My brother and third sister were brought up on grandma’s coconut plantation. The elder of my two uncles lived there and looked after the matter of disciplining the children.
After a spate of disappointing behaviour from my brother, mainly on the school results front, my uncle decided it was time to apply the traditional Chinese style of public shaming, hoping this would make him sit up and re-think his life.
My uncle wrote, on two cardboard sheets, something along the lines of, “I am a bad boy. I keep failing my school tests,” and hung them on my brother, one in front, one behind. Then, he put him on the rear rack of the bicycle and cycled around the village for everyone to see — and point and laugh at him.
Instead, my brother, aged around 9, treated it as one big free ride, smiling and waving happily at the onlookers.
(Singapore, early 1960s)
No comments:
Post a Comment