Dont Judge, please

Okay. I know this may post may cause some uneasy feelings, but I feel I need to discuss it.
Im sure you have all seen, or heard, what happened in China last week regarding the toddler who was hit by a car. If you havent seen the video you can YouTube it and find it. I read the comments below it and, quite frankly, it made me mad!


People are saying that it is a lack of compassion and they are saying that they dont know how anyone can just go by and not do anything. They are also judging the Mom for not knowing where her daughter is.


Has anyone ever taken the time to learn what the Chinese culture is like? Us North Americians can not fathom walking past an accident and not doing anything about it (in fact, today I called 911 on my way to work as I drove past a semi on fire to make sure help was on the way), but that is how we are raised.


Yes, there were camera's filming. But the people dont know if it is working or not. True, there are cameras everywhere in China, but how many actually work? Who knows?


A friend of mine, who lives in China, sent me an email the other day saying that her Mandarin tutor risked her life on the way to the session. What you ask was so life-threatening? The young lady helped an elderly lady walk across a busy intersection. Yes, something as simple as this is very dangerous in China. The older lady could pretend to fall and break something then blame the young person and try to sue her for damages, the elderly lady could walk really slow and be hit then blame the good Samaritan. Unreal to us, but very real to them. My friend said that her tutor did help, and nothing happened. This is a PTL moment.


With this in mind, maybe its not so hard to see why so many would walk past a young child and not help. If you can imagine the possible implications of helping someone walk across the street, what worse implications could be made about a child laying in her own blood? You and I know that the person helping wasnt the one who hurt her, but what if the camera in the market was a fake? How would anything be proven that you werent the one who hurt her? Especially if you were in/on a vehicle...


As far as wondering why the Mom didnt know her child was gone: this happened in a market place. The family was most likely working in the booth. Kids are always with their parents in the booths from the time they are born. This is their second home. As infants it is very common to see the child in a cardboard box to keep them safe, but as they grow, they are allowed to wonder. I have seen this. The mom wasnt be negligent, by Chinese standards.


I could go on and on, but what I want to say is basically this: dont judge another's actions if you dont know them or their culture. Yes, this is very very sad, and yes, I cried watching the video, and yes, if I was there I would've stopped and helped the child. When I am in China and I see a child hurt, my natural instinct will be to go help with no regard to the fact that I could go to jail for it. The Chinese's first thoughts are not about purposely ignoring the situation. I believe their first thoughts are "If I go help, I may be blamed and then sent to jail. Then what will happen to my own family?" The Chinese ARE compassionate! This family is compassionate. How do I know that? I dont really. But I can assume they are compassionate based on the fact that the child is FEMALE. This is important when many girls are abandoned and regarded as worthless.


Thanks for taking the time to read this. And please pray for China, that they will start to treat accidents differently, and that just because you are helping doesnt mean you are guilty. Please pray that the people that witness an accident will be bold enough to help out.