Many of us have thought of the seemingly nonsensical actions
of our Chinese friends: throwing lit cigarette butts into trash cans, driving
on the sidewalk or causing bottleneck traffic situations because everyone crams
into the only available lane at once,
opening a bus window when the air conditioning is cranking out cool air... and
others. Let's not forget that first-time flyer who, desiring a breath of fresh
air, opened the emergency exit door. Fortunately, the plane was on the ground.
And the other one, on another plane, forged a quick route off by opening the
door closest to him. He deployed the slide, causing 100,000 Yuan worth of
damage.
We westerners look upon these misdeeds of our Chinese
friends, shake our heads and wonder how in the world they came to their ideas.
Common sense: the basic ability to perceive,
understand and judge things, which is shared by ( or: common to) nearly all the
people, and can be reasonably expected of nearly all people without any need
for debate.
It seems the people who have fallen through the 'nearly' hole
are Chinese.
If you think about it, what the general public might perceive
as ridiculous in China makes a lot of sense. Man on plane wanted fresh air; he
opened the door. Man on plane wanted off plane; he established an exit. Man
finished with cigarette, he threw it away. All traffic lanes blocked but
sidewalk or bike lane is open; drive on sidewalk/bike lane.
While all of this is logical/rational for the person doing
the deed, it seems that person fails to regard the world as a whole and the
other people in it. That's what makes this brand of logic downright dangerous
at times. And, what is startling about that is that Chinese culture is
supposedly collectivistic.
Collectivism: the moral stance, political philosophy,
ideology or social outlook that emphasizes the significance of groups – their
identities, goals, rights, outcomes, etc., and tends to analyze issues in those
terms.
If China is indeed collectivist, how can one driver take it
upon himself to take over the sidewalk, where people and bikes abound? How can
the man on the plane ignore that big 'emergency exit only' sign, painted bold
red on the door?
Here's another aspect of China's alleged collectivism that
totally escapes me.
Children in orphanages: unloved, unwanted, underprivileged,
and there are a lot of them. Foreigners will adopt Chinese babies but, except
in rare cases, Chinese will not. “A family member will adopt a baby or child
but will not adopt a strange child” I was told. For instance: an infertile
couple might adopt a sibling's child, and that sibling can have another child.
Meanwhile, children in orphanages languish.
That doesn't make collective sense to me. There are needy
children in China, there are Chinese parents who want/need a child. Perfect
match, right? Not so much, according to my Chinese friends. 'Keep it in the
family' is the rationale, apparently because an adopted child might not be as
devoted to family as a child born into a family. No stranger's blood allowed is
another excuse given (and no children with defects, either – but that's beside
the point).
It seems that the Chinese are collectivist only up to their
own special group: tribal clan, village folk, family, friends, room mates in a
dorm, an office group – in short, people who, for one reason or the other are
bound together. Beyond that boundary - that collective, individualism asserts
itself.
Individualism: Individualists promote the exercise of
one's goals and desires, and so, value independence and self-reliance, and
advocate that interests of the individual should take precedence over the
social group.
Now we're getting somewhere! That explains far better the
crazy logic of our Chinese friends, but does nothing to address the collective
mentality when it comes to family and friends, tribemembers or dorm mates.
I think sociologists need to come up with a new phrase to
accurately describe Chinese society: individual collectivism. Doesn't that
sound more apt?
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