Wang Yue, a toddler from China who had wandered away from her mother, was struck twice by one truck and then as she writhed in pain, struck again by another truck. As this little girl lay injured on the street, 18 people, over a period of 7 minutes, walked or rode their bicycles by, without stopping to help. Finally, an elderly scrap peddler stopped, dragged her to safety, and then found her mother. Little Yue-yue, as she has come to be known, clung to life via intubation for a few days and then left this life.
Many have offered explanations. None come close to a justification. One explanation is that Chinese culture teaches children to avoid trouble and not get involved. Rescuing a two-year-old tot is not the stuff of gang activity. But, others maintain, there is fear of liability. There have been a numbers of cases in China in which those who have helped the injured have been held liable for causing the injuries through the application of this brilliant analysis: Why else would you help someone if you didn’t hurt them in the first place? There are a few missing links between the post hoc and the propter hoc on that one. Some lawyers in China have uttered “I told you so’s†as they advocate for liability protections with Good Samaritan laws such as those in the United States. Their point is how can you expect anyone to help a tot unless they are guaranteed immunity in case they make a mistake.
A Chinese think tank researcher may offer the best explanation, “The most important thing for Chinese people right now is making money and pursuing their own interests. Our education system doesn’t teach ethics.â€+
Funny, we didn’t use to need to be taught ethics in order to help a fellow traveler in this life. We once understood that you hopped off your hoss, wagon, Model-T, Segway, or whatever and rendered aid. And once upon a time, those to whom we rendered aid understood that it was poor form to sue someone who did his best to try and help you when you needed it. Sadly, those days disappeared, maybe with the wagon, and we turned to laws to resolve our duties and give us immunity as a condition precedent to helping. The injured sued the Good Samaritans, so we passed Good Samaritan immunity laws. But, as in China, we were really not sure how much immunity we had or when it applied, so we stopped stopping. Then came the laws making it a crime not to stop to help, and we go on in circles as we try to codify the simple notion of, “Stop and help because it’s the right thing to do.†Laws trip over themselves. And a toddler who needs help is ignored. Laws can never replicate ethical obligations. The former spring from fear of liability; the latter come from the heart.
The video that shows the passers-by ignoring Little Yue-yue is painful to watch for so many reasons. But a pain that cannot be remedied comes from the video’s graphic depiction of what we have become. The tragic tale of Little Yue-yue tale is the Kitty Genovese story of our time. We are indifferent, cold . . . islands of economic success, all destined to be left by the side of the road at some point in our hour of need because we have put our trust and faith in laws that clumsily attempt to define our ethical responsibilities. How our hearts have waxed cold!
*Matthew 24:12
Josh Chin, “Toddler’s Death Stirs Ire in China,†Wall Street Journal, October 22-23, 2011.
