No Samaritan in China (pardon the pun)

[wildfire_emissary]

This video was on the news a couple of times in Philippine TV. It broke my heart when I saw it on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqVYUzHc5L8

"Death is not the enemy, gentlemen. If we are going to fight a disease let's fight the worst disease of all, indifference."
-Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams

[Crow]

This is going to sound harsh but that reflects human nature down to a T, and is no different than any of my experiences throughout life, the majority walk by and few help. I think most didn't feel indifferent but rather most felt sad and felt like they should help but rather decide not to at the time and then feel guilty later that they didn't especially if they saw the clip.

The truth is awful stuff like this happens on a daily basis all over the world. Those that did help probably did more harm than those that walked by as basic first aid is do not touch the person, certainly don't pick them up or drag them to the side. May make more sense to why people did nothing if you read this, I agree with the article to a degree because honestly I do not know what I would have done if I was there or in another similar circumstance, I have walked past some accidents that were similar and have helped in others. I do know I wouldn't have done what the driver did that's the worst part about it by far.

[KingPhilip]

I saw this a few days ago, and it killed me. I honestly don't care to watch things like this happen to adults, I'm not sure why, I feel bad for them but it's not the same. I'll watch violent crime videos and murders and such and be totally fine with it, but anything to do with a kid getting hurt and I just can't take it. There is absolutely no excuse for any of those people to have just left the child, the people passing by, as well as the shopkeepers and the incredibly inattentive mother should all face the same charges.

Videos like this just make me mad at the foul sort of people inhabiting the majority of the world, the abuse and wretched treatment of children that goes on in places like China, Brazil, or Columbia are simply sickening. There's really few things I hate worse in life.

Anyway, same old same old I guess, miserable things happen in a miserable world.

[Asmodean]

Disclaimer: You know what a beacon of light and compassion Asmodean is in our dark and cruel world, right..? Skip to the next post if such offends you.

(For those who don't know, Asmodean is probably the worst beacon of light and compassion imaginable)

Ok. A little girl gets run over. Let us imagine Asmodean walking by. Now, I am trained in emergency aid. But would I stop to help..? Not likely. Why, you may ask. Well, for one, if I am walking it means Old Rusty is broken, which in turn means I've probably walked far, turning my misanthropy sky-high. Does the little girl deserve to die because of a blister on my toe..? Obviously not. But in a situation like that, I'd be more interested in my own misfortune. Petty... Yet there it is.

The second reason I would walk on by and pretend not to see anything out of the ordinary is that if she got ran over twice, I could get ran over at least once trying to mount a rescue. I like my spine in one piece, thank you very much. (I do not carry a cell phone, but if I did, I would call in the accident)

The third reason I'd walk on by (AND not feel bad about it AT ALL) is that everyone else does. For some reason, I lack that parental instinct that makes you want to save random kids, so for me, being drawn into such an ethical dilemma would be nothing but an annoyance, and seeing others deal with it the way I would want to would make my dilemma... Well, go away, really.

Now, if the little girl WAS recieving aid from amateurs somewhere away from traffic as I walked by on my blistered toe, I would most likely stop and ask if they needed or wanted assistance.

[Crow]

The thing I find strange about this is that nobody is asking why was the child walking around in the middle of the road? If you don't look after a child that's whats gonna happen.

[OldGit]

There is some slight semblance of an excuse, though pretty weak, for passing by.  It seems that passers-by who got involved with accidents in the past have been sued and got into legal trouble.  I suppose you can understand that, though I don't believe I could drive on or walk past,even so.

[DeterminedJuliet]

This is a pretty common sociological phenomena, sadly. It's called the "bystander effect".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect. The more people there are around, the less likely it is that any one person will go out of their way to help in an emergency situation.

That's why, if you are ever in a crowd and you need help, you're supposed to point to one person, make eye contact and say "YOU - call the police, call an ambulance, stop traffic, etc." that way the person feels that they have been made personally responsible for something and they feel like they have no choice but to become involved (they might still walk away, but it's less likely).

It's just sad because, in this case, the toddler couldn't do this It makes me shudder. 

[Asmodean]

The thing I find strange about this is that nobody is asking why was the child walking around in the middle of the road? If you don't look after a child that's whats gonna happen.

Because after the fact, that question is unimportant except when assigning the blame, which in such cases is always on the parents anyways.

[Tank]

Chinese toddler left for dead in hit-and-run crash dies

A two-year-old girl in southern China, who was run over by two vans and ignored by 18 passers-by, has died, hospital officials say.

Surveillance camera footage showed people walking past the girl as she lay bleeding and unconscious.

It sparked a wave of condemnation and soul-searching on China's social networking sites.

Doctors had earlier said Wang Yue, who had been in a coma since the incident on 13 October, was unlikely to survive.

Police have detained the drivers of both vehicles involved in the incident, which happened in the city of Foshan in southern Guangdong Province...

...Guangdong province is debating the introduction of a law to force people to help others in obvious distress. ...

I think I'm right in saying that in France there is a law that means that people must offer aid in circumstances like this. It was invoked when Pricess Diana died as the photograpghers had taken pictures rather than offered aid. The photographers defence was that they did what they could which was to call for assistance.

[Godless]

Do you guys think that it's not because of the bystander effect, but because of the nature of Chinese society? I get the impression that many Chinese people really only care about themselves, thus they don't have that much of an altruistic nature, and that people will do anything to get ahead. This is just a guess though. I am actually part Chinese, but I was born in America and I've never been outside the continental U.S. But growing up, my parents seemed to only care about the family and didn't really pay too much heed to strangers.

[Tank]

Do you guys think that it's not because of the bystander effect, but because of the nature of Chinese society? I get the impression that many Chinese people really only care about themselves, thus they don't have that much of an altruistic nature, and that people will do anything to get ahead. This is just a guess though. I am actually part Chinese, but I was born in America and I've never been outside the continental U.S. But growing up, my parents seemed to only care about the family and didn't really pay too much heed to strangers.

I think the only way one could find out why the people who walked past did so would be to ask them. Any generalisation would be frought with danger given there are so many Chinese people and the reaction on their 'Twitter' has been huge.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I am aware of a study that was conducted at a seminary here in the USA.  There was an underground passageway between a seminary building and a church across the street.  Seminary students were assigned particular times to go to the church to preach a practice sermon on "The Good Samaritan."  Unknown to them, a person was assigned to be in the passageway, feigning injury or sickness.  A good number of the seminary students, rushing to their appointed times to preach about "The Good Samaritan," failed to stop to render aid.  It's a pretty common human action - we are focused on our own agenda and just don't have time for others.

[DeterminedJuliet]

Do you guys think that it's not because of the bystander effect, but because of the nature of Chinese society? I get the impression that many Chinese people really only care about themselves, thus they don't have that much of an altruistic nature, and that people will do anything to get ahead. This is just a guess though. I am actually part Chinese, but I was born in America and I've never been outside the continental U.S. But growing up, my parents seemed to only care about the family and didn't really pay too much heed to strangers.

It could be a combination of the two, but personally I think the emphasis on "Chinese culture" in this instance is a little over-stated. I've heard a lot of people talk about how this incident is a symptom of "sickness" within their particular society, but I think something like this could have happened a lot of other places, as well.

[Asmodean]

It's a pretty common human action - we are focused on our own agenda and just don't have time for others.

In my experience, it is sort of uncommon for a theist to acknowledge the less-than-pretty sides of human behaviour as common rather than condemn those who display such for doing so.

For being an uncommon theist in that regard, your stock in the Bank of Asmodean is on the rise.

Needless to say, we are in agreement on this particular point.

[Sandra Craft]

It could be a combination of the two, but personally I think the emphasis on "Chinese culture" in this instance is a little over-stated. I've heard a lot of people talk about how this incident is a symptom of "sickness" within their particular society, but I think something like this could have happened a lot of other places, as well.

I was immediately reminded of two incidences in the States where people in hospital waiting rooms (one a pyschiatic hospital, the other an emergency room) collapsed, had convulsions, and eventually died and lay on the floor for hours before any body checked on them -- and this was with video cameras recording nurses, orderlies and guards pausing to look in and then move on.  It definitely ain't just China.