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maycm
'cheeky banana'
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
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 Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:55 am Post subject: TGIF? |
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| Quote: | ROME (Reuters) - An Italian court has ruled that a couple could not name their son "Friday" and ordered that he instead be called Gregory after the saint whose feast day he was born on.
"I think it is ridiculous they even opened a case about it," the family's lawyer, Paola Rossi, told Reuters by telephone from the northern city of Genoa Tuesday.
Friday/Gregory Germano was born in Genoa 15 months ago. The parents registered him as Friday in the city hall and a priest even baptized him as Friday -- unusual in Italy since many priests insist that first names be of Christian origin.
"We named him Friday because we like the sound of the name. Even if it would have been a girl, we would have named her Friday," the boy's mother, Mara Germano, told Reuters.
When the boy was about five months old, a city hall clerk brought the odd name to the attention of a tribunal, which informed the couple of an administrative norm which bars parents from giving "ridiculous or shameful" first names to children.
The tribunal said it was protecting the child from being the butt of jokes and added that it believed the name would hinder him from developing "serene interpersonal relationships."
The Germano family appealed but lost their case this month and the story was carried on the front page of a national newspaper Tuesday.
When ordered to change the name, the parents refused and the court ruled the boy would be legally registered as Gregory because he was born on that saint's feast day.
"I really doubt this would have happened to the child of parents who are rich and famous," the boy's mother told Reuters, recalling that some famous Italians had given their children unorthodox names such as "Ocean" or "Chanel."
The appeals court ruled against Friday because it recalled the servile savage in Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe and because superstitious Italians consider Friday an unlucky day.
"I am livid about this," the boy's mother said. "A court should not waste its time with things like this when there is so much more to worry about."
"My son was born Friday, baptized Friday, will call himself Friday, we will call him Friday but when he gets older he will have to sign his name Gregory," she said. |
I've an acquaintence who named her daughter "Evening" and nobody batted an eyelid, but then I think she spent a little too long in "The Sixties" |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:08 am Post subject: |
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| I was gonna make such a cheesy pun about his father being called Robinson - just as well I read the whole article... |
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thatcomedian
Joined: 01 Dec 2007
Location: Long Beach, California
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:03 am Post subject: |
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| So I guess Friday isn't so good. |
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Mandy
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:21 am Post subject: |
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Is this a joke ?
If not, it is a total infringement on Civil Liberties.
He should register a name change in any other EU country, and then tell the italians they have to accept the other EU country's acceptance.
Sorry to make this a civil liberties issue, but I am now seeing this fight as the top fight globally. Note the videos on
http://www.spiderednews.com/CivilLiberties.htm |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:04 am Post subject: |
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| I think it should be an issue if your child is going to have the piss taken out of them for years at school. What right have these parents got to cause that? |
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Marcella-FL
Don't make me pull this van over!!!
Joined: 01 May 2006
Location: KMC, Germany
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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| But with all the crazy names nowadays not to mention the globalization of society will there be any such thing as a "weird" name anymore? Seems like a name like Gregory will be the new weird in years to come. |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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| 'Hey Friday, get me a cup of tea.' They may as well have called the kid Slave! |
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Marcella-FL
Don't make me pull this van over!!!
Joined: 01 May 2006
Location: KMC, Germany
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| faceless wrote: | | 'Hey Friday, get me a cup of tea.' They may as well have called the kid Slave! |
That could be said about ANY child's name ... just ask my kids! |
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Mandy
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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We either believe in civil liberties or we don't.
We can always critise other's decisions, but we shouldn't ban someone from calling THEIR CHILD "Friday".
If the name was offensive, then we get into more difficult territory .. someone has a right to a name, but others might decide they don't want to use it. |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Of course, the child's rights have nothing to do with it... |
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Mandy
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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| faceless wrote: | | Of course, the child's rights have nothing to do with it... |
Who do we trust to look after a child's rights ? The state {via courts} or their parents ?
A no brainer to me ...
When he is old enough (16 or 18 ), he can change his name to anything he wants. |
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Kezza
Gone To The Dogs!
Joined: 30 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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So what do celebrities in Italy name their children? I thought it was a "celebrity rule" to name your kid something unusual.......(I'm just being snarky here)?
Brooklyn, Apple, Moon Unit, Dweezil, Pilot Inspektor, Kal-el Coppola Cage, etc. would all be required to have Saint's names?  |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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| I don't understand why they wanted the child baptised if they don't like the ruling of the Church - which also begs the question of why the priest allowed the name in the first place. |
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Mandy
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:12 pm Post subject: |
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| They probably never thought it would be objected to .. especially so late after the event |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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| the priest should have objected though. I bet he's doing missionary work in the rainforest now... haha |
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