by PaintedToeNail 86 Replies latest jw friends
There have been times when the situation presents itself and I have stopped to help someone.
Others around me looked at me like WTF.
I don't care, though.
I will step in to help no matter if I'm surrounded by others and no one is doing anything because of the diminished feeling of responsibility in the individuals of the group.
Social psychology at work there, but some people do rise above it to help others.
so there are a few here saying that chinese are rude, it's part of their culture.
But when they come to australia they seem overly polite. Why is that?
I have noticed some at supermarkets just walk right into you but I always figured that was because in china there is no space so they have no idea about personal space.
BTW, I find it strange when people jump to the defence of the by standers and trucker with some psychology rubbish that a pompous collage grad pulled out their ass.
In australia people often die saving the life of strangers. We even had people jumping into the line of fire when a ganster was shooting his girlfriend. the girlfriend died along with the good samaritan (who wasnt even a citizen) who was shot.
I would like to see how many walk walk past a bleeding girl without doing anything in Australia.
As for china, I think the only excuse for walking past a dying infant and not so much as pick up a phone would be if they have become so desensitised to death that they no longer feel empathy. Maybe they have seen so much horror that they no longer care
....The first driver in the video didn't come down, but tried to kill the little girl instead, because he knew that killing someone in an accident would probably involve a lump sum and maybe sometime in the prison, whereas being responsible for her medical bills would mean bankrupting his family. The legal system, which is enacted by and for the governing elites, is inefficient (at best) and corrupted, especially any level of governments are involved (and they are involved in almost everything). From their own observations, many people lose hope; many turn cynical; and even more just become numb. Avoiding uncertainty at all cost is not a bad strategy to protect oneself.
A media friend of ours who lives in Shanghai calls the current time in China "The Carnival before the Judgement Day". And indeed tension if built up inside and I won't be surprised it hits a wall soon. Unlike many more patriotic Chinese, I do not want China to become a new world power soon - at least not in the current form. The still growing economy is the only legitimacy left for this system to maintain in power, and I am actually hoping for an economic hard landing in China if that's what takes to wake people up to challenge the status quo for the better...
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/10/must-see-heart-wrenching-video-of-moral.html
From the Telegraph (UK) link in wannabefree's post:
The story of Yueyue has both touched and angered millions of people in China and around the world.
In China, the TV report of the incident was viewed more than 2 million times on the internet within 24 hours and on Sina Weibo – China's version of Twitter – it attracted 4.4 million comments in the same period, organised under the hashtag "Please end the cold-heartedness."
By last night the story appeared to have sparked a national campaign on Sina Weibo under the banner "Please Stop Apathy" which was the number one trending topic, with thousands of posts calling for a return to moral consciousness in China.
"Little Yueyue's tragedy should not be repeated, the morality should not disappear, our hearts must still have a conscience. From today, offer to help those who need your help, because caring for others is just help yourself," said the call for change.
The public discussion reached even the pages of People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party that usually remains aloof from such mass debates when they erupt on China's vibrant internet discussion boards.
"Although saving people constantly brings 'trouble,' nonetheless, ignoring the dying or even helping with evil acts by negligence is ripping apart society's ethical baseline and dissolving any sense of conscience deep in the souls of the public," wrote a senior columnist, Li Hongbing.
The one person who attracted universal praise for her warmheartedness was Yueyue's rescuer, 58-year-old Chen Xianmei who was said to work as a domestic helper by day and supplement her income by collecting rubbish for recycling at night.
Yueyue's parents were photographed meeting the woman, bowing down in a ritual 'kowtow' – a public expression of gratitude that she had stopped to help their daughter when so many others had walked on by.
The woman said she had thought about the risk of malicious prosecution when she intervened to help Yueyue – the reason widely given in China why 18 others did not stop to help – adding that she responded instinctively.
She told reporters she had found Yueyue with one eye shut and the other eye open looking at her and had rushed around searching for her mother. "I
didn't think I was getting into any trouble. I didn't think so much. I just wanted to help her," she said, before returning to work.
I guess not all atheist Chinese are heartless bastards.
Economically, China went through amazing transformation in the last 3 decades, but the gap between have's and have-not's has increased many folds (especially with the last decade's 10 times increase of real estate value), with inflation playing a big role. Behind the facade of economic wonders, survivalism, pragmatism and materialism are the reality of many lower, middle and upper class Chinese families. The people at the bottom of the society struggle just to get by, and with the absence of social safety net and a poor justice system, many families are really just one accident / sickness / law suit / unemployment away from broken down
Great link BTS. As others have mentioned, Scandinavian countries are overwhelmingly athiest, and yet they don't generally behave like this. The issue is economics and wealth distribution, not religion and morality. There is a high standard of living in Scandinavia, a large middle-class, and lots of social safety nets, so people do not have a dog-eat-dog attitude.
China lacks all of those. That's why they demise of the middle-class in a America is so concerning. Just look at how this country has changed due to a few years of recession. Even five years ago, people at a presidential debate would NEVER cheer the thought of 'letting someone die' because they didn't have insurance. Or how about the thread we had here where posters cheered the firefighters who stood by and did nothing while a family's house burnt to the ground because they hadn't paid their fee. I believe BTS was one of them that cheered.
Instead of pointing fingers at China, the "good Christians" in the U.S. might want to take at look at what they are becoming as a result of relatively minor financial duress.
LOL
So a mother lets her two year old daughter out of her sight and gets seriously injured , and only one person helps her and so far these are to blame:
Chinese Atheists, Politics, Economics, Overpopulation, & Culture.
I think people just can't wait to talk about topics they feel very strongly about!
There is the famous case of Kathy Genovese, a lesbian in Queens during the 1960s. In a decent neighborhood, she was assaulted horribly and stabbed repeatedly. Houses are attached or on very small lots. When the police reconstructed the crime, they discovered that people could hear her screams for many, many blocks. Not a single person telephoned the police, let alone try to give aid themselves.
Before the communists came to power, people used to leave baby girls out to die. People walked right over them. I recall a famous writer, speaking of living in Shanghai, and how the ground was littered with dead infant girls.
Great link BTS. As others have mentioned, Scandinavian countries are overwhelmingly athiest, and yet they don't generally behave like this. The issue is economics and wealth distribution, not religion and morality.
I am glad you enjoyed the link. I have no recollection of any cheering however.
Again, from the link:
Addendum:
Several people were upset at this video thinking it does not belong in an economic blog. They are mistaken.
The perpetual story regarding China is that the country will grow without end, it will overtake the US, and rule the world.
Instead I propose the China story is really about rampant credit expansion, malinvestments, unproductive assets, no free capital markets, centralized planning that people mistake for capitalism, no real legal system, no freedom of speech, and no respect for either property rights or human rights.
All the people who think China is some sort of miracle savior for the world economy are going to find out otherwise.
