Japan Gets It, Is Now Banning Parents From Naming Their Children Something Ridiculous Like "Pikachu"
itakayuki. Getty Images.Source -- The era of Japanese children being named Pikachu, Pudding, or even Prince may be drawing to a close, as new regulations designed to curb eccentric naming practices take effect this week. The Japanese government has implemented rules that will make it more difficult for parents to register kira-kira, or “flashy,” baby names — an increasingly common phenomenon that has sparked both fascination and concern.
It's about time.
If I've said it once, I've said it probably at least 37 times before. We desperately need to bring back bullying. I didn't realize this was such a global phenomenon, but we need to put an end to letting people name their kids whatever ridiculous shit they want. You want to get a dog and name it "Pikachu"? Fine. Go crazy. But if you're having a child and you even allude to the fact that you might name that child "Pikachu", you should be mercilessly mocked and bullied until you change your mind.
We need to put an end to celebrating people being quirky and different, and we need to start putting an emphasis back on just being normal again. And if society has become too sensitive to bully people back to being normal again, then it's the government's job to do it for us.
One day that child is going to grow up and start applying for jobs. They're never even going to get an interview when employers see the name "Pikachu Johnson" on the resume. You shouldn't be allowed to screw over your child for life just because you wanted to be ~different~.
I'm not happy that Japan beat us to this, but I'm also not surprised. That's a culture that gets it. Their streets are clean. Their subways are clean. They know the goal in life isn't to be the main character. Somehow the "American Dream" has just devolved into "I can say whatever and act however I want, and everybody else needs to accommodate me in my delusional sense of self-importance". Sad.