Examining the Shocking Cultural Response to China's Hit and Run Toddler Case

[russ_watters]

[Russ: "...I'm not a fan of China"]
I don't understand what that has to do here.

I said that to make my bias clear, mostly to increase the perception of the credibility of my opinion: People tend to lend more credence to an argument/opinion that goes against a bias than an argument aligned with a bias. For example:
1. I'm a Republican and I don't like Obama.
2. I'm a Republican and I don't like McCain.

People will have a tendency to read the first and react with "figures - you're just going with your bias" whereas people might read the second and think there's something more to it.

Unfortunately in this case, it appears you and nucleargirl read the first half of that short sentence and ignored the second half, concluding incorrectly that I was attacking the Chinese people when, in fact, I was defending them.

I stand by my opinion that I don't see this incident as necessarily being an example the cultural problem that I agree with others that China has. (if my first post got misread, I don't know that there's any hope this one will be read properly - it's more complex )

Also - I didn't see the original title, but people need to relax and not cry racism immediately upon seeing a criticism of their country. Every country has cultural problems, and China's issues with the treatment of women is a well documented one for them. There's nothing racist about stating that reality.

Blaming all China for this rare incident is one thing, sensationalizing the story and prejudging people involved in this "rare incident" is another.

You [and several others] are completely misunderstanding what you are reading. People in this thread are not judging all of China based on this incident, they are attaching this incident to an already existing judgement. You're reading people's posts backwards.

I still believe in the possibility that people did not ignore the toddler intentionally.

I agree, which is why I don't attach the issue to my pre-existing judgement/bias.

 

[f95toli]

I am superior to someone who doesn't help a dying child.

The problem is that you don't know for a fact that you would help a dying child under there circumsatances. There are lots of examples of similar incidents happening in many different countries and cultures all over the world. The already mentioned Kitty Genovese case is the most famous example and lead to a a lot of research about how people react in situations like this, the conclusion from that research seems to be that we all have a build in reluctance to get involved when something unpleasant happens (for various reasons). The psykology of it seems to be a bit similar to what normal, decent people can do terrible things in e.g. a war.

It is not a nice thought that none of us can be sure that we would "do the right thing" in a situation like this, but it seems be true.

Hence, unless you've actually been in that situatuation you simply don't know.

 

[pergradus]

The problem is that you don't know for a fact that you would help a dying child under there circumsatances. There are lots of examples of similar incidents happening in many different countries and cultures all over the world. The already mentioned Kitty Genovese case is the most famous example and lead to a a lot of research about how people react in situations like this, the conclusion from that research seems to be that we all have a build in reluctance to get involved when something unpleasant happens (for various reasons). The psykology of it seems to be a bit similar to what normal, decent people can do terrible things in e.g. a war.

It is not a nice thought that none of us can be sure that we would "do the right thing" in a situation like this, but it seems be true.

Hence, unless you've actually been in that situatuation you simply don't know.

An action is right or wrong independent of how I or you would handle it. I can ask myself all day what I would do in N situations, and regardless of my conclusions there is still a right and a wrong choice.

Choosing to ignore a dying child - probably because she was a girl - is f'ing wrong, and it doesn't matter if under the circumstances I'd do the same or not, because if I did then I'd be just as wrong too.

 

[nucleargirl]

Your examples are not really applicable. The examples you mention require some backstory and context of the people involved to find out what drove them to their actions and whether we are in a position to judge.

A baby lying in the street, being hit by a vehicle requires no processing to decide either what led up to it, or what to do about it.
- it matters not a wit what led up to it
- save the child

The examples I gave did have background, and so did this incidence. It is not simply a hit and run and no-one went to help - you need to take into consideration the recent very public case of the man who helped an old lady and had to pay hundreds of thousands of her healthcare costs. Add to that the current instability in the country, and that most people are struggling to get by on their salaries. There is also perhaps the desensitisation of seeing abandoned babies and car crash victims in general, and the fact that it was in a crowded alleyway at night. All of these factors come into play.

 

[f95toli]

An action is right or wrong independent of how I or you would handle it. I can ask myself all day what I would do in N situations, and regardless of my conclusions there is still a right and a wrong choice.

Choosing to ignore a dying child - probably because she was a girl - is f'ing wrong, and it doesn't matter if under the circumstances I'd do the same or not, because if I did then I'd be just as wrong too.

Of course it is wrong. But that is not the issue (I don't think anyone disagrees with that).

The point I was making was that incidents like these are not in any way unique to China. It seems to be a common way for humans to react.