February 1st, 2011
Sailer has a long, interesting essay on Amy Chua’s heel-heat masterpiece, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.
The chances of me getting to read Chua’s book are vanishingly small, so I can only judge by the excerpts and the reviews. But what strikes me most about her conceit isn’t how against-the-grain her premise is–but rather how perfectly in-line with the modern burgher parenting ethos of demanding that all other parents recognize that their particular theories and practices are absolutely, positively, the best. She’d fit right in with all the other parents in Washington’s Mommy Fight Club.
The details of Chua’s approach might be unconventional by some standards, but overall, she seems to fit comfortably within the mainstream view of how modern parents conceive of their jobs: procure “the best” for your child and then educate the rest of the unwashed in the errors of their ways. I’m not sure what the difference is between Chua and the breast-feeding Nazis or the organic food tyrants.
A really radical view of parenthood might entail the notion that children should be raised for, and eventually become servants to, Christ; that parenthood is a religious calling to be practiced in servitude and with humility–a kind of lay version of the priesthood.
But that would probably be beyond the pale. And besides, it wouldn’t sell books.
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Is posting that pornographic video from ‘Black Swan’ last month a part of being a servant to Christ, Jonathan?
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paul h.,
I think I understand your point, but it really doesn’t fit this post or blog. For one, JVL is not claiming in this post that he is staking out the radical parenting position he describes. For another, he never claims that this blog is family-friendly.
Look, I’m a pretty hard-core traditional Catholic and believe guarding the purity of my eyes and mind carefully. Which is why I didn’t watch that video when JVL posted it, but still smiled at the joke.
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This post brought me up short. Thanks for that.
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paul h.,
O course, who am I to talk — I watched the red band trailer for “Your Highness” at least ten times and plan to see it opening night. Sometimes, the devil just does have more fun…
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“procure” is the wrong word for what Chua did. Procure is getting kids into Sidwell through connections. “Invested” is better, because she put herself into those girls with her own time and effort.
Plus she’s batting .500 at getting her children to be wildly accomplished artists. It’s hard to say that she was wrong in her views of her own elite children’s abilities.
Also, I’m not going to read the book either but from Sailer’s review it sounds as if she’s self-aware and self-mocking.
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The only thing Chua is incorrect about is sports: IMO kids should play a competitive sport growing up where they invest time/practice and are forced to deal with/brush off the embarrassment and humiliation of defeat. Even better, personally getting your ass kicked every once in a while by someone better than you in that sport: It hones the competitive edge later in life.
What strikes me is how obvious all the other stuff is: Demand results from your kids in school? Encourage them in valuable extracurricular stuff, i.e., music? Not exactly revolutionary.
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What strikes me about Amy Chua more than her methods of parenting is her perfect marketing tactic. Even though she may have offended those Chinese parents who don’t subscibe to her theory of parenting she can call herself not only a strict mother but also a rich mother now.
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I love you, JVL. : )
Though it should be noted that on Day Nine of Sick Children, I’m definitely more in “Please God, let takeoffs equal landings” mode than parenting with servitude and humility. I could take Amy Chua down one-handed. If she didn’t smash the lid of the piano on my hand, that is.
SkinsFanPG February 1, 2011 at 1:57 pm
I would answer yes, but I don’t speak for JVL.