I don't know why, but I suddenly remembered a time from when I was in elementary school. I think it was around third of fourth grade when this happened. You see, during this time and age, people that age were testing out new words. Sometimes, the words were fine and cute; they were words that people really didn't know the meaning of. Most of the time though, they were mean through origins, yet when others said it, it was on the affection of a nickname. Harmless through intentions, but fatal through meaning.
On one particular spring day, my class was in recess. Kids jumped and played; pushing, shoving, and yelling at others to follow their lead. I was swinging on the swing sets with others when I heard someone shout:
"God! You're such a bastard!"
It wasn't really meant as a cute phrasing. The person that shouted it got into a fight soon after and kids hurried to see. Both got scoldings, but none in suspension. Probably because it was innocence, but more so that the parents drew punishments accordingly.
However, the word "bastard" had no substance to anyone but me.
A bastard, in original terms, was a child born of an unwed pairing. In some cultures, it was used derogatory to those children to make it seem like their mistake in life was being born. Other times it was used in a way akin to, "I never thought you would get this far!" in a mean undertone: "I never thought you would get this far because I thought you were a failure.".
There is a reason why some cultures, it's a great shame to divorce or refuse an arranged marriage. For parents in those senses, it was a matter of control. Others, they only wish best for their children. So they pick out suitable candidates that promises the best possible future for their child.
So, when a wedded couple has a child, there is more at stake. There are more promises to uphold; more vows. It supposedly creates a stronger bond between the two parties. With an unwed couple, however, the only thing that makes them strong is their responsibilities for their children. The stronger the morals, the stronger the bond. Sometimes, from what I've seen, unmarried couples last longer than ones who are married.
However, this comes with a price. If you have high morals, it is possible that your family has even higher ones. With higher ones, more stress is inputted to the parents and the children. It also shows how highly the children are held up in.
Family politics aside, using the word "bastard" in a derogatory sense is less painful than that of the original meaning. Because there are people who are applied to this meaning day by day, while the derogatory sense is pretty much harmless to those that seen more. It really twists my gut when someone doesn't know the true meaning of their words and applies it only to urban culture.
However, my sense of truth was always higher than many of the people surrounding me from when I was young. Perhaps it's just me. Perhaps not.
No comments:
Post a Comment