I want to try something different today. Before you scroll down and read what I have to say, watch the first 1:44 of the video below, and the description of exactly what happens. Be warned, it is very graphic, and very sad. Ask yourself, what would I have done? What would I expect others to do? After you've read what I have to say, please put your own thoughts in the Comments section. I really want to know what you have to say.
"Footage is taken from a surveillance camera presented on local TV shows; [2-year old] Yue Yue was walking in a hardware market in Foshan, Guangdong province [in China], on Thursday, about 100 meters away from her home, when she was run over by a van at 5:26 p.m.The girl was then run over by a light-duty truck. The riders of four electric bicycles, a tricycle and three passers-by all chose to ignore her and no one at a shop close to the scene came to her aid.
"Seven minutes after she was first hit by the van, a 57-year-old rag collector noticed the girl and moved her to the curb. The woman then tried talking to the shopkeeper but received no response. When she ran from shop to shop for the identity of the girl, the rag collector was told by a number of shopkeepers to mind her own business. She then walked into the street and a few seconds later, the girl's mother appears and rushes away with the girl."
Yue Yue later died as a result of her brain injuries.
At first glance, it's easy to blame almost everyone involved (or not involved). Some blame Yue Yue's mother, for letter her daughter out of her sight. Some blame the drivers, who roll over the girl as if nothing happens. Still others find fault with the passers-by, who do absolutely nothing to help a toddler lying in the street. I think everyone shares some blame, really. In an ideal world, you'd think the driver(s) would stop and look to see if they could help. And in fact, if one of the first few people had helped the girl, she might not have died from her injuries.
So the next logical question is: why didn't anyone help Yue Yue sooner? If you see a child, lying helpless, hurt, and bleeding alone in the middle of the street, wouldn't some intangible force, be it your conscience or social pressure, or just plain old good nature, make you stop and see if you could help? Unfortunately, the mantra of our era is "Don't Get Involved". We have been conditioned to mind our own business, that other people's problems are not ours, let every man fend for himself. Technology such as texting and social media has allowed us to connect with others...without making contact.
If this had happened in the U.S., my opinion would end there. But this happened in China. A different society altogether. I was looking for something to corroborate this and found nothing, but I can't help but wonder how much Chinese stigma against girls played into Yue Yue's accident. In the video, there are a couple people who look like they want to stop, and I can almost picture them saying, "Oh, it's just a girl." In fact, as far as I can tell, the woman who finally stops to help Yue Yue is the first woman to see her. This is all conjecture on my part, but it's worth thinking about.
Something else that could be attributed to the apparent oblivion shown in the video is the fact that Yue Yue was "the latest example of passers-by acting indifferently to victims injured in crimes...caused at least in part by previous extortion attempts from the injured and their families who have sometimes tried to blame the person helping.
"The notorious "Nanjing Peng Yu" incident is fresh in people's minds even after five years. In 2006, in Nanjing City in east China, a young man named Peng Yu, who had just gotten off a bus, went to aid a 65-year old woman who was knocked down by a fellow passenger. The woman eventually sued Peng, claiming he was the one who knocked her down." In fact, just before giving himself up to police, the driver of the first truck who hit Yue Yue said, "If she is dead, I may pay only about 20,00 yuan ($3,125). But if she is injured, it may cost me hundreds of thousands yuan."
So there is a genuine fear of being sued unjustly for trying to help an injured person. On a Chinese website, one person summed it up best: "Would you risk being accused of being the perpetrator? Would you be willing to dump your entire family's savings into the endless vortex of accident compensation?...Have you not considered that one moment of greatness could mean your entire family losing their happiness with you?" Another person had this to say: "We first cannot blame the driver, who makes a living with his physical labor. We cannot close our eyes and demand that he bear too much responsibility, as he didn't mean to hit someone either, and it was definitely very difficult to have noticed [the child], and afterward he was conflicted too, only he was afraid of bearing the burden of compensation and that's why he chose to run away. I can sympathize with him. After all, running away means still having a life to live while not running might mean his life is completely ruined. Though running away means his conscience is to be condemned, how important is one's conscience for the rabble where simply getting enough to eat is already a major accomplishment? Not betraying one's conscience in reality is a kind of spiritual luxury.
"The people who passed by are also not worthy of being blamed. To conclude that they are cold-blooded for turning a blind eye is a bit arbitrary...When it is a child [as opposed a dog or cat getting hurt], everyone pretends they don't see, it is always like this, almost without exception. This is not about whether or not a person is cold-blooded...but it is definitely about there being a very serious problem in society. These days, it is better to be less involved than more involved. Getting involved may very well mean getting majorly screwed. There are really too many of these kind of precedents, and everyone has silently evolved from these observations. No one is more qualified than anyone else to criticize." To read more of what people had to say (and I strongly suggest you do, it's a fascinating study on Chinese culture and mentality), click here.
As much as I can understand the consequences of being falsely accused and sued and taken away from your family who might not otherwise be able to support themselves, is it really too much to ask to do the right thing? Is it really too much to as to take pity on and help another human being, much less a child? We were put on this earth to help one another, yet somehow we've gotten away from that very basic principle. Let's face it, if doing the right thing were easy, everyone would be doing it. Fact of the matter is, it's tough to choose the right course of action, or to help when you know you could be severely penalized. But if we don't help each other, there really is no hope for humanity.
"Seven minutes after she was first hit by the van, a 57-year-old rag collector noticed the girl and moved her to the curb. The woman then tried talking to the shopkeeper but received no response. When she ran from shop to shop for the identity of the girl, the rag collector was told by a number of shopkeepers to mind her own business. She then walked into the street and a few seconds later, the girl's mother appears and rushes away with the girl."
Yue Yue later died as a result of her brain injuries.
At first glance, it's easy to blame almost everyone involved (or not involved). Some blame Yue Yue's mother, for letter her daughter out of her sight. Some blame the drivers, who roll over the girl as if nothing happens. Still others find fault with the passers-by, who do absolutely nothing to help a toddler lying in the street. I think everyone shares some blame, really. In an ideal world, you'd think the driver(s) would stop and look to see if they could help. And in fact, if one of the first few people had helped the girl, she might not have died from her injuries.
So the next logical question is: why didn't anyone help Yue Yue sooner? If you see a child, lying helpless, hurt, and bleeding alone in the middle of the street, wouldn't some intangible force, be it your conscience or social pressure, or just plain old good nature, make you stop and see if you could help? Unfortunately, the mantra of our era is "Don't Get Involved". We have been conditioned to mind our own business, that other people's problems are not ours, let every man fend for himself. Technology such as texting and social media has allowed us to connect with others...without making contact.
If this had happened in the U.S., my opinion would end there. But this happened in China. A different society altogether. I was looking for something to corroborate this and found nothing, but I can't help but wonder how much Chinese stigma against girls played into Yue Yue's accident. In the video, there are a couple people who look like they want to stop, and I can almost picture them saying, "Oh, it's just a girl." In fact, as far as I can tell, the woman who finally stops to help Yue Yue is the first woman to see her. This is all conjecture on my part, but it's worth thinking about.
Something else that could be attributed to the apparent oblivion shown in the video is the fact that Yue Yue was "the latest example of passers-by acting indifferently to victims injured in crimes...caused at least in part by previous extortion attempts from the injured and their families who have sometimes tried to blame the person helping.
"The notorious "Nanjing Peng Yu" incident is fresh in people's minds even after five years. In 2006, in Nanjing City in east China, a young man named Peng Yu, who had just gotten off a bus, went to aid a 65-year old woman who was knocked down by a fellow passenger. The woman eventually sued Peng, claiming he was the one who knocked her down." In fact, just before giving himself up to police, the driver of the first truck who hit Yue Yue said, "If she is dead, I may pay only about 20,00 yuan ($3,125). But if she is injured, it may cost me hundreds of thousands yuan."
So there is a genuine fear of being sued unjustly for trying to help an injured person. On a Chinese website, one person summed it up best: "Would you risk being accused of being the perpetrator? Would you be willing to dump your entire family's savings into the endless vortex of accident compensation?...Have you not considered that one moment of greatness could mean your entire family losing their happiness with you?" Another person had this to say: "We first cannot blame the driver, who makes a living with his physical labor. We cannot close our eyes and demand that he bear too much responsibility, as he didn't mean to hit someone either, and it was definitely very difficult to have noticed [the child], and afterward he was conflicted too, only he was afraid of bearing the burden of compensation and that's why he chose to run away. I can sympathize with him. After all, running away means still having a life to live while not running might mean his life is completely ruined. Though running away means his conscience is to be condemned, how important is one's conscience for the rabble where simply getting enough to eat is already a major accomplishment? Not betraying one's conscience in reality is a kind of spiritual luxury.
"The people who passed by are also not worthy of being blamed. To conclude that they are cold-blooded for turning a blind eye is a bit arbitrary...When it is a child [as opposed a dog or cat getting hurt], everyone pretends they don't see, it is always like this, almost without exception. This is not about whether or not a person is cold-blooded...but it is definitely about there being a very serious problem in society. These days, it is better to be less involved than more involved. Getting involved may very well mean getting majorly screwed. There are really too many of these kind of precedents, and everyone has silently evolved from these observations. No one is more qualified than anyone else to criticize." To read more of what people had to say (and I strongly suggest you do, it's a fascinating study on Chinese culture and mentality), click here.
As much as I can understand the consequences of being falsely accused and sued and taken away from your family who might not otherwise be able to support themselves, is it really too much to ask to do the right thing? Is it really too much to as to take pity on and help another human being, much less a child? We were put on this earth to help one another, yet somehow we've gotten away from that very basic principle. Let's face it, if doing the right thing were easy, everyone would be doing it. Fact of the matter is, it's tough to choose the right course of action, or to help when you know you could be severely penalized. But if we don't help each other, there really is no hope for humanity.