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Q: Can you sympathize with Alec Baldwin?
Notorious for fighting for his family's privacy, Alec Baldwin is in the news again for an altercation with NYPD for stopping him for riding his bike the wrong way down 5th ave in NY. It sounds a little petty. But, I actually sympathize with the guy because we all know what it's like to have your picture taken, privacy invaded, stared at, followed, and singled out. That's the daily life of an expat in China.
I had my picture taken while showering at the gym. It happened so fast and it didn't register with me, so I didn't have time to formulate a sentence. I turned around while showering and saw a Chinese guy next to the lockers quickly walk away with his mobile phone pointed in my direction! From that day forward, I've been very rude to Chinese people who take my picture.
I walked up to a Chinese man in Starbucks who was trying to discretely take my picture while acting like reading something on his phone. So, candidly, I pulled my phone out went up to his face and took his picture.
I can sympathize with him on the picture taking and privacy issues for sure. It's happened to me on more than one occasion. There's no respect for or expectation of personal space nor privacy here.
Can't really sympathize with the wrong way bike riding. As a car driver in China, I can't tell you how many near misses I've had due to e-bikes and regular bikes going the wrong way down a one-way street, not to even mention down the wrong side of a normal road.
No respect for privacy => yup, it's annoying, and when happens again and again, it can ruin your mood and the best of you.
Wrong way bike riding => no excuse, no sympathy, pay your fine and STFU. I'm also a bike rider, and I'm very, very, very tired of people riding on the wrong way and/or on the wrong lane. They put others in danger because of their own little selfish choice/carelessness. Why I have to avoid them and zig-zag because I just use the road as it was intended to be used ? People here love harmony, yet do *NOTHING* to have it if it involves a personal effort.
Death Penalty. but not for not being able to figure out which way traffic goes on a street,,, but for some totally lame movies~
