Fear and apathy in China

Yeah, I read about that. It's upsetting how thats the reaction people have in this day and age.

Did it turn out to be a litigation scam?

I don't want to watch that. It sounds deeply disturbing that no one wanted to help.

There's a whole discussion about why people didn't stop, and one of the main ones is that a woman in 2006 saved someone's life and was then ordered by a court to pay them compensation. So people are scared to help.

There is also talk of the fact that China's booming economy and the people's attempts to desperately climb to the top has led to a lack of morals.

Yup. The whole thing's gotten me to rethink certain life philosophies. But it seems people might be bored of that on here. Some may find them interesting, as they contradict my political views.

Ugh, it's just so horrid. People really suck sometimes.

Watch out, if you contradict yourself too much you'll end up coercing yourself into changing your mind about everything.

I guess I should elaborate. There's no real inconsistency beyond a slight change in my core values and fundamental understandings of human nature which should demand a change in my opinions on political applications of these values. However, there are some pitfalls in either stance, so I'd be a hypocrite on both sides of the spectrum.

Ugh, why can't we just be freakin' cave people again???

I saw that video. Pretty fucked up stuff.

Don't remember on which website but the comments ended up being mostly arguments on whether it was a cultural problem. China doesn't value life as much as America! type of thing.

I wish I knew what they were saying. I saw a different video and the dad cried. It's the saddest thing I can remember seeing.

Apparently you've never seen the opening scene in Up.

This. So many times, this.

I don't think I can watch that video either. Sounds awful.

The only part that REALLY gets me emotional is the second tire from that first car. UUUGGGGHHHH!!! WHAT A FUCKING PRICK!!!

See yeah I couldn't watch that. I would want to fly to China just to kick someone's ass.

No, this is at least 12 metric Ups worth of sad.

Yeah.

After a long discussion with myself, because of this occurrence, I now see the genius of the Founding Fathers and their ideas about the differences and limitations of federal and state government. I must write an essay and submit it to something.

What does this have to do with the federal vs state government? You don't have to write me an essay but maybe an outline... a rough introductory paragraph...

I kinda would have to write an essay (or a really metaphor-induced novel) to illustrate it thoroughly.

The federal government insures certain rights are inalienable when it comes to people. However, they gave the states power in criminal punishments and education for a reason. States were originally designed to be sort of experimental labs where certain cultures develop around its inhabitants where they decide how to handle these two substantially influential systems more efficiently and, due to the diversity of states, highly differentially. These institutions would evolve according to the core values of the inhabitants, thereby inputing the human factor and how it fairs in application. Under the blanket of the federal law of "don't fuck with each other", this allowed for freedom in deciding these cultures without forcing people into them (except in the case of the Civil War where those rights were under scrutiny when it came to slaves, but that's an entirely different discussion on whether the rights dictated in the Constitution applied to slaves, thereby making slavery illegal, but I think we can agree that's quite resolved).

This incident occurred in China arguably because people there are so warped into thinking that they and everyone else are out for themselves as much explicitly as they are implicitly (biologically, we are all out for ourselves implicitly), and so the system revolved around the idea that if you help someone, you were either guilty of putting them in the spot of needing help in the first place or you're trying to make money out of it. I've discussed this incident with a few students from China, and they agree that modern China is entirely fixated on production, and that causes this sort of mindset. This mindset isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in our own culture where such a thing is demonized, we're allowed to base our own system around the core values we've set for ourselves so we can live in a community that achieves a greater amount of "happiness". These shared core values are necessary for this happiness (this is one reason I decided to stop bashing on religion years ago). I can't imagine living in a culture where it's entirely fixated on production based on selfish gain, because you'll wind up with something like this (this is where someone might say my philosophies contradict my political leanings, but I'll quickly answer that those political leanings are based on federal government, not state or local).

I can go on with more examples, if you'd like.

I see what you mean.

Another news item.

A woman jumps off a bridge onto a highway. They just drive around her.

http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1000/Nieuws/article/detail/3015644/2011/11/04/Vro...

They invented paper. Give 'em a break.

From the looks of it, they would've invented it out of baby tears and orphan blood if it increased production.

Also, they did drive around her. If they were wholly apathetic they would have just plowed right through her.

Oh come on China.

Get it together!

Yeah that's what got me too. This incident is just outright sickening. I think of myself as rather apathetic but there has to be a goddamn line in the sand somewhere. If any of those people have any common-fucking-decency at all, that sight should haunt the depths of their black souls until they scream themselves to death.