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[Opinions] Patriot
There's a girl in my driver's ed class whose name is Patriot. She's about 15 or sixteen. Thoughts?
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Wow, that's a little Fox Newsy, isn't it? OTOH, with all of the other word 'names' out there, why NOT Patriot, LOL?
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Oh, interesting! Named in the 90s, even. Interesting responses on this board, too.I appreciate that people react to it a certain way - similar to the way they react to Liberty (but not Justice, I guess? haha). I can't imagine that people would stereotype her in real life ... would they? Can you ask her if she likes her name? Aside from the negative stereotyping ... I think it's about ten thousand times namier and cooler than Poet - but not even as cool or appealingly namey as Pagan. I agree with LadyBug that it seems more masculine (and I think Poet and Pagan do as well) but I guess it works for a girl.

This message was edited 6/21/2012, 7:41 PM

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There's a character name Pagan in the book "THe Amateur Marriage" (Anne Tyler),a boy. His mother got lost in the drug scene, and he was raised by his grandparents. I always kind of liked the name Pilgrim (and I'm not from the U.S., even)but refrained from naming any child of mine that;we have an unlikely last name, and it seemed that the usual and known would be best.
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Could you ask her more about her name in one of the coming classes? I'm curious why it was chosen and if she likes it.
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I really dislike the idea... it's not a name to me, and if it were I would expect it to be a horse or a dog or something. It just seems off to me. That said, I've seen much worse, so *shrug*
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Sounds like something a Tea Party member would name their kid. I don't care for it.
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Well, it has a nice sound. You could look upon it as a virtue name, along the lines of Constance, Hope, Mercy, etc. They were all new word names once. Why not? Except that Patriot not be much of one, which is an objection often brought up about other virtue names.
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That's actually a really neat name! I think it sounds a bit masculine though so I probably wouldn't consider using it for a girl or even think she was a young lady just from hearing her name. But then Payton / Paiton / Patton are used often for girls so the idea of Patriot isn't that odd really.
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I agree that it fits in with Peyton / Payton and co. Soundwise...
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It seems like a red-blooded, excessively god-fearing, white, bunker in the yard, guntoting, extreme right wing name to me...Yeah, little over the top. Patricia would've been better, even though I dislike Patricia.

This message was edited 6/21/2012, 1:04 PM

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Are you saying that a black. left-wing. pro-gun-control atheist can't be patriotic?
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No, not at all. But to name your kid that, is like pumping it full of steroids. Like there are plenty of religious people, but the one that name their child Ezekiel Leviticus are probably a little more extreme and in-your-face about their beliefs. That's what makes this name bothersome to me. Nothing wrong with patriotisme, but this is like saying 'I am a patriot, and you, you spineless worm, are not'. And, maybe, because I generally hear the term in connection to extremists who justify thier actions because they're 'patriots and love their country'.
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That's what makes this name bothersome to me. Nothing wrong with patriotism, but this is like saying 'I am a patriot, and you, you spineless worm, are not.' Yes. This. You put it much better than I did.
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I still am not seeing the name Patriot that way, but I guess that's what opinions are all about.
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I completely agree. It reminds me of someone who thinks war is awesome and who is sure that his country is superior to all other countries in the world.
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I disagree. The word "patriot" does not carry that connotation for me, nor does it have to for anyone. It's too bad that for many people, "patriotism" has become a dirty word.
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Right now, it seems like we're in a 'Civil Cold War' at times where for some people think "Either you're with us or against us" whenever it comes to anything poltical or social issues (gay marriage, abortion). Patriot as a name seems like the parents are two of those people. But maybe my view on that is a bit skewed from most of my state senators, the governor and lieutenant governor recalled, and we're generally considered a battleground state.
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The word doesn't carry that connotation for me either. But when the word is used as a name it somehow changes things. I don't know why, just my impression.
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Yeah, I agree. When it's used as a name it takes on a whole other form. Makes me queasy.
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Agreed. I can't picture a couple of liberals naming their kid Patriot; it just seems like something a couple of ultra-conservatives would do.
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Aaaaarrrgghh. That's not an aaaaarrrgghh directed at you, it's just a general aaaaarrrgghh. As someone who is fairly liberal, I'm familiar with the way that conservatives like to paint liberals as people who hate America, and it angers me. Now, as I'm seeing the image that the word "patriot", even as a name rather than just a word, has for many people, I'm seeing the extent to which they have succeeded in painting liberals that way. I hate the misconception that to be liberal and to be patriotic is mutually exclusive.I'm not saying that you, or anyone else who has this perception of the name, necessarily believes this last. It's just that if the connotation is there, it means that conservatives have succeeded, to some degree at least, in remodeling the political landscape to suit themselves.
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Don't worry, I know you're not frustrated with me. I certainly don't believe that a liberal can't be patriotic- I consider myself a patriotic liberal- but the stereotype that sprang to mind upon hearing Patriot as a name was the daughter of a couple of beer-swilling, flag-waving, NIMBY-spouting Bush voters. It's the obnoxious, loud, empty kind of patriotism, not the "regular" kind.
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Didn't I see her on prom night, in her camo-print prom dress and her date in a cam cummerbund and bow tie?Didn't I see her dad all cammo-ed up patrolling the neighborhood with his arsenal of assault weapons which we'll only be able to pry from his cold dead hands?
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Gosh, that's over the top.
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I have to give her parents kudos for being cool and not choosing the typical "Madison" or "Kaylee". (Not that I hate the names, I'm just snooty about trendy names)However, Patriot is not pretty sounding. Never have I enjoyed the sounds that P, A, and T make together, especially when they sound like "Hate". So I really don't like it. But it's definitely original!
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