Dennis143 Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 While in Nanning earlier this month, I was alone in a high¡Vrise hotel. I couldn¡¦t sleep and I awoke around 4am. I waited until daybreak. And, at 6am I went for a walk around the streets below. This week was a National holiday, so there wasn¡¦t the usual bustle of traffic. As I was walking, I noticed a very thin woman, who looked in her early 20¡¦s walking in front of me. She had a long colorful blanket tied around her neck that she used as a backpack. As I got closer, I noticed an infants head was sticking out of her backpack. She suddenly stopped at a trashcan. She bent over and started digging through it. As I got next to her, I saw how very dirty she was. I dug into my pocket and pulled out 100RMB. I walked up to her and stuffed it into her hand and walked away.I looked back and saw another man walk up to her and he started talking to her in a loud, harsh voice and was waving his finger at her. I just sat on a bus bench and watched. I wanted to be sure that he didn¡¦t take her money. He didn¡¦t. I was shocked. I have had many walks around the streets of Nanning before. During my first trip, when my former SO had to work, I would go for many walks. I never saw such abject poverty and the public¡¦s seemingly complete lack of caring, especially, with this tiny infant on this woman¡¦s back. I¡¦ll never forget this. And, my heart breaks today, when I think about this. I wondered, being a Communist Government, where was the safety net for her? What happened to the doctrine of: FROM EACH ACCORDING TO THEIR DEEDS, TO EACH ACCORDING TO THEIR NEEDS? Link to comment
jim_julian Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 I think there is no safety net. Years ago ... in a purer Communist form of government ... there was such a net. Now, it seems to me from first hand observation, that the society is truly capitalist ... at least at the individual level. Maybe I'm wrong ... my mind is open ... Link to comment
warpedbored Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 I too have noticed in China that there seems to be little compasion for anyone who is not friend or family. I have seen severely crippled people crawling around in filth on the sidewalks of Nanning largely ignored by the passers by. Link to comment
skibum Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 Dennis, I have no doubt that your woman was destitute but when in China you have to watch out for scams. In Nanjing there is a skinny boy that has his leg hooked behind his head and moves around on a big board with wheels. He looks pitiful and many people give him money. But, the guy that drives him and some others to work, gets the money. Same with the little girls selling flowers. By giving them money, you encourage begging. Just like the bums on the street corners here. You did good however but did you ever figure out what the guy was upset about? Link to comment
Dennis143 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 (edited) Dennis, I have no doubt that your woman was destitute but when in China you have to watch out for scams. In Nanjing there is a skinny boy that has his leg hooked behind his head and moves around on a big board with wheels. He looks pitiful and many people give him money. But, the guy that drives him and some others to work, gets the money. Same with the little girls selling flowers. By giving them money, you encourage begging. Just like the bums on the street corners here. You did good however but did you ever figure out what the guy was upset about?164529[/snapback]The streets were pretty empty that morning. This man saw me give this woman money. I assumed that we was deriding her because of it. But, that's only a guess. I do recall seeing severly crippled persons pushing themselves on wheeled boards. I don't recall seeing any begging, however. I don't believe this woman was scamming me, as she didn't even know that I was coming up behind her. And, the filth on her and her garments, certainly looked like someone who was living on the streets. In one of CFL member's China journals, she writes how she came to realize the small value that the Chinese seem to put on human life. It seemed to her that it does not matter if someone dies. Maybe, because there are so many people? This seemingly complete lack of compassion is just mind boggling to me. I suppose, I'm just learning about the world outside the USA. Edited October 30, 2005 by Dennis143 (see edit history) Link to comment
skibum Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 Dennis, I hope you did not take it that I thought she was scamming you. I think that the lack of compassion is a combination of the families taking care of themselves and not worrying about others and the lack of money from the govt for medical care. Look at the amount of stealing also. No respect for others. But, I still love it there. Link to comment
Dennis143 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Dennis, I hope you did not take it that I thought she was scamming you. I think that the lack of compassion is a combination of the families taking care of themselves and not worrying about others and the lack of money from the govt for medical care. Look at the amount of stealing also. No respect for others. But, I still love it there.164558[/snapback]No, not for one moment, did I think you implied that I was being scammed. However, one must always be wary. B) Don't know if it was a problem for me, but I kept equating the value of a Yuan to the dollar and found myself tipping and handing out money all the time, while in China.....sigh. I always got such pleasure from how a few unexpected Yuan in someones hand could really make their day....but, that's another story. I just finished meeting and talking with a local Chinese woman for the first time. She's from southern China and was born in Guangxi. I told her the story about the young woman with the infant and asked her about her thoughts and she basically said the exact same thing as you just stated. That money is so important to family that they have to turn a blind eye to those less unfortunate. Link to comment
david_dawei Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I looked back and saw another man walk up to her and he started talking to her in a loud, harsh voice and was waving his finger at her. 164393[/snapback]Asking for or Accepting money is usually a great insult.. Ever see other CFL members mention how their SO flies at the handle at the mention of 'paying them' or similar act of giving them money for some action. Some are very sensitive to it. I would say that some turn an eye away from it because they feel if the person needs money, they should go work as they do... Link to comment
hakkamike Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I looked back and saw another man walk up to her and he started talking to her in a loud, harsh voice and was waving his finger at her. 164393[/snapback]Asking for or Accepting money is usually a great insult.. Ever see other CFL members mention how their SO flies at the handle at the mention of 'paying them' or similar act of giving them money for some action. Some are very sensitive to it. I would say that some turn an eye away from it because they feel if the person needs money, they should go work as they do...164608[/snapback]TELL MY WIFE AND KIDS THAT Link to comment
Randy W Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I would say that some turn an eye away from it because they feel if the person needs money, they should go work as they do...164608[/snapback] That's pretty much what I was told about beggars while I was in Beijing - especially if they gave any hint of being employable. Link to comment
Dennis143 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I looked back and saw another man walk up to her and he started talking to her in a loud, harsh voice and was waving his finger at her. 164393[/snapback]Asking for or Accepting money is usually a great insult.. Ever see other CFL members mention how their SO flies at the handle at the mention of 'paying them' or similar act of giving them money for some action. Some are very sensitive to it. I would say that some turn an eye away from it because they feel if the person needs money, they should go work as they do...164608[/snapback]I'm curious now. When I would tip someone, while in China, was I insulting them? Link to comment
Yuanyang Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 (edited) I looked back and saw another man walk up to her and he started talking to her in a loud, harsh voice and was waving his finger at her. 164393[/snapback]Asking for or Accepting money is usually a great insult.. Ever see other CFL members mention how their SO flies at the handle at the mention of 'paying them' or similar act of giving them money for some action. Some are very sensitive to it. I would say that some turn an eye away from it because they feel if the person needs money, they should go work as they do...164608[/snapback]Hmmm, that may explain something. My wife wouldn't accept money from me at first. I wanted to cover the meals, hotel and everything else she was paying. She finally accepted when she saw me giving 20 dollar bills to the poor (and there are a lot of them) in Beijing. Edited October 31, 2005 by Yuanyang (see edit history) Link to comment
Dennis143 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I want to discuss tipping. I'll post another thread re this subject. Link to comment
Yuanyang Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I want to discuss tipping. I'll post another thread re this subject.164636[/snapback]ok, but there's not much to discuss Link to comment
hakkamike Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I looked back and saw another man walk up to her and he started talking to her in a loud, harsh voice and was waving his finger at her. 164393[/snapback]Asking for or Accepting money is usually a great insult.. Ever see other CFL members mention how their SO flies at the handle at the mention of 'paying them' or similar act of giving them money for some action. Some are very sensitive to it. I would say that some turn an eye away from it because they feel if the person needs money, they should go work as they do...164608[/snapback]Hmmm, that may explain something. My wife wouldn't accept money from me at first. I wanted to cover the meals, hotel and everything else she was paying. She finally accepted when she saw me giving 20 dollar bills to the poor (and there are a lot of them) in Beijing. 164634[/snapback]I Love U long Time Bob, Pick Me Link to comment
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