The Case of Amy Chua

[Rastko]

http://www.facebook.com/notes/rastko-po ... 7182110419

An article I published on my page this morning. May be interesting for fellow posters

[Rastko]

Part II - http://www.facebook.com/notes/rastko-poc...0748718729

[AngryCollegeDude]

Quote:So her daughter is anxious, depressed, stressed, feeling terrible... but, wow, she can play the piano!

This one sentense perfectly describes why valuing acheivement over personal freedom and well being is fucked up. I wish more people would see it like that, but we're too blinded by acheivement. It's even worse when people praise China about how they are beating us in "everything" and how we should strive to be more like them. Then there are those who say they wished their parents would have raised them like Chua That's not to say I don't see the value in any good acheivement, but the person should come first. Amy Chua needs to read up on Maslow's hierarchy of needs to understand the harm in this approach.

Quote:When I became aware that Chua was insulted by her father multiple times by being called "garbage", I became sympathetic with her.

I did too, especially the part where she got yelled at for getting SECOND PLACE in a math competition. It seems to be a cycle. She was abused by her father so she goes and abuses her daughters and now her one daughter says that she is going to raise her kids the same way (provided some exceptions like allowing sleep overs). I have a hard time buying the oldest daughter thinking this was the best way to raise her. Since her mother was a controlling and restrictive bitch (among other things), it sounds like it was the only way she knew. I also wonder how old the daughter is.

Quote:One of the most interesting details about this book is that Chua a few times writes that she is afraid new generations may stand up for their individual rights. That shows that Amy is fully aware she is violating basic civil liberties of her children, but that she realizes no one will do anything about that.

Yeah that's what enrages me the most. She mocks the idea of individual liberty and respecting childrens rights, thinking that letting kids have a say is bad for them. And as I posted in another thread, the part where she mocked her husband for letting her kids live shows how shallow she is. She's one of those bitches who thinks that being kind, fun, and caring is a sign of weakness and being a tyrant is strength. As for the husband, I think he's just pussywhipped. It's the only rational explanation I think of as to why he'd let her get away with this.

Lastly, I don't give a shit if this is their "culture". There are a lot of things people do that are part of their culture but it doesn't mean it's right. And I think in Chua's case, she is an extreme side to China culture. There's been debates about whether cultural rights trump human rights, but I think the answer is obvious, human rights are universial, cultural is not.

[Rastko]

Actually, I think Amy Chua is misusing that "culture." That actually has nothing to do with her ethnicity, she is using that as excuse. There has been a lot of interviews with many parents in China who say this what is she doing to her children is horrific abuse. But yes it's true that East Asia is one of the most oppressive when it comes to youth rights, particularly schools. Result: highest suicide rates in the World. What is the age of those who commit suicide? What problems did they have in their life - grades, application for college being dismissed... because they were taught formal education is everything and that there is no life without it. Why should anyone be surprised with that result then?

[AngryCollegeDude]

Yeah I got many believe that Chua's method is extreme even for the Asians. Some say it's an accurate representation of their culture and others say it's not. I believe that it comes down to how they were raised, just like how in America you have some kids who were raised in a lax environment and other's who were raised in a strict military or religious household. Hell, my mother and her brothers give me different versions of what their father was like. They argue about it all the time so I guess it comes down to perception.

However, everything I learned about Asia says higher standards, lower acceptance for failure, and higher suicide rates. Even if they're not as bad as Chua, they're still a collectivest culture and value conformity above individuality. I wish I had the suicide rate stats (I'm terrible with finding date like that). Because then I can debate my point better on other message boards (not that I really need it because most people agree with me, but there are a couple of devil's advocates and I fear that some will only accept stats).

As you can probably tell, topics like this are a hot button for me. Just reading shit this bitch posted makes me want to punch my fist through a wall, but it makes me all the more passionate to debate my point about how overrated this pretentious crap really is.

[Rastko]

AngryCollegeDude Wrote:Yeah I got many believe that Chua's method is extreme even for the Asians. Some say it's an accurate representation of their culture and others say it's not. I believe that it comes down to how they were raised, just like how in America you have some kids who were raised in a lax environment and other's who were raised in a strict military or religious household. Hell, my mother and her brothers give me different versions of what their father was like. They argue about it all the time so I guess it comes down to perception.

However, everything I learned about Asia says higher standards, lower acceptance for failure, and higher suicide rates. Even if they're not as bad as Chua, they're still a collectivest culture and value conformity above individuality. I wish I had the suicide rate stats (I'm terrible with finding date like that). Because then I can debate my point better on other message boards (not that I really need it because most people agree with me, but there are a couple of devil's advocates and I fear that some will only accept stats).

As you can probably tell, topics like this are a hot button for me. Just reading shit this bitch posted makes me want to punch my fist through a wall, but it makes me all the more passionate to debate my point about how overrated this pretentious crap really is.

Which still does not mean we shall generalize all East Asian parents as torturing and abusing their children in Chua-style. Actually, Chua is far worse then absolute majority of all East Asian parents. Singapore is a completely different story, the black hole in this World regarding youth rights, fascist dictatorship with the cruelest abuse of children in universe. Malaysia also sucks in YR. Taiwan and Japan are somewhat better, but still suck, PRC has a lot of good thing on the paper, but hardly any of them is implemented in practice (like CP ban in schools - it's banned in whole country since 1949, but it seems like no one gives a fuck about that; Taiwan prohibited corporal punishment in 2007 and hardly anyone now uses it, while it was the opposite situation only 2 years before, in 2005).

[aaaaaaasd]

holy shit we found bobmans mum

But seriously, this lady is everything that is wrong with parenting. Children are people to be loved, not trophies to be flaunted.

[Rastko]

BaronVonStrangle Wrote:holy shit we found bobmans mum

But seriously, this lady is everything that is wrong with parenting. Children are people to be loved, not trophies to be flaunted.

No, this lady shows that this society is completely fucked up and that it is, from it's roots which are youth and the childhood, wrong on so many levels. That is the reason why I dedicated so much attention to her.

[Rastko]

Third article (Sophia's letter) - http://www.facebook.com/notes/rastko-poc...1408662663