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Q: what are some things that happen in China that you do not need to be taught at school not to do?
When I come across completely nonsensical situations that occur in everyday life in China I pause for thought and usually will shake my head in disbelief. Is it arrogance, is it being selfish or is it just ignorance that causes people to do things you just cannot believe they did. My wife often argues that the person is "uneducated" or "didnt' go to school" etc etc as a rational explanation for things like:
driving like a complete maniac, asshole or both (perps have passed driving test so cannot be undecated is my argument)
scooter riders or pedestrians who do not follow traffic laws or act like they are on a busy road (my argument is perps do not need to go to school to notice this can be dangerous)
touching or damaging other peoples property - in particular scratching cars (perp does not need education to know that touching other peoples things and / or damagin can lead to physical altercation if caught)
cheating people (no argument on that one, anyone who is decent would know that it is wrong)
and my absolute favorites:
no air-conditioning or heating just to save money (the one thing that makes this country remain third world IMO)
paying for plastic bags (as if the supermarket gives a toss about pollution, NOPE. they just want to make as much money as they can)
people in IKEA asleep on the beds or lounging on the sofas (no school is needed to think "do i look like an asshole doing this?")
Supermarkets selling out of date meat or vegetables and cling wrapping them so you cannot find out (again, do you need education to know this is a shit thing to do to people? no!)
I say that put the China man in a different country and they would not dream of doing things like this so I do not agree with the "uneducated peasant" answer to these things. Its arrogance in my opinion.
They don't necessarily have to pass a driving test to get their license!
driving like a complete maniac, asshole or both (perps have passed driving test so cannot be undecated is my argument) I agree, but there are asshole drivers everywhere. scooter riders or pedestrians who do not follow traffic laws or act like they are on a busy road (my argument is perps do not need to go to school to notice this can be dangerous) I agree. touching or damaging other peoples property - in particular scratching cars(perp does not need education to know that touching other peoples things and / or damagin can lead to physical altercation if caught) Because no one ever keys cars outside of P.R.C., right? cheating people (no argument on that one, anyone who is decent would know that it is wrong) All of the cheating, dishonest people in the world are Chinese, yes? and my absolute favorites: no air-conditioning or heating just to save money (the one thing that makes this country remain third world IMO) AC is needed for survival. You will die without it. Wait... You won't? paying for plastic bags (as if the supermarket gives a toss about pollution, NOPE. they just want to make as much money as they can) Charging for plastic bags is a good thing. Buy one of those cloth bags and bring it with you when you go shopping. people in IKEA asleep on the beds or lounging on the sofas (no school is needed to think "do i look like an asshole doing this?") IKEA has always encouraged people to do this. Not only in P.R.C.
aston.villa.f.c:
you are trying to defend things that cannot be defended....and in most cases keying someone's car would get a person into serious bother anywhere else but here.
nice try but not good answers.
Let the people come out first from lift then you enter....
They don't necessarily have to pass a driving test to get their license!
Why when crossing the road and you are within two metres of the curb with loads of empty road behind you do complete idiots, whether on ebike or car, insist on driving in front of you rather than go behind you.
They borrow confidence from the group, due to their own low confidence. If nobody has any confidence (Mainland China), then PANIC EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!!!1!
Biggest asshole gets to be king of the dungpile and shit on others.
In a country with society and people of substance, they emulate daily values and polite behaviour, while slowly subverting society with their dungpile-king-wannabe aspirations.
I take this question to mean some of the dumbassery that happens in China that you would think beyond that of a half educated child.
Most arise from a seemingly oblivious attitude towards personal safety.
Some of the things that I have witnessed in China:
A fully grown man cause severe injury to his hand by lighting a firework while holding it.
People trying to clear ice from doorsteps by pouring hot water on it.
Several incidences of grown people receiving electric shocks handling exposed live cables.
A guy that tried to put out the flame under a hotpot dish using the palm of his hand.
A guy that almost choked himself by gulping down baijiu from a bottle in a drinking competition.
Several incidences of people handling dangerous chemicals or using tools with complete disregard to safety.
Hanging out of windows in high buildings to clean glass.
Smoking in places where a very high explosive or fire risk exists such as garage forecourts.
A guy that provoked a dog by poking a cane into its flesh then ended up getting badly bitten.
aston.villa.f.c:
some good examples there. a couple i can add that i have seen too:
a guy broken down on a highway visually inspecting vehicle by wlaking arround it oblivious to on comers. Said vehicle is at a standstill in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway (G50).
air conditioner installation guy hanging off a balcony - with not safety harness - on the 28th floor trying to put in a heavy air con machine thing. (If he had fell, i would probably now be in jail.)
pedestrians stopping to have a chit chat on a zebra crossing of a busy shanghai road.
a guy smoking in a gas station forecourt near the pumps.
The standing in front of the elevator doors is the one that makes me nuts. It is like being blind to basic physics. Two objects can NOT pass through the same space at the same time, can they!
"I say that put the China man in a different country and they would not dream of doing things like this so I do not agree with the "uneducated peasant" answer to these things. Its arrogance in my opinion"
I disagree! Such things would need to be bred out. They'd try to keep doing the same things, but would find out that you don't get away with such crap overseas. How long this would take, is hard to tell. Depends on how much it personally costs them. But, you can bet, the AC thing would happen for decades once they've expatriated...
Shining_brow:
I was taking it to mean - take someone born and bred in China, and then move them elsewhere - they'd still act the same (for a while).
Not - 2nd or more generations - ie, born and bred elsewhere
Might just have been a mis-interpretation :)
some things may be culturally different but .....
spitting and pissing , anywhere and everywhere ..........
i have seen a PYT spitting while standing the check in queue at the airport !!
i have seen a (well dressed) guy pissing right next to the entrance of Watsons !!
ughhhh !!
On my way to work yesterday I saw a guy crash his bicycle into a fence...whilst riding, holding an umbrella and texting. Go figure
