Criticizing China
2014-05-12
Now, before you go all Hulk Smash on me, I'm not actually going to criticize China... (well, maybe I will, I'm not sure yet)Its more about the Chinese people I have encountered and their own reactions to any type of criticism they may receive. This came to me recently when I was having a class with about 30 students (all adults of varying ages 18-50) and we were discussing the topic of pollution in china. Now obviously this is a topic that has gotten a lot of media attention in the last few years, so the students were well educated on the subject.
Which brings me to the problem... While the students know about it, they offered me very few suggestions on how to improve the situation. So I told them a about Disney Land. When Walt Disney opened the park he realised that people were throwing trash on the ground. So he observed them for a while and worked out the average time people were willing to hold onto rubbish, before they eventually threw it on the ground. He worked it out to be around 30 seconds. So he then put rubbish bins all over the park about every 30 seconds walk away from each other. And people were willing to hold onto their rubbish a lot more after this change because they could now see a rubbish bin in sight.
After I told the students this story they said what a clever idea it was. I asked them if they think this would work in Changsha, and they said 'yeah of course!'. To which I then reminded them that people in my city throw trash out their car windows on the street, even if they are next to a trash can they sometimes will just lob something on the ground.
And all they said to me was "We know, but you shouldn't say it"
We know, but you shouldn't say it.... We KNOW, but you SHOULDN'T say it....
It took me a few seconds for my brain to digest this, I asked them why I shouldn't say it. They told me that while they know the problem exists there is nothing they can do themselves. Which made me think of the great line, "No snowflake feels responsible in an avalanche". I couldn't understand it. It frustrated me the defeat they felt at something like this.
Then they started to get angry with me, saying I was willing to criticize without offering any kind of solution. That I'm not doing anything myself so I had no right to criticize. But I told them I never throw stuff on the ground. The local zoo here looks like a rubbish tip the way people throw rubbish into the animal cages. I looked at the students still in confusion. They again said that I really have no right to criticize China at all. So I responded with "Does that mean you have no right to criticize a movie unless you make a movie yourself? Does that mean you have no right to criticize music unless you make your own album?"
I felt like my mother was in the room with me "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all". Maybe ignorance really is bliss...
Perhaps I am being unfair, after all I come from London. I didn't chose to be born there, I just was, and have received benefits that aren't available in china.
But I think sometimes just being aware isn't enough, and criticism is needed. My father was strict with me when I was a child and said "sometimes people just need a kick up the ass". Which means some people need negative reinforcement in order to motivate them to change. It really is true that sometimes it takes a disaster in order to create change.
For example, if a husband and wife of are driving a car without seatbelts and they have a crash, the wife dies. The seatbelt could have saved her life. You can be damn sure the next time the husband drives he is going to make sure he is wearing his seatbelt.
I think all kinds of criticism is welcome. Sometimes constructive and sometimes not. But why shun it? why should you not say it? If criticism can make at least one person think, or give one person the motivation to do something then it was worth it. Sometimes the truth is ugly, but lets hope its just an ugly duckling... it doesn't always have to be that way. If nobody ever criticized anyone then nobody would ever feel the need for change.
once I was sitting in the backseat of our company car, my boss was sitting in the front, and all of a sudden he started to cough, cough, cough..I saw he rolling down the window besides him and spitting just right out the window it wasnt a lucky day his spit was accidently smashed on other peoples car window behind us, it was so unexpected, luckily that guy behind us didnt notice yet as the driver hit the accelerator and run fast, all i want to say is some people in China aren't think this kind of behavior is shameful, because they think theres cleaner everywhere its their job to clean the city. (i heard that) . but i think people should improve the awareness of the importance of protecting enviroment as well as their personal image in public
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