Part I
I thought I'd coined a new term, but when I googled it, it actually came up in
this article, where it is used in much the same way as I meant it: That is, (usually unintended) discrimination on the grounds of the alphabetical position of one's surname.
As a kid I had the second last surname in my form. The school often gave one on one counseling where a teacher would discuss a student's choice of subjects, future vocational choices, results of aptitude tests, etc. with him or her. At least, so I heard, because the term inevitably ended before my turn came, and as there were always just two or three students at the end of the alphabet left, they'd forget about us the next term.
When a friend and I applied for a Varsity bursary, she got one and I didn't, although my marks were slightly better. As academic results was the only criterion, and a very large number students applied for a fair number of bursaries, I suspect they simply ran out of bursaries before they got to the end of the alphabet.
This morning I became a victim of alphabetism once again. Every now and then the system of computerised payment that is supposed to pay me electronically for my work malfunctions and drops the excess names at the end. Alas, as I've kept the same surname throughout life, that means I don't get paid...
