A California woman says ISIS, a militant group in the Middle East, is affecting her everyday life thanks to her name.
Isis Lawson said that even though she has nothing to do with the terrorist group, public perception has made her the target of unwanted comments.
“Before all of the terrorist group thing started it was a positive conversation starter,” she said. However, as the terrorist group gained traction, she started to receive hurtful comments from strangers, especially at her work, a large retailer where she wears a name tag. While her employer has been supportive and gave her the option to change the name on her tag, she refused.
“They’ll be passing by and they’ll catch a glimpse and they’ll stop and like laugh or they’ll actually come up to me because they glanced at my name,” Lawson said. “People say you should change your name and I say no actually. I’m not going to change my name. I have the right to have this name. It was given to me I know what it stands for and it doesn’t stand for terrorism.”
A Google search for ISIS first turns up news stories about the terror group. Then, three down, is Wikipedia’s definition, and what she says is her namesake.
“Actually it’s an ancient Egyptian name. It’s a name of an Egyptian goddess. Even Cleopatra had an alter for her,” Lawson said. Isis is the goddess of health, marriage and love, the opposite of the acts of violence and hatred the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria carry out.
This Isis would like the world to know the real meaning of her name, that there is no connection and keep the comments, even thoughts quiet.
“I’m not the only one with this name. There’s other women out there and girls that have the name. And it’s not fair to them and myself.”