Good deed reveals our true nature
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But such a suggestion is surely too pessimistic. People who do not act to help senior citizens who have fallen in the street are in all likelihood not indifferent but are afraid of being framed.
On Aug 24, 2009 in Nanjing - where the notorious Peng Yu case must have cast a serious doubt in the mind of anyone considering offering help in such incidents - an old man was knocked unconscious in a fall in the middle of a road at 11 pm. More than 10 passers-by formed a circle around the man to prevent passing vehicles running over him, though none of them dared to touch him until the ambulance arrived. Obviously these citizens were not indifferent.
In fact, the undesirable quality in the people in these circumstances is not indifference, but rather cowardice. Yes, cowardice, we should not gloss over this word. We are kind-hearted and ready to lend a hand in most conditions, but usually flinch from danger.
Besides the fear of being involved in danger or being sued, another factor accounting for people ignoring the obligation to help a senior citizen in need is the reluctance to move because other people remain inactive. A commonly seen phenomenon in such cases is that once one on-looker begins to move, all the others do likewise. The initial move serves as an encouragement for the others.
This is why the good deed by the two Shenzhen teenagers and the awards given to them are significant.
The awards are not simply the reward for a good deed, they are a message sent to the whole of society - compassion still exists and is still acknowledged and appreciated.
What people should take from the Shenzhen incident is some consolation and confidence that our ethnics have not really degenerated and that ungrateful and greedy recipients of assistance are few in number.
The author is assistant editor-in-chief of China Daily. E-mail: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn
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