As the title suggests, I am posting some of my confusions here, looking forward to everyone’s answers!
3 Likes
How would everyone educate their younger brothers and sisters? My younger brother has obviously become addicted to games and the internet. I really want to pull him out of it, but he only gets angry when I try. I’m also not sure whether I should promote Marx, Lenin, Mao to him, since he’s only in sixth grade. Today, while teaching high school students, I talked about future career issues. After listening, I felt that some have already compromised with reality, while others still want to continue striving for a good job. I think neither of these options is ideal. How should I guide them?
3 Likes
What specific game is he addicted to, and how is his behavior at school regarding restrictions?
Honor of Kings and 二次元 games… The school dismisses around 4:30 every day, and after school he goes to cram school to do homework. As far as I know, he doesn’t find school particularly tiring, and the pressure should be within normal levels.
I think I can help him develop some healthy hobbies, take him out more to experience social reality, and if possible, do more labor. Also, I should pay attention to his life in daily life.
1 Like
Actually, my nephew really likes me because I don’t make him study or force him to do things he doesn’t like. However, my influence on him isn’t entirely good; I used to play games with him. Later, after I became a Marxist, I tried to help him break away from gaming, instilling Marxist-Leninist ideas in him. He said he understood and agreed, but he still didn’t give up gaming.
In short, it’s important to maintain a good relationship with children, and not to use Confucian ideas to pressure them or to interact with them in a hierarchical manner. Instead, we should communicate with them on an equal footing. During this process, it’s helpful to understand their thoughts and worldview, and then to instill ideas of opposing oppression and exploitation, and being brave to struggle.
6 Likes
I am not usually with him all year round, and my parents are also very tired from work, so to a large extent, they can only rely on him to grow wildly. In terms of communicating with him, I really haven’t done well; he usually doesn’t have a phone on weekdays. He told my mom that he’s very afraid of me… However, fortunately, he has recently started helping my mom with some household chores.
1 Like
Yes, I often tell my mother not to pressure him to study, but to encourage him more and have some hobbies of his own. Even if he doesn’t do well in studies, it’s better than being addicted to games! However, in the past two years, I have indeed had less communication with him. During the winter vacation, I will go back and chat more with him.
1 Like
When communicating with him, it is recommended to think from his perspective more often, consider his feelings, and then understand his worldview in an equal and friendly relationship. If you mention that he is afraid of you, you can also clarify what exactly he is afraid you might do, and communicate with him properly. If you want to pull him out of gaming and other content, you also need to start from transforming his worldview. Our struggle against our own low-level tastes is the same. First, understand clearly what points he likes about these things, set aside bourgeois concepts, and use class analysis to see why he likes these things. What are the underlying reasons? Then analyze the harm and the methods of transformation. This process does not need to be rushed; you should first establish a sincere and equal relationship. Otherwise, it is very easy for people to feel: you say these things just like them, asking me not to play, which will cause resistance. To care about your younger brother, you need to treat him with sincerity that is absent in capitalist society, and care about his ideological state. Persist in speaking the truth and maintain a sincere attitude.
Hmm hmm, today I tried to use class analysis to think about this matter, but I found that I lack some necessary materials, that is, I don’t know enough about him, so I can’t make a hasty conclusion. You’re right, I used to be too busy with myself and didn’t sincerely treat him or try to reform him. Now that I think about it, I am playing more and more the role of an oppressor to him, no wonder he said he’s a bit afraid of me.
6 Likes
Lu Xun wrote an article about how his younger brother liked to fly kites, but Lu Xun thought that such hobbies could be detrimental to one’s ambitions. One day, his brother secretly made a kite, but Lu Xun broke it and threw it away. Later, Lu Xun felt very guilty about this because it was too harsh. More than ten years later, he apologized to his brother, but his brother had already forgotten about it and no longer liked to fly kites. Lu Xun thus lost the chance to make amends. Although your younger brother is only in sixth grade now, he has entered middle school, and with the increasing academic pressure, his mental state may become more empty. Middle school students also tend to have worse thoughts because many have become more parasitic. It is very necessary to help him at this critical time. Regarding gaming, playing games is indeed not right, but quitting also requires strategy. You need to understand why he is addicted to games to know how to help him quit. You should also learn more about his difficulties. I hear that parents are becoming more and more crazy, starting to instill speculative theories in their children from a very young age, such as ‘If you don’t study hard now, you’ll end up sweeping streets,’ and forcing them to attend extracurricular classes. He must have been treated like this too. Try to talk more with him.
My father often instilled such theories in him, saying that if he didn’t study well, he would have to come back and make buns. I was also educated this way when I was young. But I have always insisted on not letting him attend extracurricular classes; these things are not only useless for him but can even harm him.
Okay, I will talk more with him to understand him better.
You can ask him why he likes this kind of game, communicate with him more, and get closer to him before promoting, otherwise he might just see you as someone like the feudal parents of the Zixuefu Lao Jiu.
I feel like he now just sees me as a feudal parent… maybe because I scolded him too much before, but I still love him very much.
He won’t trust you this way, just like other feudal parents who tell him “I’m doing this for your good.” You should first establish an equal relationship with him, rather than just preaching. Only then will he listen to your advocacy.
Got it, got it. 
I still feel that it is necessary to communicate with them on equal terms, genuinely care about their thoughts, and then explain the correct Marxist-Leninist principles to them, rather than forcing them to do things like a Confucian patriarch. It is important to truly help them and make them feel that you can be trusted.
1 Like
Yes, being trusted is important, so he is willing to confide in me.
How is your relationship with your younger brother and sister? I think overall, if you want to help your younger siblings change their lives or their destiny, without certain contact or relationship, it won’t succeed, because they might maintain a resistant or cautious attitude towards you, and won’t see you as someone they trust or as someone worth listening to. In today’s Chinese families, feudal parental authority and feudal hierarchy are quite serious; there is often a hierarchical relationship between parents and children, between the older and the younger generations. This relationship makes the younger generation less trusting of the elders. From some social reports, it can also be seen that many parents treat their children with violence or unreasonable and domineering control, which does not foster friendly communication with their children, and their connection is not deep. Some elders also educate their juniors in this way, driven by selfish motives or personal goals, which does not bring any real benefit to them. Over time, this creates a deep rift between them. Many small-bourgeois intellectuals complain about the ‘generation gap’ with their parents, which is formed in this way. Therefore, if I were to give advice, I hope you can live with your younger siblings, treat them equally, strengthen your contact with them, let them know you are their confidant, and then consider their lives and perspectives, advising them not to indulge in games anymore. As for whether to promote Marxism, I believe the basic principles of Marxism must be upheld. For the younger generation, even if some sensitive topics cannot be openly discussed, the basic principles of Marxism should still be implemented. For example, you should not promote pseudoscientific views, social Darwinism, or the idea that contemporary Chinese imperialism is good, or that they should aim to get into university and become capitalists or big bosses. Such views should not be discussed with them. If you can build a closer relationship with them through equality, they will naturally like to spend time with you. At that time, you can help them develop healthy hobbies, such as reading books together when you have free time, choosing less sensitive or more understandable books, gradually cultivating their democratic ideas and revolutionary democratic ideas, which will be beneficial for their future path in life and can bring about positive change in them.
4 Likes
My relationship with him has always been very good; since he was three or four years old, he has been sleeping and playing with me. However, in the past two years, I have been studying out of town and can’t take care of him anymore.