What is wrong with these people!

[mayerling]

I still don't understand where the mother was while the little girl was lying on the street...

 

[Arkteia]

.[/quote]

OK I checked it. I did not get the whole thing, about the National Gang Week, hence I could not Google it and read Snopes. (Never heard about them before). Thank you! Interestingly, in the letter that I got, Gang was not mentioned, but you are right about the rest...[/quote]

Well, these things go around in various flavors - one might say National Gang Week, the other not, but the idea is the same.
I'm genuinely curious what exactly made you believe the version you got. What was your first, gut response? Did it go straight to a deep fear that you harbor? Not trying to psychoanalyze you, just interested. I'll confess, the vast majority of people who I've gotten these from over the years, are generally older(in their 60's or 70's) and extremely conservative. Those two things may or may not have something to do with that. I just know I've never gotten one from a 20-something of ANY social leaning.

I know why I do not believe it or others like it.

1) I am a congenital skeptic. To the degree that I'm able I always check claims.
2) Things that I read that seem overwhelmingly constructed to A) evoke a fear response and B )get me to DO something (email to everyone I know for instance) in response to that fear, are particularly suspect and need verification.
3) I really don't have a bad view of human nature. I find us a mixed bag, and even in "these degenerate times" I find a larger balance of decency in people than not.
4) Any such thing that comes via email is automatically a load of crap. That is a default position.
5) I work in IT, and am reminded about social engineering (a form of which these emails are) almost daily.[/quote]


Well, I am older (you are right) but extremely liberal to a degree that I don't even want most people to find out about it. And I am finding myself becoming more liberal as I grow older... which is strange. I had absolutely no gut response. It was early morning, I read in on my cell phone and deleted it. But here are several reasons I believed in it:

a) there were several warnings in this email. One about this thing, another one about an unmarked police car, something else, I think (not egging the car, though ). So yes, there was escalation of facts, not emotions, and this baby seat was at the very bottom so when I came up to it I was convinced rather than scared...

b) Second, they came from a person who actually sent very reasonable things before and is very reasonable in life (e.g., a good investor, successfully fought her company to let her keep her medical insurance after her termination, found some loophole in their rules, etc). She, however, is conservative.

But yesterday I "analyzed" myself and here is what I found.

- recently I had a casual (not professional!) conversation with a guy who came from an African country which was involved in a war. He was young when he left, and did not have to go through things that other people went through. Yet, said he, up to this day he was scared to see a policeman on the street. Here, in the US. Or be in an airport (people in uniform). Or just drive unless he had a good reason to go somewhere (had been stopped many times by armed people in his country when driving). So he knows that police here is safe but he has seen it being different.

I am not afraid of policemen but it is my habit to carry cash with me. Because in old country, if you are stopped by police for a traffic violation, you'd better have cash on you! So I know that I can not bribe the police here and I get a lot of tickets here, but I have seen police being bribed back home, so I carry cash...

Well, back home, when I was young, and later, there were many dark rumors and scary stories. And some were true because I did see the bruises on my parents' Jewish friend who was beaten by an antisemitic gang. And since I have seen it happen, why not believe gangs can be violent anywhere else? (Actually, I was more thinking of single killers than gangs). You have not seen it, or it did not come close, so it is hard for you to believe in it.

On the other hand, some things that are not appropriate here and likely would not be OK with you are perfectly fine with me. When I was pregnant, I always took HOV lane to drive to work and back (70 miles each way). And was often stopped by the police. My response was, "OK, guys like you use these bumper stickers... now prove that there is only one of me, and not two of us in this car!" And I would point at my belly. (And never get a ticket).

I understood that the joke was too much. But you grew up with political correctness and would probably never say a thing like this in a conservative neighborhood. In my life, I never heard or seen people respond to such jokes, I did not see political correctness in action, so it is easier for me to say a thing like it (I always have to restrain myself). This is an example of how one is shaped by the way he/she was raised, or experience. I did not believe in anything and my father is an extreme freethinker. He believes in good in each person but thinks that as mankind we are not going to fare well so I think it shows in me, too. This being said, I delete all political or other emails that come from my conservative friends because I do not even want to read them. I deleted this one, too, but believed in unmarked police cars and babies in car seats...

And you know what? My state is probably nr 1 in serial killers but when I found a horrible, sadistic threatening letter in my mailbox it did not scare me... Because when many years ago, back home, I received a letter with threats to kill me, nothing happened. We are shaped by what is close to us.

 

[Sha]

OMG...this video made me cry!!! !!! It's sooo heartbreaking!!! A little girl run over twice and passed over like so much common garbage!!! unbelievable!! Where is the basic respect for human life??? There is no excuse for this!!!

And I agree....where was the mother this whole time? Didn't see notice her daughter was missing?

 

[Pandora II]

The mother apparently thought her child was inside - her 7 year-old brother left the door open and she got out.

My little girl is the same age and it broke my heart to see this. I'm one of those people who stop the car to rescue injured animals - I could never walk past a child in that way. So very tragic.

 

[Laila619]

Horrific.

 

[beebrisk]

I'm sorry I saw this video...It's the most horrific thing I've ever seen and explicitly illustrates just one of the horrors of living under a tyrannical government.

We can't forget...this is China. It's where baby girls are routinely abandoned in horrible conditions by families who fear government reprisal for having more than one child.

After generations of Communist indoctrination, after being told that the government is God, that you cannot own property, that you are nothing more than worker drone for a dictator and that you have no rights to your very own children, is it any surprise that these poor people can ride by a child like this and no longer see the value in human life?

It's tragic. On so many levels...

 

[Sha]

The mother apparently thought her child was inside - her 7 year-old brother left the door open and she got out.

My little girl is the same age and it broke my heart to see this. I'm one of those people who stop the car to rescue injured animals - I could never walk past a child in that way. So very tragic.

Oh my.... so sad...

 

[ksinger]

.

OK I checked it. I did not get the whole thing, about the National Gang Week, hence I could not Google it and read Snopes. (Never heard about them before). Thank you! Interestingly, in the letter that I got, Gang was not mentioned, but you are right about the rest...[/quote]

Well, these things go around in various flavors - one might say National Gang Week, the other not, but the idea is the same.
I'm genuinely curious what exactly made you believe the version you got. What was your first, gut response? Did it go straight to a deep fear that you harbor? Not trying to psychoanalyze you, just interested. I'll confess, the vast majority of people who I've gotten these from over the years, are generally older(in their 60's or 70's) and extremely conservative. Those two things may or may not have something to do with that. I just know I've never gotten one from a 20-something of ANY social leaning.

I know why I do not believe it or others like it.

1) I am a congenital skeptic. To the degree that I'm able I always check claims.
2) Things that I read that seem overwhelmingly constructed to A) evoke a fear response and B )get me to DO something (email to everyone I know for instance) in response to that fear, are particularly suspect and need verification.
3) I really don't have a bad view of human nature. I find us a mixed bag, and even in "these degenerate times" I find a larger balance of decency in people than not.
4) Any such thing that comes via email is automatically a load of crap. That is a default position.
5) I work in IT, and am reminded about social engineering (a form of which these emails are) almost daily.[/quote]


Well, I am older (you are right) but extremely liberal to a degree that I don't even want most people to find out about it. And I am finding myself becoming more liberal as I grow older... which is strange. I had absolutely no gut response. It was early morning, I read in on my cell phone and deleted it. But here are several reasons I believed in it:

a) there were several warnings in this email. One about this thing, another one about an unmarked police car, something else, I think (not egging the car, though ). So yes, there was escalation of facts, not emotions, and this baby seat was at the very bottom so when I came up to it I was convinced rather than scared...

b) Second, they came from a person who actually sent very reasonable things before and is very reasonable in life (e.g., a good investor, successfully fought her company to let her keep her medical insurance after her termination, found some loophole in their rules, etc). She, however, is conservative.

But yesterday I "analyzed" myself and here is what I found.

- recently I had a casual (not professional!) conversation with a guy who came from an African country which was involved in a war. He was young when he left, and did not have to go through things that other people went through. Yet, said he, up to this day he was scared to see a policeman on the street. Here, in the US. Or be in an airport (people in uniform). Or just drive unless he had a good reason to go somewhere (had been stopped many times by armed people in his country when driving). So he knows that police here is safe but he has seen it being different.

I am not afraid of policemen but it is my habit to carry cash with me. Because in old country, if you are stopped by police for a traffic violation, you'd better have cash on you! So I know that I can not bribe the police here and I get a lot of tickets here, but I have seen police being bribed back home, so I carry cash...

Well, back home, when I was young, and later, there were many dark rumors and scary stories. And some were true because I did see the bruises on my parents' Jewish friend who was beaten by an antisemitic gang. And since I have seen it happen, why not believe gangs can be violent anywhere else? (Actually, I was more thinking of single killers than gangs). You have not seen it, or it did not come close, so it is hard for you to believe in it.

On the other hand, some things that are not appropriate here and likely would not be OK with you are perfectly fine with me. When I was pregnant, I always took HOV lane to drive to work and back (70 miles each way). And was often stopped by the police. My response was, "OK, guys like you use these bumper stickers... now prove that there is only one of me, and not two of us in this car!" And I would point at my belly. (And never get a ticket).

I understood that the joke was too much. But you grew up with political correctness and would probably never say a thing like this in a conservative neighborhood. In my life, I never heard or seen people respond to such jokes, I did not see political correctness in action, so it is easier for me to say a thing like it (I always have to restrain myself). This is an example of how one is shaped by the way he/she was raised, or experience. I did not believe in anything and my father is an extreme freethinker. He believes in good in each person but thinks that as mankind we are not going to fare well so I think it shows in me, too. This being said, I delete all political or other emails that come from my conservative friends because I do not even want to read them. I deleted this one, too, but believed in unmarked police cars and babies in car seats...

And you know what? My state is probably nr 1 in serial killers but when I found a horrible, sadistic threatening letter in my mailbox it did not scare me... Because when many years ago, back home, I received a letter with threats to kill me, nothing happened. We are shaped by what is close to us.[/quote]

Well, you pretty much prove why social engineering such as this email and others like it, work. It's not the your fear is necessarily unfounded, but speak to your fear it did. It is how these things fool otherwise savvy and reasonable people - it speaks to your fear while seeming to be filled with "facts". As for those so-called "facts", well, if they ARE genuine facts, then they should be easy to verify, especially in this day and age. I also kinda figure if something like this is real, it isn't going to just show up as a chain email: it will be all over the news, both print and TV.

You are right that I have not had violence happen TO me, although several seriously violent crimes - one a female policeman being shot at point blank with an AK-47, have been committed by my husband's students. I probably hear of it more than many on this board. I can even read gang graffiti to a degree (the hubs gets lessons from the local cops). Gang violence is greater where I am than many would credit, so I'm certainly not so naive as to think it isn't happening, and close by too.

But still, if nothing else, from here on out, check dark and scary emails with Snopes or UrbanLegends first BEFORE you panic. It'll be better for your peace of mind...

 

[Cupcake*Muffin]

I am so haunted by this that I really haven't slept or ate in the last two days. Not because I know her or her family but because this truely has shaken me to the core. How can people be so cruel to let an innocent child suffer this way? What keeps running through my head is how much pain she suffered and how scared she must have been. If only one person had stopped to help her, she might not be brain dead. If the first driver had not been reoccupied by his cell phone than maybe he would not have hit her. What's worse is that he continued to run her over and now is saying he didn't see her when clearly, he did.

I would like to think that people are good but after seeing that, my view of humanity is that we are no better than rabid animals...indifference is an epidemic, it only took one video of a horrific incident to magnify that for the world. The excuses that I am seeing all over the internet is ranges from "volunteer's dilemma" to bystanders benevolence...but you know what? A dilemma is a question with 2 options. In this case, there should not have been a second option, it should have been instinct for one human being to help another but that didn't happen.

Being of Chinese descent, I am ashamed at the behavior of these people. Having my husband being hit by not one, but two cars in the last year as well, I can guess how much pain that little child was in and my heart breaks for her. Compassion and empathy can be learned, if China has to set a law in motion for its people to learn it, than I am for it. As someone that travels and has lived there, the daily behavior of its people is shocking for my "western" mind. But for China to be the harmonious society it tries to represent itself as on the world stage, they better get on with improving the standards that they hold their citizens to. The society needs to see its citizens, man, woman, child, etc as something of value instead of disposable.

I keep replaying this little girl's life, captured in those 7 minutes and I am sick to my stomach. I hope she and her family find peace. (sorry, end of my soapbox rant.)

 

[beebrisk]

Being of Chinese descent, I am ashamed at the behavior of these people. Having my husband being hit by not one, but two cars in the last year as well, I can guess how much pain that little child was in and my heart breaks for her. Compassion and empathy can be learned, if China has to set a law in motion for its people to learn it, than I am for it. As someone that travels and has lived there, the daily behavior of its people is shocking for my "western" mind. But for China to be the harmonious society it tries to represent itself as on the world stage, they better get on with improving the standards that they hold their citizens to. The society needs to see its citizens, man, woman, child, etc as something of value instead of disposable.

Cupcake, I understand how you feel about this horrific act. But it isn't the Chinese people, and you should never feel ashamed. The Chinese people have been living under tyranny for so many years now with millions of innocents being killed, tortured, and unfairly imprisoned all in the name of Mao and Communism. How can they not be desensitized to something like this?

Most of the people you saw in that video have been taught that the only lives that have value are those that can serve the country and uphold its ideals.

If you read about Communism, Marxism, Maoism, you'll find the common thread asserting that life has no inherent value, spiritual or otherwise. In a Communist society, your value is assessed by what you have to offer the state. How can a person understand humanity having been raised under a completely inhumane ideology?

No, this is not the Chinese people. It's the way the Chinese people have been indoctrinated over the years. It's an enormous human tragedy. This video is just one, small horrendous illustration of that.

Sadly, it's what happens when government becomes God and the standard by which all human value is measured.

 

[Arkteia]

I also believe that the bell curve works the same in every country, and each country has the same percentage of good and bad people, so there is nothing specific in the fact that in happened in China except for the fact that the behavior was probably an indicator of some processes going inside the society that we are not aware about.

Another, opposite, example, that I only read about but believe in. In Japan, if you hit anyone by a car, even if it is totally that person's fault, and everyone saw it was his/her fault, the first thing you have to do is apologize (if the victim is not unconscious, of course). When the policeman comes, he would always inquire if the driver apologized. You hurt a person, regardless of his fault, you have to say, I am sorry. Now in this country, it may not be the fact, or may be used against you in court. See, he apologized, so he admitted it was his fault. Just different societies, different countries...

 

[Cupcake*Muffin]

For those that have been following Yueyue's plight, she passed away at 12:32am.

Heaven has another angel, taken too soon. May her life and death be a lesson never forgotten.

Save travels sweet baby girl.

 

[Lottie]

How very, very sad, as unrealistic as it was, I had hoped that she might pull through. I hope she is at peace now, poor little soul. That's so upsetting.

 

[partgypsy]

beebrisk that's a rather heavy brush you are painting with.

I don't believe that. If that's true then no mother would take care of their baby (you don't know if your child has value until it gets older).

What happened was disgusting and there is no excuse or rationalization for it.

 

[partgypsy]

I can't explain what happened (going by the news article, didn't look at the video).
I don't think that China is monolithic in it's culture (how can it be). A lot of the "heartlessness" one sees in China lately is driven by the communist rule combined with this hypercapitalism you either make money or you are left behind. I think that combination is rather terrible for both the environment and civil rights. Because of those drivers I would expect to see the worst behavior in cities. The countryside is different, more traditional. There are less restrictive laws about the number of children.

A friend of mind adopted two girls at different times from China. The first was from a city orphanage. Bad conditions, she couldn't crawl or walk because she didn't have the opportunity, and there was very little physical touching or compassion towards the children. The second orphanage was in the country. There the children were healthier, had time outside, and the caretakers were openly affectionate and caring.

To say the Chinese people are "like this" is a generalization. Otherwise you wouldn't have people like Ai Weiwei or students marching on Tietnamen Square, or the response the video had in China itself. The Chinese people themselves had shock and dismay about what happened, not a nonchalant oh well she was too young the serve the state response.