The other day I came across this funny video on my LINE timeline (I know, redundant) comparing Gordon Ramsay’s reactions towards children and adult participants of his cooking shows. They are . . . uhh . . . polar opposites; or, for the sake of simplicity, let’s just say his reactions to the children are the stark contrast from his usual favoring of profanity towards adult contestants.
But why is it so? How could one man be a total angel to a certain cherry-cheeked audience, while a hellish monster with swearing-issue in other occasions? Why can’t Mr. Ramsay be the same thoughtful and charming man he is when facing adults just like when he handles kids?
Most of us may justify this with the lines alongside of “Well, because they are adults, they can take it” or that “the kids are not prepared for such harsh criticism, adults are different.”
But is that truly the case? I mean, I totally agree that my 10 or 12 year old self would have cried and lost any aspirations in life if someone had repeatedly screamed “F*ck Off!” right at my face. However, does it really mean that as adults we are any less vulnerable at taking such jab straight to our face?
Are we all that tough? Is that what our adult life revolves around? Taking others “f*ck off” with full balls, grit, and guts, so that we may be granted the privilege to say “f*ck off” to others on different occasion when we’re on top? Is that it?
I think in a world where depression often slips unnoticed, we should all be reminded that even as adults we are never less vulnerable. All of us have the same desire and longing: to be acknowledged for our achievements, to be criticized in proportion, and to be picked up when we are down. We all want to be genuine and passionate in our aspiration, without having to continue referring to the standard of what’s realistic.
We all love to define the concept of adulthood as this final form of metamorphosis where our innocent adolescent self was the larva. But I’d rather see it as our cocoon; we are so busy pretending that the toughness of our shell changes the fact that behind the intricate cover, deep inside, we are still the same young little children.
JC
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