October 8, 2006
A list of things my friends and I were beaten with!
In America, the corporal punishment of children is legal with many vocal supporters. The foremost practitioners of this ancient ritual in the United States are the Asians. While many European immigrants came to this country with less of a cultural basis for beating one’s children, many Asian parents had no such discouragement. In fact, it was considered culturally necessary to give a good beating in order not to lose face. It’s not a case by case thing, it’s an entire society that supports the parent in using corporal punishment. While the practice is declining among Asians, most consider it acceptable except in cases of permanent harm or beatings from people not in the immediate family.
Anyway, on to the list of things used on the backsides of my generation. Oh, the memories of being Asian…
-Rice Paddle
This is what we scoop rice with. It often has “ribs” on one side to grip the rice easier. Unfortunately, this also causes red marks that don’t go away easily if your mom pulls your pants down for a spanking.
-Rolling Pin
Of course, the Chinese version of a rolling pin is about a quarter of the diameter of an American rolling pin. Still hurts like hell. It’s only about three centimeters in diameter, but holy goddess almighty is it intimidating.
-Metal Ruler
Crap, this hurts like nothing else on earth. The thing is that most parents used it sparingly because it tends to hurt the hand holding it if you smack the kid hard enough. Some moms thought that the more their hand hurt, the more justice they were dealing out.
-Wooden Ruler
This doesn’t hurt as much as a metal ruler, but it’s easier on the parents’ hands.
-Cleaver
Yeah, this is one of those butcher knives that every Chinese house has. I don’t think anyone was actually hit with one of these, it was just a constant threat. Didn’t help that sometimes there was fresh blood on it from the evening meal prep.
-FedEx Tube
It was just handy around the house. Chinese people never throw packaging away. Don’t tell my dad that USPS tubes are cheaper and even thicker.
-Chopsticks
They may look small but it’s essentially a very thin stick so it concentrates more force on one area of your hand or butt. And it leaves welts.
-Sandals
There’s no negative connotation with whacking someone with a sandal in China (compared to the Middle East). They’re also fairly clean objects since all Asians have separate outdoor shoes and indoor sandals (therefore, easily accessible). I think most Asian kids have kept the secret that it doesn’t hurt as much if you have your pants on. Shhhhhh!
-Phone
If you were smart enough to discard your sandals, you probably got thwacked with this on the head.
-Back Scratcher
Every elderly Asian grandmother has one of these to get those hard to reach places. It’s essentially a long bamboo stick with a CLAW on the end.
-Bamboo Cane
I was never beaten with one of these, although it’s a traditional beating implement. American health insurance helps provide grandparents with METAL canes and crutches now.
-Rolled-Up Newspaper/Magazine
Chinese magazines are typically a lot longer (length-wise) so this is really effective. That and the fact that nobody throws these things away so you could be beaten with some news magazine from the late 1970s. Now you know what the family dog feels.
-Double-Fisted
Instead of being beaten with only one hand, the parent switches hands when the other one turns red from multiple thwackings.
-Car Keys
Handiest thing in dad’s hand when he comes home after a hard day’s work and sees that you’ve been misbehaving.
-”Bush Stick”
Another traditional tool. The parent goes outside and pulls a branch off a tree or shrub. However, this can rapidly deplete the foliage in the yard.
-Broken Chair Leg
What can I say? Chinese people are really resourceful. That and the fact that you were the one that broke the chair in the first place…
-Extension Cable
You roll it up and it makes something vaguely like a short whip. I think many of my friends have repressed this from their childhood memories.
-Flyswatter
Besides being left with dead insect residue on your posterior, this thing SNAPS as it hits you.
-Broken Support from Flower Rack
Probably only my mother used this one. I guess she considered it wasteful to throw away a broken garden display. Might as well use it to beat her son.
In conclusion, I am sure that the practice of angry Chinese-American parents giving their children a severe spanking will continue onwards through the 21st century. I can also say with certainty that it will continue into the 22nd century with little intervention unless there is a significant shift in immigration patterns and the amount of Asians raised on American soil outnumber the “old guard” from the Far East.
October 8th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
What, no belt?I thought that one was universal in all cultures……
October 9th, 2006 at 4:13 am
in this day and age of modern technology, we chinese wear no belts- we wear pants with elastic waistbands
October 9th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
i was never hit growing up, my chinese parents were not very supportive of hitting their children, although my gradparents beat the crap out of them for anything from smiling during dinner to getting 1 question wrong on a math test of of 60. my dad usually got hit with a thin cane his mother kept in the closet
October 9th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
Oh, it’s not just asian american families either, believe me.
I’m african american and my mother has hit me with wire hangers, the classic belt whip, an old rotary phone, and some coaxial cable. She also punched me in the face once.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Hmm, never heard of any of my Asian pals being beaten with a belt. At least it never happened to me, of that I am sure.
October 12th, 2006 at 2:34 am
I just had to say something, this is something the happenes in african families as well(i’m not american), spare the rod spoil the child kinda thing:). I have been beaten with wooden spatulas, canes- a yellow bamboo like one and a whip like brown one, belts, a whip but only once because i found it and threw it away after that:D, flip flops, rulers, wire(my lesson teacher) and so on, i was very stubborn.
October 17th, 2006 at 1:30 am
It was always the belt (if I was really bad), a flyswatter, or the open hand for me. I remember even being taken to the car and smacked in front of a police officer once.
Now you get arrested and put on 5 years probation (at least) if you smack your 17 year old kid one time for biting huge chunks of flesh out of your arm while you’re driving.
November 27th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
!
Of course…being Indian, I felt long the thwackings on our generation…ohh the memories…how could you not have the spatula! DAMN that thing hurt! You know when my parents knew beatings no longer worked? When the spatula broke. And I laughed
Then the next day they figured what groundings were.
Crap.
Awesome site BTW, keep up good work.
February 7th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
i think every parent hits their kids at least once… not only just an asian thing.
basically, if your kid is bad, you hit them. it’s just asians hit for ridiculous reasons based on their culture
February 13th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Hey there,
Do you have an e-mail address other than tokenasian@animeblogger.net ? Would love to ask you for a brief phone interview for a story am doing for a radio station. Will inform you more about it via e-mail.
my e-mail is siska39@gmail.com
All the best,
Siska
March 8th, 2007 at 12:32 am
My mom stopped beating me after I got taller than she was. She only used open hand and slapped me when I least expected it (ie, when she herself was stressed out). Beating is arbitrary and should be stopped Bcuz there R better solutions to teach Ur child and most parents are too lazy to try them.
March 28th, 2007 at 12:05 am
DJ, WTF mate?
I was under the impression we were talking applied use of force when a kid screws up, not random beatdowns. That’s what I was refering to at least; and it worked. I either didn’t do the offending action again, or I toned it down ot an acceptable level. In the case where I was spanked in front of the cops, I had been throwing a fuss in the store and was knocking stuff off the shelves because my mom wouldn’t buy something for me (I think it was a hot wheels car…). I may have gotten verbally boisterous in stores a few times after that, but I never went on a destruction spree again.
In the cases where corpral punishment was used against me, it was because what I did was either heinous or all other venues had been exhausted and I was still being a prick.
April 29th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Ah, my bad. When I did screw up, I remember running away from the scene of the crime to avoid responsibility for my own actions, so I was rarely caught, let alone punished. Whether it be karmic retribution or just plain schizophrenia on my mother’s part, I endured my share of domestic hostility. However, the impression you received is questionable; Token AZN (may i call u that?) composed a list of situated violence administered to him by his parents, not the reasons for his beatings.
But your outrage is justified; I was merely venting my stress, expressing my inner and repressed thoughts, and perhaps reaching out for help, but it seems to you that that particular ranting of mine is unacceptable and unhealthy for people under duress to do.
I also apologize for this message as well, but I choose not to erase it because I am a socially irresponsible turd and choose not to benefit society so I may tend to my own needs.
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