Velociworld

Dunce Caps

Now, the dunce cap is a strange thing. Something ubiquitous in the American conscience, but subliminal in that not many people have actually seen one. Oh, we've seen pictures:



But those are just pictures. I think the last institutionalized use of a dunce cap in education was in the 1950's. Now they are almost Rockwellian in nature, a silly look at what was considered stern discipline in the olden, pre-self-esteem days.

Also, I don't think dunce caps were used merely to mock stupidity in a child; rather, they were used as punishment for aberrant behavior: you put little Cordell in the corner in a dunce cap to teach him he was stupid for being buck wild in class, and dipping girls' pigtails in the inkwell. You didn't put little Cordell in the cap because he was struggling with his multiplication tables.

Of course, the Communist Chinese took the dunce cap to a whole new level, especially during the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution. As Mao took his Great Leap Forward Redux and purged his cult of apostates, heretics, and, most of all, the innocent passersby (if that is what you call a lifelong Commie rat bastard technocrat who has fallen into disfavor) the dunce cap was much relished. Grown men, yesterday high and mighty Politburo overlords, were consigned to roam the streets of Peking in dunce caps, so that even small children knew they were ripe targets for rotten vegetables, and wicked old crones could slap their shinbones with kindling sticks. Why, even the mighty Deng Xiaoping was trotted through the streets by the Red Guards in a dunce cap.

I believe they even made commemorative ceramics of the event.



The sign says "Down with the Foul Intellectual", naturally.

I don't have much use for Commies, but they do know how to throw down on somebody.

I bring this up because my boss has taken to placing a stool in a coworker's office, the better to sit next to the poor fellow and micromanage him. Every time I see him perched upon that chair, I think You know what? I need a fucking dunce cap for that frigging yahoo. And maybe some kindling sticks.