This article talks about Facebook’s “real name” policy that blocks users from using nicknames when registering. This presented issues when Native teens registered with their real names but Facebook picked them us as nicknames. For example some of the names where, Parmelee Kills the Enemy, Dana Lone Hill, Oglala Lakota Lance Brown Eyes who’s name was changed by Facebook to Lance Brown, and Shane Creepingbear all names that have native roots. They were taken down by Facebook mistaken for nicknames. There was much outrage from the community because Facebook was being racist toward them. Facebook responded by saying they were doing everything they could to fix it and still has more work to do. 

 

So what 

 

This presents many issues within the integration of the Native communities into city life. Their names alone may come across as nicknames and employers may not take them as serious because of this. Socially their peers may think there names are jokes casting them out socially.  I don’t believe they should change their names and turn away from their heritage but I do believe something needs to be done about it. I don’t believe Facebook is to completely blame for this because it isn’t the easiest thing to distinguish from a native name and I nickname. It was unintended racism; I don’t believe Facebook had any intent of hurting the Native community. 
 
 Now what 

 

I don’t think this is a centralized issue for Facebook or even an issue for them at all. I don’t think Facebook did anything intently wrong but I do think they owe the native community an apology for the inconvenience. I think this is a wide spread issue in our country. What we can do about it, i can’t tell you. I think its a hard situation to solve just because you can’t blame people for thinking their last names are nicknames and they shouldn’t be treated less due to there names. 

A connection 

The connection i can make to this article is Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451 the government censored almost all media there population could view this harmed them to great extents. Facebook is censoring there Facebook accounts by declaring that some names are as they call them nicknames but in reality they are real names. They are not allowing the world to get used to Native last names and making the community even more of an outcast.