's racism, imo

it happens with Bobby Jindal too.

[MillennialDem]

33. Until every republican refers to Jenner as Caitlyn (which is her legal name now) I

Will continue to refer to Piyush and Rafael and Nimrata

[jberryhill]

36. To prove that you are just as small-minded as they are?

The "they do it, so I will" thing is one that is hard for me to understand.

[MillennialDem]

55. No, I've offered a truce. They can agree to call her Caitlyn and I will offer the

same consideration for those Ted, Bobby, and Nikki.

They likely won't take it.

Just calling Ted, Bobby, and Nikki their names while republicans get to call Caitlyn Bruce sounds like unilaterally disarming to me.

[Gothmog]

16. I love this meme

[H2O Man]

29. Recommended.

This summer, I posted an essay that used his name. Someone I do not know responded that I was "racist." I responded that I also use Willard Romney's real name. People are funny, sometimes.

[KamaAina]

32. Raphael is cool but crude, Michelangelo is a party dude...

[CBGLuthier]

34. The same reason Carlos (Chuck) Norris doesn't. Can't be a righteous American hero with a

South of the border name.

[kpete]

37. CBGLuthier

that is EXACTLY the point i was trying to make

thanks for getting ME,
peace,
kp

[catnhatnh]

54. The ACTUAL hero of the family was his younger brother Wieland

(named after his father's favorite brand of beer), who was killed walking point for the 101st Airborne in Vietnam in 1970.

[B2G]

43. Probably because his father's name is also Rafael

Which would be rather confusing for the family.

Not rocket science.

[jmowreader]

46. The real question is why do Republicans give their children bad first names?

Ted is a common nickname for Edward. It's also the only common nickname used for two given names, because many Teds are named Theodore.

Remember the last lamb the GOP led to the slaughter? Some guy named Willard? Boston Brahmin families have been known to give their kids a "first" name that honors some ancient relative and a second name they actually call the kid, but I'm not sure Ted Cruz knows where Boston is.

[onenote]

49. My uncle Ralph, a lifelong Democrat, was named Raphael

We never thought of it as "bad" name.

And, looking back, were Lyndon, Adlai, and Hubert all such great names? Probably the main reason they didn't go by their middle names was those weren't so great either: Baines, Ewing, and Horatio.

[Drahthaardogs]

62. Raphael is a beautiful name

The Latin name of the archangel Raphael, as the Bible says, One of the seven who stand before the Lord, and the angel of healing. It is a beautiful name full of ancient lore.

Cruz is hardly worthy of such a name.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

48. Some at DU hide Obama's name, calling him PBO

instead of BHO.

Will Hillary be PHC? My guess is she'll be HRC, or possibly HDR.

So, let "Ted" Cruz call himself whatever he wants, just as "Jeb" Bush does.

[CreekDog]

50. You JUST POSTED his real name and he USES IT. What nonsense are you posting?

I usually love your posts kpete, but there is nothing wrong with using a middle name.

A middle name is a real name. How do you not know that? How does anybody not understand that a middle name is a real name?

By the way, Jerry Brown. Edmund Gerald Brown. See?

But a person of Hispanic heritage, they aren't allowed to use Anglo sounding names even if their parents gave them an Anglo sounding name.

What's next? Criticizing a Chinese American who has been given both a Chinese and an Americanized name and uses the Americanized one?

I know you aren't trying to be racially or ethnically insensitive, but you are being that way in this case. But unlike most who do that here, I suspect you will respond to reason if confronted logically and on the basis of reason.

[onenote]

52. Yep. Hiram Grant, Stephen Cleveland, Thomas Wilson

All went by their middle names: Ulysses, Grover, and Woodrow.

Who cares why they did so.

[Thor_MN]

53. Republicans are filled with self-loathing

"Ted" Cruz
"Mitt" Romney
"Bobby" Jindal
"JEB" Bush

[Reter]

65. Obama used the name "Barry" until his 20's or possibly 30's

Mitt's first name is Willard, I wouldn't use it either. Self loathing is pushing it. Some of us don't like our first names. I hate mine.

[Thor_MN]

66. Thanks for defending the republicans.

Are you sure that you want to stick up for them?

[Nye Bevan]

68. I'm not sure whether you think a post like that helps your case.

But it really doesn't.

[Thor_MN]

69. Opinions vary.

Everyone has one.

[Reter]

72. I defend anyone who deserves it

Conservative, liberal, commie, libertarian, black, white yellow, or red. I am a defender against all unfair attacks on anyone.

[Thor_MN]

73. Notice that I did not say anything about anyone other than those I mentioned?

So save your "attack" definition for your own posts.

[Ms. Toad]

57. Would you say that to someone who is transgender?

The principle is the same - I am the only one who has the right to determine what my real name is. Same goes for Cruz

Plenty of other things to attack Cruz on - including whether he is a bigot - without insisting that he must go by the first name his parents gave him.

[csziggy]

63. Why didn't Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III or his son use their real name?

Instead of the one they ran under, Connie Mack?

The originator of the name was a baseball player and became known by it but why didn't his grandson and now his great grandson use their real names in politics?

[Yorktown]

64. Why Can't Rafael Use REAL ideas?

Like there's no sugar daddy in the sky?

[DFW]

71. Beyond Cruz' personal preference

I'd say it is obvious--Republicans feel a "foreign (to them)-sounding name" would be a detriment to attracting voters of the party that spawned the birthers. Hispanics often shorten "Rafael" to "Rafa (when speaking Spanish)," and that just doesn't fly with that crowd. We're all cool with Julian Castro, and obviously were not fazed in the slightest with Barack Hussein Obama, though Republicans went ape shit about it at the time.

During the 2008 campaign, there was some dinner where Obama and McCain were both present, and during Obama's speech, one of his best lines was "whoever gave me my middle name definitely never thought I'd ever be running for president." That line even had McCain rolling with laughter, because it was just so true. Even today, you see blog posts everywhere by Republicans who can't get over his NOT being a Kenyan Muslim named Hussein. You can't sell a presidential candidate named Rafa Cruz to THAT crowd, and most Republicans know it. Cruz for sure knows it.

[Nye Bevan]

74. Isn't "Marco" a little "foreign sounding"? (nt)

[DFW]

75. Only a little, though

Don't forget, every kid that ever played with other kids in a public playground played "Marco Polo" at some age or other, so it's subliminally familiar.