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Go Home Kids You Shouldn't Expect To See In Harvard's Class Of 2023

THE PLANK DECEMBER 17, 2008

Kids You Shouldn't Expect To See In Harvard's Class Of 2023

BY JONATHAN CHAIT

Andrew Stuttaford links to a Guardian story about a young boy in New Jersey named Adolf Hitler Campbell. He ran into trouble -- probably not, alas, for the last time -- when he parents requested a cake for Adolf's third birthday:

Heath Campbell, 35, and his wife, Deborah, 25, say they are upset at
the decision made by their local ShopRite not to write "Happy Birthday
Adolf Hitler" across the cake, and that people needed to move forward.

The Campbells did find a supermarket willing to make the Hitler cake -- Walmart, naturally.

--Jonathan Chait

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19 comments

He also has a daughter named Aryannation.  That is not a joke.  The dad says he is surprised at people's reactions.  I'm guessing we won't be friends.

Really, I feel terrible for the child.  

- boneill

December 17, 2008 at 12:47pm

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Surely people who think it's okay to discriminate against blacks and Jews understand if people think it's okay to discriminate against neo-Nazis? Goose, gander, whatnot?

- jfelliott

December 17, 2008 at 12:55pm

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Well what about the boy's siblings, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell?  Maybe not Harvard, but Lehigh, perhaps!

- dylanposer

December 17, 2008 at 12:56pm

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That kid is done for.  I know a number of Adolfs in Germany (without the unfortunate last name), and it has always seemed weird to me.

Obviously I don't have first hand experience with every families various practices, but it does seem odd to use their kid's first and middle names rather than just the first.  Unless of course they are deliberately fishing for attention.

- Nari224

December 17, 2008 at 1:07pm

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My father, born in 1928 in Bochom, Germany, was quite Jewish.  Middle name:  Adolf.  He didn't use it a whole lot after emigrating to the US.

- drwohl

December 17, 2008 at 1:34pm

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Some people name their boys Sue. Some people name their daughters Aryan Nation.

"She'll thank me after she realizes the value of knowing how to survive a mass beating," I would imagine was the thinking behind that.

That, or the parents decided to get all the resentment they have for their children out in the open from the beginning.

- janus

December 17, 2008 at 1:50pm

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Yes, there are some adults who may never have broken any laws who nevertheless shouldn't be allowed to have children or raise them.

- hrlngrv

December 17, 2008 at 2:19pm

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My mom's parking lot attendant is a black Moslem who named his son Jihad, which got unfortunate connotations after 9/11.

My Nepali husband's cousin named her son Aryan.  That's becoming an increasingly popular name in S. Asia.  Well, if he ever immigrated here, we advised her he should just call himself Ari.

When I 1st met my husband, he would show me stylized pictures of his relatives' wedding reception photos.  As I was ogling all the dishes, imagine my surprise when I saw a cake decorated with a swastika.  Hitler hijacked a term and a symbol from a great culture.

- satyendra

December 17, 2008 at 2:35pm

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janus:  "That, or the parents decided to get all the resentment they have for their children out in the open from the beginning."

Exactly, it's like the subconscious voice saying "damn, kids, my life is no longer my own" that everyone senses, takes control with these people, and they want to get their vengence right at the beginning.

- ironyroad

December 17, 2008 at 2:36pm

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Argument #1842 in favor of same-sex marriage and adoption rights: If Nazis can marry and name their children after Hitler, can not GLBT couples (Q's inherently should NOT get married--sorry) be allowed to marry and rear their children as non-Nazis?

- dylanposer

December 17, 2008 at 2:40pm

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The kids' parents look like hippie freaks more than neo-nazis, if you ask me.

- jwl2672

December 17, 2008 at 3:03pm

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OK, I'll bite.  Why do the kid's parents look like hippie freaks?  Is it the guy's peace sign tatoo or the wife's indian headband?

- ironyroad

December 17, 2008 at 5:22pm

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dylanposer, hey, my father graduated from Lehigh and he voted for Obama so bite me. Hah. Now if you said East Stroudsburg University I would agree with you.

My first two sons were born in china and my oldest son's chinese name is An, meaning peace and is part of the word Tiananmen. He has a western name Joseph, but the diminutive Joe is pronounced the same was as the surname Zhou (as in Zhou En Lai). My Children on their birth certificate in China have my wifes surname so they are Qu An and Qu Kai. Qu is pronounced Chu. This is part of the reason why Chinese people always adopt western names, one because no one can pronounce Chinese names properly, and because they sound so strange to western ears. My wifes name is Yanqing, full name Qu Yanqing. Obviously she goes by an American first name here and my family name.

As to those parents, they are just flat out a-holes.

- blackton

December 17, 2008 at 7:00pm

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by the way, it doesn't say what town in NJ but my guess it is near P'burg, along the border with Pa. which is why they went to Pa. Walmart.

- blackton

December 17, 2008 at 7:03pm

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To janus,

Johnny Cash, thou shouldst be living at this hour.

- nbarry

December 17, 2008 at 8:46pm

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yet another exhibit in support of my argument that would-be parents in this country should be required to obtain a license after a thorough head examination before being allowed to have children.

are you kidding me?

- poortomsacold

December 18, 2008 at 11:19am

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Blackie,

NJ is on the other side of Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh, so no such luck -- my guess is that the Wal-Mart was somewhere in the vicinity of Easton (Home Town of Larry Holmes).  However, I would not be at all surprised to find parents of children named "Adolf Hitler" in Eastern Ohio or the WV Northern Panhandle area, though they would probably have fewer problems getting a cake decorated with said name in the area and, therefore, would not generate a national news story.

- wildboy

December 18, 2008 at 11:43am

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It's one thing to hang that kind of name on your child.  Totally another thing to be surprised that other folks take it negatively.  Truly, what planet do these folks come from?

- cspencef

December 18, 2008 at 4:12pm

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Last month, I blogged about a New Jersey family of white supremicists that named its children after Nazis

- Anonymous

January 14, 2009 at 6:27pm

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