http://news.yahoo.com/hit-run-china-sparks-soul-searching-114932177.html
By now, many of us are not foreign to the recent news about a two-year old girl in Foshan City, in the southern province of Guandong who had been hit and run by a truck twice due to the car backing up and running over the girl again. After she was hit and run many people passed by, but simply ignored her. Worst of all another truck came and just simply ran over her as if there was no human being lying on the street. Finally, an old beggar woman came to help the poor girl lying on the street, but by the time help came we all knew that it was too late.
The story of the hit and run girl and China brings about so much equity issues relating to society. First of all, I find the death of this girl to be unfair as she died simply because people failed to do something that is basic human instinct such as to help someone who is in need. If someone just lent a helping hand when the girl was first ran over by the truck then maybe she wouldn’t have gotten hit the third time by the truck that simply ignored and ran over her; thus, she might have been saved. Ii is unfair for me that people suffer and die just because of human apathy. Imagine how many cases of deaths have occurred that are not caught on camera simply because people refused to extend help when it was needed. It is also odd that it was an old beggar woman who extended help to the little girl, instead of the people who are more well off and educated. It just proves to us that our education system has failed to educate citizens on how to extend help when needed. Goodness is measured not based on one’s wealth or education, but on exercising good values towards strangers. In society, we always tend to create boundaries between the rich and the poor, and asserting that the rich are better because they possess more money; however, in the end what distinguishes us from another is not through material wealth, but through possession of innate human values.
China may be known to be a sleeping tiger that will conquer the world economy within years to come; however, their citizens lack the values that will allow them to be successful in this world. China should change its policies that would allow their citizens to develop more empathy towards the needy as seen in how most people failed to help the little girl because they were afraid of being blamed for the hit and run, which can result in death penalty if convicted. In my opinion, they should probably not be so severe towards the death penalty law, so that people will be less fearful of helping the needy. I find it really sad that China had to create a law that offers money towards good Samaritans as being a good Samaritan is something that we should all strive for, and not something we should do in order to get extrinsic rewards. As equity ambassadors not only are we responsible for promoting anti-discrimination laws throughout campus, but we are also responsible for showing empathy, and extending a helping hand towards those in need.
– Demi D.