Monthly Archives: October 2013

BP Time

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I was having a bit of a creativity block the other day because I wanted to write something about schools, but I read a recent article from Huffington Post about people being late and I thought it totally applies to The Bahamas. Bahamians will show up late to weddings, funerals, work… just about anything you can name. There’s even references to people showing up whatever time they feel like to their jobs because they don’t care about being on time.1382030_539814226094096_948732163_n

Now I’m sure this is not isolated to Bahamians or even black people only, as the HP’s article didn’t indicate the race of the persons he had encountered, but I think that being late is a negative attribute commonly associated with black people.

I learned that here in Emporia, they don’t play that game. No, not all! If the bus is scheduled to arrive at 5:03, sure enough, 5:01:22 they are at the stop light at the entrance of the school.

I, personally am not a late person typically. I believe in the phrase, “You’re late if you’re on time. You’re on time you’re 5-minutes early.” If someone is scheduled to speak at the hour, it’s really rude to just be walking in and getting settled etc.

I know this may be hard for some Bahamians living abroad, but it’s advisable to adapt or you could find yourself losing credibility of co-workers and etc.

Cut Hip in Session

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Yes, I need a cut hip for not blogging in over two weeks! Sometimes college life gets crazy busy and then sometimes you forget your password.

Cut hip is what we Bahamians call a spanking. Actually, the grown up phrase is cut a$$, you get the point. Spanking, whopping, whipping, beating…it all means the same thing to the child that has to go out to the trees in the yard and pick their “switch”, the choice item used for spanking.

I remember having to choose a few of my own. For a kid, sure the beating hurts like hell, but it’s the anticipation of knowing what’s coming that used to get me crying before I got the first lick.

I know many people these days are against corporal or physical punishment because they may thinks its abusive or counterproductive to teach kids not to hit each other and then you as an adult are spanking them etc, etc… All that is fine and dandy, but generally speaking a good cut hip never killed nobody.

There used to be a running joke that Americans should come to The Bahamas if they want to spank their kids because we don’t play that calling child protective services mess back home! You act up, you get a spanking, quick!

Of course, you have people that take it to the extremes and take out all their anger and frustrations on their children as they’re beating them, but I believe in biblical principles, one of which said that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child. There’s another that says you should drive foolishness out of the heart with the rod of correction (Proverbs 22:15). Clearly, I paraphrased, but still, those biblical principles are what taught youngsters about respect and honoring your parents and older folks, not back-talking what you felt like. In some ways, cut hip replaced foolishness with fear because you (should have) learned that if you played the game or tried some mess, another serving of cut behind was coming up.

Back then, I could get beating from just about any respectable adult who saw me doing anything out of the way. Granted, I didn’t do too much, that thought was enough most times for me. Teachers could spank you followed by the principal, and if word got home, that could also lead to yet another spanking.

The point was that kids needed to know that their actions could result in serious and sometimes painful consequences. Does it work for every child? No, and neither does the same methods of teaching. Are some people more responsible in how they punish children? Yes. For me, when I have my child(ren), cut hip will be on the menu of punishment options along with other delectable items which are age appropriate. They will for sure have the option to “pick their switch”!

Is He Working for a Cut Hip??

*Warning: you are most free to share your thoughts and comments but I’m not going to entertain rudeness or anyone trying to convert me from by “barbaric” ways.