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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Do you think people here are reckless, or just don't value their lives?
I have been wondering this since the first day I got in this country. I remember hitting the first cab in sight after getting out of the airport and after a wild ride 30 minutes later I was nearly kissing the ground. Except that it was filthy. Anyway wild driving is one thing and crazy pedestrians are another. I've noticed that perhaps even more pronounced than wild driving are the crazy people jutting right out into the middle of traffic expecting everybody to stop for them! Plus I always see those annoying little scooters (get something bigger) driving on the same roads with full-blown cars and they often seem to spite the cars behind them, daring to be hit. I saw on Wechat about a month ago a person who was hit on the bridge and passed away as a result.. the story was painted in a way as if the guy on the scooter was a victim, when I've been on that bridge enough times to know that there is an individual bike lane that would have protected him from being hit by the car.
Why do people take such little care with their lives? Is it so that their family can make a payoff after they bite the dust? Or am I just biased?
Worthington
8 years 46 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
I don't think they don't value their lives. In fact I think most people think that the world doesn't give a shit about them and they need to look out for number one first and foremost.
I just think they don't really have good awareness.
Chinese people value nothing if not their kids. Even if only for practical reasons, you can't say that chinese paren'ts won't impoverish themselves to give their stupid kid any kind of leg up they can.
But then in terms of safety, it's like theres one or two things they harp on and then they can be (For the west) criminally negligent about everything else.
Let their kid not be completely bundled up? Hell no. they'd never risk their kid getting sick from cold. Bunch of other stupid superstitions they'll argue to the death about how they'd be bad parents if they didn't do.
But then they'll see no problem with putting their toddler on the floorboard of a scooter and letting them ride completely unsecured with no helmet in bad traffic.
I figure it's just they think safety is just a checklist of dumb shit. Then everything else is outside their control.
Milk + Orange at the same meal? You're taking your life into your hands there buddy! How could you be so careless!?!?! I should call the police you monster!!!!!!!!
Having your child not stick their head out of the sunroof on the highway? Well...what are the odds anything would happen there?
Oblivious. Oblivious and presumptuous are the words I prefer to use.
How did I get a down vote for this? Reveal yourself!
Sinobear:
Don't worry about the votes - we have our fair share of wumaos and trolls that down-vote everyone and everything on a regular basis.
I guess, then, I should add a third word to my list, vindictive.
ScotsAlan:
Its the same people who get confused with elevator buttons. They push the down button because the elevator is above them, when they actually want to go up.
Lord_hanson:
If someone is using a smart phone sometimes they press the wrong button.
Cause and effect. Lack of instant risk assesment. No spacial awareness, Yangism.
A bit like a TCM brew. Lots of ingredients, all making a small contribution to the whole, with no evidence that it actually works. No evidence is required.
Cross the road... wait.. stop.. look.... listen...
Nope... just walk out.
But look... that guy got squashed cos he did not look. Is that not evidence that you should look?
Evidence? What is that?
Evidence = stupid western concept.
Stupid is the word that most comes out of my mouth and I know that this annoys and disappoints many. But nevertheless, that's the sentiment I usually utter.
ScotsAlan:
Beyond belief royce. Simply beyond belief. My mind in not capable of processing a lot of what I see here. Stupid beyond stupid.
icnif77:
Me too, however I'm slightly different. Today I told banker: 'That's very ben. Big ben.'
My answer to the title question is both. A worthless life is the cause of reckless, and ruthless mind you, behaviors.
Why is their life worthless (mass perception at any rate)? Many reasons.
Who says life is worth anything?
The 'West' has Judeo-Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism (Taiwan, HK, USA...etc.) All teach the value of life.
What does mainland china have?
a. Communism, to be specific, mainland chinese version of communism, CCP's version. So, what does CCP teach? Read/hear PRC's national anthem. In the middle is the sentence, "we carry our enemies' bomb into their camp". And who are the enemies? The evil, corrupted "West". It is a we against them all mentality. What does that remind you of? For me, terrorism, 911, bombs, ....etc. Extremism.
b. Demand and Supply. 1.3+ billion population (reliable sources say it is a gross underestimation). AnyTHING mass produced is cheap. You say, but they are not THINGS, right? Sure. But to who? Back to the previous points, absence of religions and CCP.
c. Cultural 'Revolution'. This is also something they have. Traditional chinese values & philosophies wiped clean, replaced by the Mao idol-worship, or cult. Entire country. Estimated 5-8 million killedfor many reasons, western thoughts, feudal thoughts, possession of western objects, ....etc. Who killed them all? You are looking at them everyday, those who are now in their fifties and up. They tasted their first human blood in their teens, landlords', scholars', professors' , businessmen/women's, their own parents', blood. Consequences, legally, none. Consequences for you, me, and the rest of the world? HUGE. Aren't we experiencing it first hand, my friend? Don't we know it all?
If you were there and you kicked and hammered hundreds of people to death with your foot, bare hands, wooden planks, mentally, emotionally, physically torture them until they commit suicide ...etc. and you were told you did the right thing, would you respect life for the rest of your life? To see live video footage of the cultural 'revolution', go to Youtube.
How old is this CCP administration, the so-called 'china' you see today? 66 years old, since 1949. Very important to keep in mind. It has, strictly speaking, NOTHING to with CHINA. THEY rejected it. Their calling themselves chinese doesn't mean chinese all over the world agree they are. In fact, many don't agree. Guess why chinese all over the world address this new communist breed as mainlanders? Ask HongKongers, Taiwanese, Singaporean Chinese, Malaysian Chinese, .... why....
Is it so that their family can make a payoff after they bite the dust?
Maybe, probably NOT the prime reason. The prime ones are above. 18 committed suicide a few years ago, hanging themselves, jumping off the roof, Foxconn incident. One husband jump off the (5th/6th?) floor of a shopping center in the middle of an arguement with his wife, who bought and bought and bought, asking him to to carry the 'trophies'. (echinacities reported this). Another young guy jumped off a long distance bus (and killed himself) when the bus driver refused to stop the bus for him to take a leak. (also reported by echinacities)
Or am I just biased?
Nope. Not to me anyway.
ScotsAlan:
The foxconn suicides were for the insurance money. When they changed the insurance scheme the suicides stopped. Filial piety. Money goes to parents if they die in service.
earthizen:
That's what I thought too, initially, insurance claims. The more I peel the onion so to speak, the more I am not so sure. You know how face wanting they are. Filial piety, nice face, to both the suicide ones even after death, and their parents. 'win-win'
ScotsAlan:
It was not an insurance scam earth. A scam would be where you fake a death. The foxconn insurance was a good scheme. Unfortunately it covered suicide. Its the same with the monks self imolation. Nowt to do with a cause. They do it so the DL will pray for them. The cause was invented by the thinkers who cant comprehend not being educated.
earthizen:
Claims, not scam. Insurance claims don't equate insurance scams. I haven't read their employment contract so I am not in a position to say it is a scam.
earthizen:
Some additional thoughts. THEY (chinese news media) said the motive behind the suicides was filial piety, the money goes to their families. However, given the chinese love of face and the lies they would make to cover up truths, there are many other possible motives, or reasons behind their suicide. Such as? Unhappy about pay (seeing Mercedes rolling, their girlfriend who dumped them inside) , poor performance then being reprimanded in public (loss of face) constantly, humiliated by peer, dismal future, ....etc. If they were concerned about their parents they wouldn't jump (unless their parents were pressing them for money/marriage but they couldn't afford the dowry..etc., meaning their parents were responsible, at least partially, for their death. With the face thing their greedy parents would never admit that). Other than that I say they were concerned about themselves. This was why I said I wasn't so sure if filial piety was the reason, these days.
I just think and thank god for people here cannot carry gun powder, just last night saw remains of a reckless road accident while coming back home. Never use cell phone while walking down the street, either you will be ran over or the least honked to death by a BMW for not paying attention to the dude driving.
Lord_hanson:
Tell me about it. That is one way they could get laowai to leave China. Legalise guns. The population problem would be sorted quickly at least.
ScotsAlan:
No way Lord H. That would make China way too much like America. McDonalds I can deal with, gun totting rednecks I can do without :-)
RandomGuy:
Sure guns are illegal but you can easily buy some low calibers at any night market in this country. A number of people also carry cold steel, especially young men.
Spiderboenz:
"No guns in China..."
Please, do you know how easy it is to build a firearm? (Very)
The same for ammunition.
I can tell you how Chinese girl are reckless with Foreign men and how Chnese boys can only watch while crying.
Both, and it is heartbreaking. saw 2 dead, and one dying on the side of the road today from reckless auto accidents involving bikes. 3 gruesome accidents, in the same day, 2 on the same road.
Stiggs:
A friend of mine saw a mother and son get run over a few days ago. The mother just walked onto a busy street with fast moving traffic without looking. The boy was killed instantly. It's f****g tragic and unnecessary.
I saw a grandmother holding her grandchild's hand do the same thing a couple of weeks ago, several cars had to brake and swerve sharply to avoid them, there were a lot of horns blaring and it didn't even seem to register with her.
Both, and it is heartbreaking. saw 2 dead, and one dying on the side of the road today from reckless auto accidents involving bikes. 3 gruesome accidents, in the same day, 2 on the same road.
wSchuyler88:
Woah, make sure you get a good rest and a bit of scotch there.
I'd posit that it's due to obliviousness to other people. Chinese seem to have only a vague idea that people other than them exist. You can see it in the littering ("I don't have to deal with the consequences of trash on the street, since I'm walking on, so I don't care."), letting kids use streets as toilets, watching movies with the volume cranked up on public transit (it is irritating to people around them, but they don't consider people around them), walking around with face glued on a screen rather than being mindful of other people or surroundings, riding e-bikes and scooters on the sidewalks (Instead of only riding in the bike lanes, or at least going slowly and being mindful of pedestrians, it's easier to just shout, "Wei! Wei!" and keep honking/bell ringing).
RandomGuy:
This angers me so much, people here are self-absorbed to the most extreme level but they always expect the foreigners not to be, they constantly stare at us expecting a look back and a smile or any sign of friendliness.
Some good answers above. I think oblivious, self centered and stupid are the words that best sum it up. I don't think it's recklessness though, that would imply some awareness of what the risk is and I'm pretty sure that just doesn't exist a lot of the time.
I couldn't count how many times I've seen someone step out into traffic without looking then looked shocked and surprised when they almost get hit, or a driver just decide to pull a u turn across 3 lanes or traffic without checking his mirrors first, or try to push into traffic ahead of the speeding car coming at him.
They want to do something and they want to do it now and they're the center of the universe that everything revolves around so of course everyone else on the road will make way for them (if they think that far ahead which I doubt a lot of the time), and generally people will if they can but when you're in a fast moving car or bus and some idiot decides to move right into your path there's often not much you can do to avoid hitting them. People just don't seem to understand that though.
I have lived here for 14 years and people's driving still scares the shit out of me from time to time. I do not drive here. I have (illegally) driven, but very rarely.once my wife was out of town and I "stole" her car one beautiful Saturday afternoon in Hangzhou. Wasn't bad. Sort of fun, but I was also fearful of getting caught, or much worse, hitting some fool jaywalking. Also as an aside, there is very little parking here. Another thing is that places that do have parking lots are well guarded, even outside malls and stores.
Drivers here are inexperienced and worse, very impatient. I hate the impatience. Plus the incessant honking because the asshole cannot wait 10 seconds. Just the insane, stupid, inept, idiotic driving styles here. I am not calling Chinese stupid. I love Chinese. Their driving is fucking stupid. I advise foreigners, DON'T DRIVE IN CHINA. Your sanity, your safety and your life is not worth it. If you do still decide to drive, pay the medical insurance and make sure your Will Is settled. Just saying.
Drunk driving here is also a problem, especially in the more rural areas. Very few cops out patrolling and pulling people over like in America. I read once that a DUI in China (for them) is 15 days jail. My (Chinese) wife drives here and don't like it. She also drives slow, and is impatient. She gets mad at me because I clench my butthole when I ride with her. She will not listen to me or get help from me, regardless that I had a commercial driver's license and have driven since I was 16-17 years old and driving other vehicles even younger than that. Ironically, she won't let me have a license, and even if I did, she would not let me drive.
Personally, I love not having a car. I take the bus, taxis and the new subway. Cars are expensive, then there is the upkeep, the insurance (I hate insurance with a passion) the government extortion fees for plates, safety inspections and bullshit. Having to fear cops from getting pulled over for traffic fines and again....bullshit.
earthizen:
Your wife refuses to let you drive probably because she knows your "operating system" is "made in the West", it is a civilized way to drive and your being an expert only makes things worse, , i.e. your goodness/civility/thoughtfulness would get both of you killed more easily, and that's because she knows how ruthless and disrespectful of life Dai_Lu_ren (Mainlanders) are. She learnt, through real life combat experiences, that the only way to deal with this breed is to be MORE ruthless and treat them as worthless, dispensable objects. And you can't play 'save china' from 'up there'. Also, she wants you down here, not 'up there'.
I have lived here for 14 years and people's driving still scares the shit out of me from time to time. I do not drive here. I have (illegally) driven, but very rarely.once my wife was out of town and I "stole" her car one beautiful Saturday afternoon in Hangzhou. Wasn't bad. Sort of fun, but I was also fearful of getting caught, or much worse, hitting some fool jaywalking. Also as an aside, there is very little parking here. Another thing is that places that do have parking lots are well guarded, even outside malls and stores.
Drivers here are inexperienced and worse, very impatient. I hate the impatience. Plus the incessant honking because the asshole cannot wait 10 seconds. Just the insane, stupid, inept, idiotic driving styles here. I am not calling Chinese stupid. I love Chinese. Their driving is fucking stupid. I advise foreigners, DON'T DRIVE IN CHINA. Your sanity, your safety and your life is not worth it. If you do still decide to drive, pay the medical insurance and make sure your Will Is settled. Just saying.
Drunk driving here is also a problem, especially in the more rural areas. Very few cops out patrolling and pulling people over like in America. I read once that a DUI in China (for them) is 15 days jail. My (Chinese) wife drives here and don't like it. She also drives slow, and is impatient. She gets mad at me because I clench my butthole when I ride with her. She will not listen to me or get help from me, regardless that I had a commercial driver's license and have driven since I was 16-17 years old and driving other vehicles even younger than that. Ironically, she won't let me have a license, and even if I did, she would not let me drive.
Personally, I love not having a car. I take the bus, taxis and the new subway. Cars are expensive, then there is the upkeep, the insurance (I hate insurance with a passion) the government extortion fees for plates, safety inspections and bullshit. Having to fear cops from getting pulled over for traffic fines and again....bullshit.
I was thinking of getting a car and probably will when I have children.. but riding around on my motorcycle suits me just fine for now. I can get around traffic easily, find parking spots and it is inexpensive while being very convenient.
People here are extremely reckless and I am always on the lookout and ALWAYS expect cars and people to rush around corners out of nowhere.
I wonder if some of the people who zombie walk into traffic have low-grade suicidal tendencies. We know the state of mental healthcare in China...
There are people whose lives are miserable, but they haven't reached the point of jumping off buildings or drinking pesticide. Instead they walk around being suicidal in a more passive way, by not protecting themselves from everyday dangers.
earthizen:
Good point, the death wish may well arise from the subconscious, not only wishing themselves dead but others, mind you.
Expect everyone to be a partially aware retard and you will seldom be proven wrong.
Another reason why they don't value life probably comes from the side effect of the single child policy, the phenomenal number of abortions. You can also argue the cause/effect is a chicken and egg conundrum in this case because it can indeed be the other way round. The truth is, no amount of argument can deny the fact that, en masse, their respect of life is nowhere near the respect citizens of developed countries have.
They have eyes and ears... but the problem is they don't use them and lack simple and basic common sense. When crossing the road look.. Left and right, it really is that simple.
When driving a car, don't go speeding down the opposite lane at 60 mph hoping everyone will move out of your way because you're horning.
1. People here don't really think through the consequences of their actions. This is especially true when it comes to how their actions affect others around them.
2. The negative thought is seen as bad luck in China. "If you think/say something bad will happen, then it will happen" I've heard this a lot during my time in China.
So the result is people not really paying attention to those around them in traffic, and they don't want to think about the consequences because if they acknowledged that something bad might happen, then it surely will (Chinese logic). So I don't think people here have a death wish, it's more to do with them lacking critical thinking skills.
I don't think they don't value their lives. In fact I think most people think that the world doesn't give a shit about them and they need to look out for number one first and foremost.
I just think they don't really have good awareness.
Chinese people value nothing if not their kids. Even if only for practical reasons, you can't say that chinese paren'ts won't impoverish themselves to give their stupid kid any kind of leg up they can.
But then in terms of safety, it's like theres one or two things they harp on and then they can be (For the west) criminally negligent about everything else.
Let their kid not be completely bundled up? Hell no. they'd never risk their kid getting sick from cold. Bunch of other stupid superstitions they'll argue to the death about how they'd be bad parents if they didn't do.
But then they'll see no problem with putting their toddler on the floorboard of a scooter and letting them ride completely unsecured with no helmet in bad traffic.
I figure it's just they think safety is just a checklist of dumb shit. Then everything else is outside their control.
Milk + Orange at the same meal? You're taking your life into your hands there buddy! How could you be so careless!?!?! I should call the police you monster!!!!!!!!
Having your child not stick their head out of the sunroof on the highway? Well...what are the odds anything would happen there?
Too things to remember
1 This is China
2 This is why we drink