Cultural differences

Discussion Open Forum
1

Two news stories that appeared next to each other in Yahoo’s “Most Popular News Stories” page, at least at the time I saw them.

  1. You just don’t understand Chinese culture.
    news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051007/ap_ … &printer=1

[quote]Cabbie Who Ejected Pregnant Woman Sought

Fri Oct 7, 8:59 AM ET

Police in Shanghai were looking for a taxi driver who ordered a pregnant woman going into early labor out of his cab, local newspapers reported Friday.

The woman, seven months pregnant, suffered a miscarriage and lost her child after she was forced to take a motorcycle part of the way to the hospital, the reports said.

Guo Meiling, 28, had hailed the cab with her sister-in-law and was on the way to the hospital on Thursday when the driver suddenly ordered the pair out, saying he couldn’t find the hospital.

“I told him it was no joking matter, but he told us to get off,” Guo’s sister-in-law, identified only by her surname, Lin, was quoted as saying by the Shanghai Daily.

It said police were looking for the driver, but had few clues to go on. It wasn’t clear what the driver could be charged with, although Shanghai Daily cited unidentified taxi company officials saying he would likely be fired if caught.

Guo was recuperating in a hospital Friday after emergency surgery.[/quote]

  1. Those damn Americans are so racist and self-centered
    news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051007/ap_ … &printer=1

[quote]Man Uses T-Shirt to Aid Birth in Subway

Fri Oct 7,10:10 AM ET

A high school history teacher took the T-shirt off his back to catch a premature baby as a woman pregnant with triplets gave birth in a subway stairwell.

Lanitta Lewis, 30, was on her way to a doctor’s appointment Monday when she felt the first birth pains and called out for help. She was largely ignored by commuters in the Bay Area Rapid Transit station until Biko Eisen-Martin took notice.

Eisen-Martin, on a break from Berkeley High, ran to a nearby cafe to call an ambulance and returned in time with his T-shirt to catch a 3-pound girl, he said. Paramedics rushed the baby to Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland.

The other two girls were delivered by Caesarean section at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley. The first baby was reunited with her younger siblings at Alta Bates Summit and they were attached to feeding tubes but listed in good condition Wednesday, hospital officials said.[/quote]

2

There are assholes everywhere. They just don’t get punished severly enough for being assholes here. I truely believe that half the reason people in the US are polite (HA! Polite my ass) is that they are afraid not to be.

3

Doh! Why do you think courtesy and manners developed in the first place??? :unamused:

4

[quote=“Comrade Stalin”]
Doh! Why do you think courtesy and manners developed in the first place??? :unamused:[/quote]

As a way for the upper classes to act like they were better than the lower classes.

5

So MOP your post is lost on me. What does having children have to do with cultural differences? One man choose not to help and another did. Your point besides being bored and trying find something do :loco: :rainbow:

6

[quote=“SuchAFob”][quote=“Comrade Stalin”]
Doh! Why do you think courtesy and manners developed in the first place??? :unamused:[/quote]

As a way for the upper classes to act like they were better than the lower classes.[/quote]

Buzz!!!

Wrong.

7

[quote=“Comrade Stalin”]

Doh! Why do you think courtesy and manners developed in the first place??? :unamused:[/quote]

So I wouln’t have a gun in my face? :wink:

8

[quote=“Namahottie”][quote=“Comrade Stalin”]

Doh! Why do you think courtesy and manners developed in the first place??? :unamused:[/quote]

So I wouln’t have a gun in my face? :wink:[/quote]

Actually, that’s closer than you might think. A sword in in your gut is a better answer. :laughing:

9

That is true in the most severe sense. We probably did kill the slightly annoying people in a casual way back before we all became civilised.

Also, its easier to be around people and have them smile at you rather than scowl. Whatever we have to do to achive that is a small price to pay.

10

[quote=“MaPoSquid”]Two news stories that appeared next to each other in Yahoo’s “Most Popular News Stories” page, at least at the time I saw them.

  1. You just don’t understand Chinese culture.
    news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051007/ap_ … &printer=1

[quote]Cabbie Who Ejected Pregnant Woman Sought

Fri Oct 7, 8:59 AM ET

Police in Shanghai were looking for a taxi driver who ordered a pregnant woman going into early labor out of his cab, local newspapers reported Friday.

The woman, seven months pregnant, suffered a miscarriage and lost her child after she was forced to take a motorcycle part of the way to the hospital, the reports said.

Guo Meiling, 28, had hailed the cab with her sister-in-law and was on the way to the hospital on Thursday when the driver suddenly ordered the pair out, saying he couldn’t find the hospital.

“I told him it was no joking matter, but he told us to get off,” Guo’s sister-in-law, identified only by her surname, Lin, was quoted as saying by the Shanghai Daily.

It said police were looking for the driver, but had few clues to go on. It wasn’t clear what the driver could be charged with, although Shanghai Daily cited unidentified taxi company officials saying he would likely be fired if caught.

Guo was recuperating in a hospital Friday after emergency surgery.[/quote]

  1. Those damn Americans are so racist and self-centered
    news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051007/ap_ … &printer=1

[quote]Man Uses T-Shirt to Aid Birth in Subway

Fri Oct 7,10:10 AM ET

A high school history teacher took the T-shirt off his back to catch a premature baby as a woman pregnant with triplets gave birth in a subway stairwell.

Lanitta Lewis,30, was on her way to a doctor’s appointment Monday when she felt the first birth pains and called out for help. [color=green]
She was largely ignored by commuters in the Bay Area
[/color]Rapid Transit station until Biko Eisen-Martin took notice.

Eisen-Martin, on a break from Berkeley High, ran to a nearby cafe to call an ambulance and returned in time with his T-shirt to catch a 3-pound girl, he said. Paramedics rushed the baby to Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland.

The other two girls were delivered by Caesarean section at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley. The first baby was reunited with her younger siblings at Alta Bates Summit and they were attached to feeding tubes but listed in good condition Wednesday, hospital officials said.[/quote][/quote]

If she was “largely ignored”, how is that any better? Fair enough someone finally helped her but if one of her babies didn’t make it, then the headlines wouldn’t be about the help she received…More about how she’s been ignored. :s

It depends how you look at it. The Taxi driver is an ass but so are all the people who walked by and ignored a poor woman who collapsed in a stairwell no? Besides, the other victim was only seven months pregnant so there were obviously some complications to begin with and good chances are she would have lost her child anyways.

bobepine

11

You people just don’t understand MaPoSquid’s culture.

12

Life is cheap in China.

Really cheap.

13

Life is cheap in China.

Really cheap.[/quote]
And to most people in the Bay Area too, according to Mapo’s link.