True or False: Should only be friends with people who have names like your own?

Friend told me this advice: Said don’t be friends with people whose names are considered “hard to pronounce or say” or names that are long and difficult? He said kind of like Muslim names or Somalian names or names like that? Do you agree with that logic? I mean I see his point, maybe you shouldn’t be friends with a person if you can’t even address them or say their name properly? But would you think it’s also kind of discriminatory in a way? Being friends with people only by how you can pronounce or say their name correctly?

 

Blimey, it's difficult enough to find good true friends, without putting such obstacles in the way. Is it really so difficult to learn how to pronounce someone's name?

 

How horrible! What a terribly cold, gray, bland world your friend must live in!
My mate's an immigrant and a hereditary Muslim, and I've known people from every continent on the planet, and every major religion; my life is so much richer for having known them. In my experience, they'd be all too happy to help you learn to pronounce their names, and they'd be very appreciative that you are considerate enough to inquire and put out the effort. The only bigotry around names I've ever seen is people intentionally mispronouncing someone's name, not out of ignorance, but xenophobic and racist malice (and your friend, of course).
You may want to reconsider the company you keep.

Should a seeker not find a companion who is their better or equal, let them resolutely pursue a solitary course; there is no fellowship with a fool.
Dhammapada 61

 

All the people I know through work and have become friends with, without exception, have an easy abbreviation or nickname for their long tongue twister names.
They even use them in their own country.
My friend "Chai" has a name that is more than 20 letters long.

 

Huh? This is racism and xenophobia masquerading as some sort of folk logic. If you are or aspire to be a racist xenophobe then it is better for society if you just come clean and say you only like people who are just like you, instead of hiding behind a made up justification. That you didn’t recognize this in your friend’s advice is discouraging.

 

I'm gonna be brutally honest, I hope your friend was joking because that's really dumb.

 

People should only be friends with people who have the exact same name. There are several advantages:

1 It's much easier to remember everyone's name

2 When you send out formal invitations, they can be identically printed

3 When you want to get the attention of all of your friends at once, you can just shout "Hey Mike!"