A cab driver in Xi’an, who was only in his thirties, had a sudden illness in the car (probable heart attack) and died after pulling over to the side of the road (a parking violation). The traffic police came over and fined him.
This incident was reported by the media and caused an uproar. It was shocking enough that, in association with the amazing fines imposed by traffic police all over the country, many people combined it with the endless revenue generation of the traffic police department and sent cross-questions to the Xi’an traffic department: Is it too much to fine even after death?
According to the road safety law, this fine is certainly unreasonable. If the driver was in the car, the traffic police should have asked on the spot, and if he did, perhaps he would have found out about the brother’s condition and could have saved him.
I don’t know if the traffic police officer in question is now in a tangle of conscience. However, the probability is not. At that time, he will have his own explanation, perhaps the brother because of the onset of the disease, the body atrophy, resulting in him not seeing him at all. The local police briefing also pointed this out, the traffic police did not pay attention to the presence of the brother.
A more likely scenario is that he was able to be relieved from a weight of responsibility. The reporter interviewed a person in charge, the response received was: “This ah, has been reported to the leadership. “This response is very representative, reported to the leadership, they are relieved, how to respond to the matter, it also becomes the responsibility of the leadership. That the traffic police in question, may also think about the problem: my operation, are in accordance with the process, I fine, and not for their own sake, but to enforce the regulations.
If the traffic police did not see the brother, he did not violate the rules, but to better implement the rules. It can be said that this is not in essence out of malice (deliberate folding people), but out of good execution: all those who do not park on the road in accordance with the rules, all tickets.
Benjamin recorded a similar incident in 1939, when the gas company in a certain area (Germany or Paris) stopped the gas of Jews in the area because some Jews were using a large amount of gas and were seriously over the limit, but had not paid the bill. This operation was perfectly in line with the process. But why did these Jews use so much gas? Because they turned on the gas in suicidal amounts, and after they committed suicide, of course, they could not pay the bill – a punishment for the death.
These two things are of course very different, but they also have one thing in common, and that is the myth of “modernity”: the emphasis on institutionalization, rigid rules, enforcement, the development of a A rigid system where everyone becomes a part of the system. In the end, everyone is “faithful”, but there is no In the end, everyone is “faithful,” but no “one” is left alone to face the torture of conscience, because everyone is right in terms of decomposing actions alone.
Just like a middle school in Zhengzhou not long ago, the school rules do not allow cell phones into the classroom, a 14-year-old girl brought a cell phone, was reported to the class teacher, the class teacher launched an investigation, the girl eventually jumped to her death – in this incident, the school’s rules (to maintain teaching order), the students’ prosecution (in accordance with the requirements of the rules) and The class teacher’s investigation does not seem to be wrong. Therefore, the school’s response to the parents was very much at ease: they didn’t see where the class teacher did anything wrong.
In this sense, the staff of a toll station in Hebei feel aggrieved that the driver of a large truck drank pesticide and killed himself, and justifiably so: so many vehicles and people are checked every day, and there is nothing special about the punishment of this driver, all in accordance with the norms in operation.
Over the past two years, there has been a lot of coverage on Chinese social media about being “stuck in the …… system”. In fact, it is very difficult to discuss such things in China. On the one hand, there are many aspects of society that are still “very unmodern”, while on the other hand, some of the On the other hand, some of the “systems” are far more modern and sophisticated than most developed countries in the world. For example, face recognition, security check systems, various fine systems.
If you want to call for “humanization”, a typical rebuttal would be. “If they are all ……, how can they be ……?” For example. “If all bring cell phones into the classroom, how can we learn? “
In fact, the fact that the 14-year-old girl chose to jump off the building and was searched by her teacher was only a superficial factor. People are hiding in a “system”, to get their own sense of security, the teacher can do peace of mind, a lot of pay, but also do not pay a little more. Caring for each specific student not only makes you tired, but also does not help the assessment.
Writing this article, not to blame the specific traffic police, toll booth staff or classroom teachers, but to explore a problem: in a tight and modern “system How can an individual live within a tight and modern “system”? To be a “tool” or an “organizer Is being an “instrumentalist” or an “organizer” really the only option?
When I was in Japan in 2019, there was one thing that has always stuck with me. While traveling in Tohoku, Japan, I accidentally bought the wrong tram ticket once, and the machine spit out one adult ticket and one child ticket, costing me over a thousand yen more. When I entered the station, I used the translation software to explain the problem to a staff member, and the young man looked very green, but what he did was very unexpected, he took my ticket and gave me the cash from his wallet.
This really surprised me. A more standard approach would have been to tell me how to get a refund, find a window, and ask for so-and-so …… This was certainly too difficult for me. He returned the money directly to me, and later he had to go and help me return the ticket himself, which is obviously not part of the job.
However, the dude was clearly wearing a uniform. This does not affect him at all to be a self-sufficient individual.
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