The world was shocked when 18 people in China ignored a critically injured toddler in the middle of the road. She eventually died of her injuries.  However, before criticizing the Chinese, we must look in the mirror. In April 2010, Mr. Tale-Yax, a homeless New Yorker, was stabbed while trying to save a woman from an attacker. The attacker turned on Mr. Tale-Yax, fatally stabbing him. Two dozen people walked by. He later died. In the summer of 2010, dozens of teens watched a 16-year-old BC girl being gang raped. No one helped her. Earlier this year, an Ontario woman froze to death in her yard after neighbors ignored her. Are these tragic coincidences? I think not.

These situations confirm that we have become indifferent. In a recent Yahoo News Blog, Laura Rozen discusses the Chinese situation suggesting the reason that passers-by did not help the child is because “many people in China are hesitant to help people who appear to be in distress for fear that they will be blamed”. I disagree.

Laura Rozen’s blog shares gruesome details of the Chinese situation, but it also highlights the sad reality: our industrialized society is self-absorbed and indifferent.