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Q: Why do things escalate so quickly?
It seems the smallest disagreements here turn into all-out melees in the blink of an eye. The new restaurant downstairs is a prime example. It has only been open a month or so, but apparently there is so much animosity amongst the staff that a brawl spilled into the street-chefs versus waiters judging by their outfits. Then, per usual, the smallest guy runs back in and gets some sort of club/bat and starts swinging it wildly while stripping out of his shirt and being "held back" by another co-worker.
I can't imagine how this can happen in a work environment. I don't like some of my colleagues, nor them me, but we don't get blustery about it, let alone resort to such physical violence. So, how do such conflicts grow into street fights? Have you ever been dumbfounded by a fight and its origins?
8 years 32 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
I've seen a lot of those too. I think it's just a programmed response a lot of the time, combined with a lot of pent up frustration and anger from everyday life.
Something happens in a restaurant for example, someone loses face somehow and the go to response is to go mental and shriek at people, maybe attack them because, well.. as everyone knows that's how you solve these problems.
The thing is after that just makes the problem bigger they don't seem to know what to do, or how to take back their embarrassing over reaction so they just scream louder and continue to go crazy to try to hide their confusion and loss of face. Next thing you know someone just got stabbed.
It probably doesn't help that the average worker gets treated like crap generally, has all sorts of social pressures and injustice to deal with and is probably seething with rage inside most of the day. A lot of people are probably ready to snap at the smallest thing.
wagon:
The wait staff is already treated so poorly in this country, you'd think they'd be immune to the face thing.
I've seen a lot of those too. I think it's just a programmed response a lot of the time, combined with a lot of pent up frustration and anger from everyday life.
Something happens in a restaurant for example, someone loses face somehow and the go to response is to go mental and shriek at people, maybe attack them because, well.. as everyone knows that's how you solve these problems.
The thing is after that just makes the problem bigger they don't seem to know what to do, or how to take back their embarrassing over reaction so they just scream louder and continue to go crazy to try to hide their confusion and loss of face. Next thing you know someone just got stabbed.
It probably doesn't help that the average worker gets treated like crap generally, has all sorts of social pressures and injustice to deal with and is probably seething with rage inside most of the day. A lot of people are probably ready to snap at the smallest thing.
wagon:
The wait staff is already treated so poorly in this country, you'd think they'd be immune to the face thing.
Loss of face is never to be tolerated! And, thus, needs to be pushed back onto the other person - the (rarely) cause of this loss of face*.
This, in turn, causes this first person to lose face - and then needs to escalate it.
Both require the other person onto back down, and apologise and all - however, the stupidity of this is lost on them - in China, NO-ONE backs down if the two antagonists see each other as lessers (if one is seen as a superior, then the revenge needs to be done later - you NEVER argue with someone you consider above you - not in public!)
So, as neither will back down, and as the face-losing continues - it gets bigger and bigger and bigger... and some fool has to get a weapon to pretend to be willing to use it - and have one of his friends pretend to hold him back.
*- in needs to be mentioned - the initial "loss of face" is only because they did or said something stupid, and it was pointed out. If people didn't stuff up as much as they do (or lie, or cheat, or whatever), then there wouldn't be this 'loss of face' crap! After all, getting into a huff over something small is, in itself, a face-losing action.
wagon:
Yeah, loss of face. But in a work environment? Are these people adults?
Shining_brow:
Our concept of 'adult', and theirs, is quite different.
One thing I should have mentioned - I think most of us don't see this happen too often in our work environments, as we all tend to work in places where people are more educated (and in cities where education levels are higher). There appears to be a direct connection... or perhaps it's indirect.
You know those lessons we had in elementary school about "using our words when we're upset"? Well that's not on the middle school entrance exams so they skipped it.
More examples:
http://www.echinacities.com/news/Wuhan-Womans-Shirt-Torn-Off-in-Fight-Ov...
http://www.echinacities.com/news/Men-Physically-Fight-to-Save-Face-End-U...
This is China
better to except than try and understand
sort of like being married 
UPDATE: ONE DAY LATER
Now there's a fracas over a parking spot in front of the same restaurant. Someone's trying to force their way into an occupied car and move it. The car owner's having none of it. Police have arrived and the customary 73 bystanders are on hand. The police allow the aggrieved to blatantly slap the car owner in the face numerous times while still trying to enter said vehicle. WTF? Police are so utterly useless. This place is a mess.
Shining_brow:
Where are you??? (and what type of cars are involved?) And the restaurant?
wagon:
Oh, I'm in downtown Qingdao. Maybe you thought I was in a tier 15 city or something? The cars: the usual bread van and a BYD or something. Restaurant: just a seafood place.
