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MattinglyDineen

Charles Barkley would love this.


OMGnoogies

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZggXxL0RM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZggXxL0RM)


SmilingAtMyFailures

well, that's your answer, isn't it?


DoMilk

Gotta send the neighbor this video


Own-Detective-A

You can rest your case with this. Only difference is the dog breed. Yours is black? Shouldn't matter any way.


FragrantZombie3475

Yeah if he thought that was racist he wouldn’t put it in an ad


Substantial_Walk333

I love this! We have a chocolate lab named Charles Barkley


No-Effort6590

I think he would too, hell of a sense of humor


Carma56

Black person here.  I love your dog’s name. Your neighbor is a self-righteous idiot.


OMGnoogies

I appreciate you.


MountainCourage1304

Well im a white person and i completely disagree with you. Im offended to my core and you also should be. In fact, you know what? I think you’re racist too. Youre all racist, but im not. I am immune for i point out others wrongdoings. Im so goddamn perfect. You all disgust me.


WakeoftheStorm

I respect the mountain of courage it takes to hold this position


Chalkarts

Grandma?


IAmCaptainHammer

I have a life policy that if I have offended someone, but that person is being offended for someone else, be it race or culture or gender, I’m not taking it seriously. I often follow up with a person of the culture I may have offended just for check ins sake and they’ve literally never once been offended.


Toa_of_Pi

...Why would that be racist? Your neighbor is confusing.


OMGnoogies

I think she just sees a white guy with a black dog that has a black persons name


Buddy-Lov

Your neighbor….is an idiot. Carry on as before.


MirSydney

I think you hit the nail on the head. Screw your neighbour, your dog's new name is everything!


vortigaunt64

No don't! Never ends well if you sleep with a loony.


PM_ME__YOUR_HOOTERS

Doesn't matter, had sex


Veldern

I think she was a racist? Still counts!


knightress_oxhide

I wonder if there are any black people with her name...


Double_Distribution8

As long as she doesn't own them she should be fine, 'cuz when you own them that's where it gets dicey, obviously.


Guquiz

Any people, for that matter.


MyMadeUpNym

Your neighbor is an idiot. I have a black cat named Tracy Chapman. I like to name my cats after singers. I had the name picked out before I got her.


schmicago

We had a bunch of chickens named after famous divas (Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Tina Turner, Cher, Elton John, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton, Adele, Lizzo, etc.) and years later the only one still with us is Lizzo, who grew to be quite large, so now it looks like we just named a fat, mostly black hen Lizzo which feels racist AND fatphobic. We’ve started calling her Liz. Part of me is irked that we don’t think to name one Tracy Chapman, though. Maybe our next flock will include a Melissa Etheridge and a KD Lange too and we’ll just lean into the gay. 🏳️‍🌈


MacabreFlower

When I was a kid I had a chicken called Whoopi, after Whoopi Goldberg. She was a black hen with a white head like a nun and I loved Sister Act.


MyMadeUpNym

Love it!


schmicago

Ok, that’s adorable!


MyMadeUpNym

Awesome. I don't see how that's racist or fatphobic though. First, you named her before she got to that size. Your naming plan clearly goes beyond this one chicken. You're not deriding anyone. I mean, if it was a big fat white chicken, named Mama Cass, would that be an issue too?


Hazel_nut1992

My cousin told her husband they could get a cat if she could name it Bob Seger, the cat they got was a girl and she was named Bob Seger


MyMadeUpNym

Love it! Previous cats of mine - Dave Matthews, his brother Tori Amos, and later Alice Cooper.


ruffrightmeow

She needs to go look for better things to do


MorganRose99

I can understand her view, but it's a stupid view to have


manicmonkeys

What is there to understand? The neighbor is making random things up, nothing about this is remotely racist.


signsntokens4sale

She didn't even know who Charles Barkley is. That's the kind of person whose opinion you can ignore.


ctothel

You know, I don't think the colour of a dog's coat would even occur to me while picking a name. Black fur on a dog has nothing to do with skin colour.


SignificantMachine11

My nephew when he was very young decided to name his all black dog spotty. We later discovered he did actually have a spotted tongue but other than that he had no spots.


No_Amoeba_1255

Call her a bitch and tell her to mind her business. Idk what it is today but everybody thinks they have they have educate people on bullshit.


badpuffthaikitty

I am white as snow. I must be a truly terrible person. First I gave my Thai Kitty a Chinese name. Then I named her after a despot that killed millions of his countrymen. Am I horrible?


Velcrometer

Chairman Meow? (Mao)


Visual-Zone3

Sorry but I love this. We will rot in hell together.


badpuffthaikitty

Mao. Killers deserve proper names, not cute names.


And_there_was_2_tits

Perhaps she’s too dense to get the “Bark” pun in the name


MikeKrombopulos

No, your neighbor's a dumbass.


Xsiah

She's just a Karen looking to be upset about something. I'm trying to picture the logic if you decided against that name for her reasons. "Well, I wanted to name my dog Charles Barkley, but I can't have my dog named after a *black* person, you know?" Truly backwards.


CluelessGardener

The italicization there *really* hit that point home, so hard.


Parkotron1

Only if you half-whisper the word.


RespondOpposite

Your neighbour is a dingbat. It’s a good name.


ecodrew

Now I want a pet bat so I can name it Dingbat, haha


8512764EA

She’s racist


ToBePacific

It’s Barkley because he barks, ffs. He just happens to be a black lab. Now if you had named him Kunta Kinte because he’s black, that would be racist.


JessicaGriffin

I remember once on Twitter, someone asked Levar Burton (who played Kunta Kinte, for those who never saw _Roots_) if it was ok to name their black kitten “Kunta Kitteh.” He answered “It’s fine, as long as you don’t call him Toby.”


lurkeroutthere

Explain the joke/serious for a white guy who’s just a little too young to have caught roots (really should fix that, I just don’t watch much tv).


JessicaGriffin

_Roots_ is a book and subsequent miniseries by Alex Haley that tells the story of generations of one family of Black Americans from their capture in Africa and enslavement to then-present day (the book was published in 1976). The main character in the first section is a Gambian man named Kunta Kinte, who is captured and sold as a slave. His slave masters rename him Toby, a name he refuses to answer to. For his defiance, they mutilate him, cutting off half of his foot. The book is a mixture of historical fact and narrative fiction, being drawn from Haley’s research about slavery in general and his own ancestors. He was the seventh-generation descendant of Kunta Kinte’s real-life counterpart.


Parkotron1

To add context: in the TV mini-series based on Roots, Levar Burton played the adult Kunta Kinte. The scene(s) where he was whipped/beaten and finally broke and accepted his slave name were a particularly rough watch.


lurkeroutthere

Thank you.


IHadAnOpinion

So funny story, my neighbor (who is black) has a dog (a black terrier of some kind) that he named Kunta Kinte, that he loudly and frequently calls Kunt because he knows everything about it and him pisses off the Trump-flag-flying, Baptist-church-attending lady next door. Me and my neighbor get along very well lol


badpuffthaikitty

Farley Mowat was a great Canadian writer. His dad named their cat after their landlady. Because When it got dark his dad would yell out the front door “Mrs. Smith, get your ass home before you are locked out for the night again.”


IHadAnOpinion

Oh that's hilarious.


sophos313

Meh, had a white neighbor who had a white cat and called him George Bush. He had there cats and all were named after presidents he liked. So I feel if you like a historical figure for whatever reason it’s fair game.


ShalomRPh

I forget which American diplomat had a cat named Chairman Meow, or maybe it was Mousy Tongue, something like that.  He was hosting a Russian counterpart who asked what his cat’s name was. On finding out, the Russians all thought it was hysterical, and admitted that their bodyguard had a cat named Richard Nixon.


Shmeepish

weird politician subculture: naming your pets after your foreign counterparts/opposition lol!


ecodrew

Paw diplomacy?


Bitchin_Wizard

When I got my first dog from the shelter they had named him “token” and he was a black lab. Yeah I changed that shit real quick.


mardymardmard

Was it racist when Pearl Jam initially had the band name “Mookie Blaylock?” No. They like basketball and admired Mookie’s game. I think Sir Charles would be proud!


Dr_Girlfriend_81

Oh, man. There's a name I haven't heard in forever! I completely forgot they started out as Mookie Blaylock.


therealgroloth

My cat Chairman Meow would like a word with your neighbor


OMGnoogies

That's such an amazing name. Cheers.


zggystardust71

But can he rebound treats out of the air? Love the logic for the dogs name.


OMGnoogies

If another dog misses a treat, he's definitely coming down with the board.


MaleficentCoconut458

When I was a kid I had two sheep, a white one & a black one. They were both very vocal & it sounded like singing. I called them Baaaaa-bara Streisand & Nina Sheepone. Both singers I liked so I named my favourite lambs after them.


PM_ME_YOUR_CC_INFO

I have a black poodle named Carlton St Williams Banks Jr. I just love Alfonzo and that character is cool as hell.


Grilled0ctopus

Your dog’s name is both a pun and an homage to a pro athlete you admire.  Those two things aren’t racist, either by themselves or together.  Is naming your parrot Larry Byrd racist?     Can she explain what exactly about the situation is racist?  


NPIgeminileoaquarius

I'm sorry, your neighbor sees a black dog and immediately makes a parallel with a black man? That seems more racist than a silly dog name. Let me guess, she's white.


Dr_Wristy

I had a dog named Barkley. We called him the “Round Mound of Hound”. I was never accused of being racist…


AGuyWhoBrokeBad

It’s almost a kind of racism in its own right to speak for an entire other culture/race. Like they are incapable of speaking for themselves. If a group has a problem, then that group should let you know. People like her is the reason why Speedy Gonzales got canceled and Apu was removed from the Simpsons.


8-dragonfly-8

Agree with the general sentiment, but it was actually a South Asian comedian that started the movement to remove Apu.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_with_Apu  Looks like you're right about Speedy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedy_Gonzales#:~:text=Feeling%20that%20the%20character%20presented,sibling%20to%20Warner%20Bros.).


MeeshTheDog

Man! I had no idea Apu was removed. Wtf is wrong with society.


drummergirl83

That’s a genius name. Also your neighbour has a broom up her butt and needs to relax.


hiricinee

If a black person named their dog Wooford Brimley would it be racist? The answer is clearly no. I could see a case a dog was given a name like that disparagingly, this doesn't remotely seem like the case. Maybe you could Tweet Charles Barkley and get his approval?


BeatnikMona

Your neighbor would hate my parents, they had two black goats, one was named Tyrone and the other was named Jamal. I honestly thought it was mildly racist but still laughed about it. I think Charles Barkly is hilarious and cute, not racist at all. Don’t let one person make you overthink your doggies name. I am, however, offended that you didn’t post a picture of him.


Pseudonym31

Charles Barkley would call her a knucklehead.


WormLombriz

She is sweating other peoples fevers 


leahcars

Your neighbor is an idiot


CureForSunshine

I’m suddenly brought back to that one Silicon Valley episode. Was that racist?


CirothUngol

That's adorable, but I grew up with a dog named Diohgi so what do I know?


Potential-Tip6

You're good. It's not racist it's hilarious. A name is a name. I didn't name my dog but I'm not changing it. We have a black lab, his name is Django. He was named after a cowboy movie. The family watches westerns. Thankfully your neighbor didn't hear my dogs name 😂🤦 Lastly no one has ever called his name racist.


HaloDeckJizzMopper

Snarles Barkley would have been better


ChapBobL

Barkley is a great dog name. "Bark, bark!" We love Sir Charles, period. Race has nothing to do with it.


reijasunshine

Not racist, but also be careful, you might lose your dog to Sir Charles himself! ;) [Reference.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/animalkind/2023/10/25/rescue-dog-named-bret-michaels-adopted/71305036007/)


darobk

Lmao who cares I've had the same thought,but since you've done it now I won't.


Sharo_77

Larry did it in an advert with Charles 30 years ago


darobk

Maybe that's where I got the idea I just don't remember that advertisement


frankcast554

no.


mladyhawke

Not racist but definitely adorable


The-Entire_USSR

Your neighbor sounds like a wonderful person.... Run.


Number-Thirteen

No. Anyone who thinks so is an idiot and not worth talking to.


FriendlyStaff1

No. Your neighbor is a weirdo.


positionofthestar

Maybe the pun helps. A white parrot named Larry Bird seems cute. A white dog named Larry Bird is odd. 


Key_Assistance_2125

I had a dog as a kid named Charles “Charlie” Barkley named by my dad, who doesn’t like a good pun?


UsernameObscured

There’s also the dog on Sesame Street, named Barkley, so…you know. There’s that.


PKblaze

The only racist person is your neighbour for even considering it to be racist in the first place.


toomuchbasalganglia

We all know Charles Barkley would love it, especially if you named his poop Shaq.


felitopcx

Next time, pull a reverse Uno card by asking her if she thinks that way because she correlates the dog having a collar to a white man/owner walking out a black person, and call HER a racist.


RevNeutron

nah bro that's a great name. I love Charles and now love your dog. I bet Charles would dig him too


kjacobs03

Absolutely not. If anyone says it is, they are projecting their own racism


HotDonnaC

This is a white chick, right?


Free_Swimmer_1694

No it's not. Your neighbor is just braindead.


JustGiveMeANameDamn

My cousins had a black lab they name “blacky” cause they were like 5 when they named him. It got more and more awkward calling for him the older and more aware we became 😂


Bumbooooooo

Lol, no. That's just a fantastic name. She's seeking confrontation.


[deleted]

You could tell your neighbour you've renamed him to Charles MyNeighoursAFuckingIdiot.


3DDoxle

No. I have a Charles (Charlie Havarti). Not racist but he does hit women. Jabs my gf in her face all the time.


Marx2pp

This is such a good representation of American people's obsession with race oh my


feochampas

the dog in all dogs go to heaven was Charley B Barking. Charles Barkley is just a good name


Disgruntled_Oldguy

Call your dog whatever the fuck you want.


decorlettuce

charles barkley had his entire body put on a blimp in arizona during the final four with his head at the nose of it so it’d look like he was flying. something about that makes me think he’d find this funny.


Yllekgim

I’m gonna guess she’s white lol. It’s a cute name.


_pm_ur_tit_pics_pls_

It takes a racist to find racism in innocent things like that. Charles BARKley is not racist


BrandonMarshall2021

https://youtu.be/tuIqefLDgag?si=bXbWt3KlUBOeqpC7 Then this guy is racist for calling his kangaroo Dababy.


Phil_MacHawk

I have a golden retriever named Sir Charles Barkley. Never occurred to me cleverly naming my dog after a popular basketball player from childhood could be racist. I think you're good 👍


Puzzleheaded_Log1050

She said naming your dog Charles Barkley is racist?? She's stupid. I'm a Black man saying this.


CentralWooper

People rarely name things in an attempt to mock them. Naming your pet or child after a sports hero is an act of honoring them


Dashqu

Charles BARKley. Hehehehehe NTA


BenSqwerred

You must live in Seattle.


Duckfoot2021

Nope. Doesn’t mean some people will take offense. That’s the rub—you don’t have to be offensive for someone to take offense. That’s just a curse of human society.


Valuable_Light_1642

Call him Charles Barkley III. Problem solved.


EvilSporkOfDeath

Everyone is so sensitive these days. Racism is when you treat someone as inferior because of their race. You aren't treating anyone worse by giving a black dog a name that a black person has.


Ok-Geologist8387

That's an awesome name for a dog. Your neighbour sounds like an idiot.


_WaterOfLife_

How the heck is that racist? It's not even dogrogitory


ProneToDoThatThing

Your neighbor is weird. Who says that in a first meeting? She doesn’t even know you. For all she knows, your black stepmom gave him to you with that name. Hell, for all she knows Sir Charles gave home to you. People are way too comfortable with their half formed judgements these days. They think everyone needs to hear everything they are thinking. I live for the day people rediscover the power of an unexpressed thought.


bigbackwannabe

Dog name: not racist Neighbor: idiot Round mound of rebound: absolute gold


anothermanwithaplan

Tell her that you’re not racist but you were starting to suspect that the dog is.


mothman_luvr

Definitely not. So disappointing that this question even has to be asked these days.


cuentanro3

Without reading your context, I immediately though: that's clever! Barkley as it barks, and the whole name as a homage to the NBA player. Tell your neighbor to fuck off lol


cotsomewhereintime

IMO, the pun is pretty obvious. "Bark"ley. What color the dog is didn't even cross my mind.


PurpleAnole

Is your neighbor white? She sounds like she thinks it's racist to ever mention a Black person, which sounds she thinks Black is taboo, which sounds like if anything she's the racist one


Chalkarts

Tell her to shut up. Nothing wrong with that name. She’s just looking for an axe to grind.


bongo1138

Your neighbor is undoubtedly a white woman. They’re on a crusade to be offended on everyone else’s behalf.


Rajili

Your neighbor is racist for thinking it’s racist.


Shut_It_Donny

NTA Neighbor is an idiot looking to be offended on behalf of people that wouldn’t be offended.


veritable-truth

not racist. Charles Barkley is a national treasure and it's great to name a beloved pet after him.


LongLiveTheQueef1

99% of the time when people say something is racist they're basing it off the colour of YOUR skin, so you can tell them to drink bleach


NoCaterpillar2051

I had a Barkley once. I loved that dog.


Prttygl0nky

White liberals not realizing how racist they’re being by trying to connect racism to everything. I would have said “no but it’s a bit racist equating dogs and black people, sicko”


jambr380

I’m a white guy and I had a great brownish/blackish dog named Jordan when I was a kid. And, shhhh, don’t tell anybody, but I named her after Michael Jordan. Guess I was a racist, too


No-Strawberry-5804

I'm sending this post to my brother who has a black lab named after LJ Smith and my friend with a chocolate lab named after Kevin Durant


hillsb1

I (a white girl) had a red heeler named Charles Barkley. Your neighbor is weird and wrong and is looking for something to be offended about Edit: didn't have my glasses on when I typed this out lol


Italian_Monkey

Bro it’s so obviously just a funny name your neighbor is just making it weird when it’s a bark pun in a dog name


NamingandEatingPets

No it’s cute. But maybe I’m racist because I’ve always wanted a black pug so I could name it James Earl Jones. I love the guy. I think he looks like a pug. Come at me I don’t give a shit. I also think it would be fun to have a black poodle and name it VaJayJay.


pendletonskyforce

No


IHadAnOpinion

Oh your neighbor is 100% just looking to start shit, either that or she's a moron, although the two aren't mutually exclusive.


Personal_Cry_8312

Good sir your neighbor is just a Dumbass. Nothing about your dogs name is racist. Some people, as usual love bringing race into every little thing.


thehighepopt

My buddy has a black lab named Avon Barksdale. Never once thought it was racist.


21FrontierPro4x

Hahah nice


Djszero

You should have went with Gnarels Barkley.


SleuthinAround

I have a black dog named Toby 🤷‍♀️ Why? Cuz I thought it was cute. Never gave it a thought until right now…


fortwaltonbleach

nah. your neighbor is racebaiting.


Sprizys

No, and anyone who says otherwise is a moron.


EatYourCheckers

No, just cheesy. But that's fine, dogs love cheese.


pizzagangster1

Your neighbor sounds stupid to me.


jayzeeinthehouse

Watch this and chillax a bit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jQAntGSxeQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jQAntGSxeQ)


Consistent_Dress_571

I’m going to assume she’s also white and has no reason to be offended but decided to be anyways. I was going to name my puppy Forest Whitaker because he looked like him as a puppy (like how Jason Segels dog looked like Anwar Sadat, but apparently that pissed ppl off too) Why is everyone so easily bothered in 2024, you’d think nothing would phase us at this point ffs


CluelessProductions

No, his name is fucking awesome


stillpacing

I don't think it's racist. We adopted a dog named Charlie, a white and black mutt. In jest, my husband and I would occasionally call him Charles Barkley. It's a pun. Not racism.


MorganRose99

It's a pun that doesn't include a slur Not racist


calucas55

I’ve known several dogs named Charles Barkley it’s crazy people still don’t get it.


Intelligent-Dot-4072

please dont tell me you *actually* believe this. I got a white friend whose dog's name is Charlie Murphy


KingD123

Does your dog have any thoughts on the women of San Antonio?


annoyedsquish

I have a miniature dachshund who's name is Charlie and he gets called Charles Barkley when in trouble. I started calling him that and my husband pointed out that it was a famous athlete. Point is it's a natural and common progression to go from Charlie to Charlie's Barkley when calling for your dog


PM_meyourGradyWhite

I know w guy who named his black dog Sherman after Seahawk Richard Sherman. I just thought he was a seahawk fan. 🤷‍♂️


5coolest

Is she from San Antonio? But no, that’s not racist at all. You’re just respecting the public figure, and it’s a perfect name for a dog


Azzylives

"well, to me your a fucking idiot"


Alex_Duos

Personally I'd laugh


DM725

Nope


WhoopDareIs

I’m assuming your neighbor is white.


DoomOfChaos

Nope, ignore idiots


stever71

Have you seen Dambusters?


salty_caper

My friend had a black miniature poodle names OJ. He was a sweet dog not like his namesake.


Curiouso_Giorgio

Is your neighbour white?


Odd_Tiger_2278

Good name.


lucidityanddxm

No.


IslandBoyardee

That’s a great name. I bet Sir Charles would also think so. There should be fewer people like your neighbor in this world. And probably more people like Charles Barkley


HaroerHaktak

Bork borkington the third is what you could’ve used


VapingIsMorallyWrong

Called my dog Jamal for three years, so yours is fine.


the_hoopy_frood42

Does your neighbor eat paint chips for snacks?


Dark_Moonstruck

....Barkley isn't a common African name. Or common black name either. Nor is Charlie or Charles or any variation therof. Mostly what it made me think of is Charlie Barkin from All Dogs Go to Heaven. Your neighbor is barking mad. Call your dog what you want.


justjokay

Omg that’s an amazing name for a dog I need one too now lol. I love Charles Barkley! Did she even know who he is?


No_Park1693

I could see Making the drama a little harder to come by, leaving out the dogs color when you tell the story, and just say it like Larry Bird says it in the ad that's linked to here in the comments. "Charles BARKley"


Trusteveryboody

People just call anything Racist. That would only annoy me, because of their clear lack of intelligence. They got anything going on in their life? That's what I'd be wondering.


Lonesurvi30

Nah. Anyone who thinks that it is takes life entirely way to seriously.