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Damage control nothing but a quick fix

By Brendan John Worrell (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-05-11 10:14

The other week my good friend got beaten blue for trying to reprimand two youths who were urinating against a wall on a well-lit street. He was walking past with his girlfriend, took offence and when expressing his displeasure the two youths turned around and responded by kicking him to the ground.

When his girlfriend phoned me distressed after the event we commiserated that perhaps he should've kept his mouth shut but as we both know he's the type of guy who is forever putting his and her safety at risk by speaking up when people push in line, spit in his domain or trespass the assumed civil code.

Reflecting perhaps if anyone is at fault and needs their butt kicked its guys like me who forever turn a blind eye to the shenanigans so often on display.

The first tragedy here is the fact that my buddy got whipped. Coming in at well over 6 foot and a local of Xi'an it's a distressing feeling to have to now walk your home streets with the inner knowledge that you've been stomped in front of your girlfriend.

Next is the follow on curtailment of a personality that the wider community actually needs. Local folk who speak up and try to restore or clarify a sense of decency and manner in the public sphere – so often are few and far between. What a shame to think he'll now keep on walking when he sees miscreant behavior. In this case society suffers.

Now at present here in China there have been several incidents recently between the public and urban management officers (UMO), and like the situation with my friend they are frequently placed in the line of fire.

UMO are appointed "street monitors" who have the tough job of trying to restrain the often manic public pathways. Two were recently stabbed by peddlers in two separate incidents after telling illegal street vendors to move on. In some locations the officers have even taken to wearing stab proof vests!

Essentially these workers are at the vanguard of China's push towards a more civil society yet in some instances they have also been brought into disrepute for untoward behavior, being singled out for using excessive violence to enforce the law and being accused of accepting bribes.

Yet sooner or later something's gotta' give and I can only think that its gonna' come with a more strategic, long-range, multi-pronged vision because the ramifications of a laissez faire civil society has too many negative externalities that end up costing the country.

At present everyone is snorting about the dreaded swine flu but oh brother it seems as if we are all living in a dream world, on a borrowed time thanks to the benevolence of blessed fortune.

In the past week I've been through nine airports, a smorgasbord of subway stations and I am less than impressed by the way we are dealing with the present threat of a potential pandemic.

I've stood in line, nose to nose with commuters on a subway where people have been unperturbed at sneezing and coughing openly in front of others. And no one says anything.

I've sat on a flight on two occasions where other passengers around me have been hacking and spitting in paper bags quiet contentedly. And it's back to the in-flight magazine for all.

And still on my way to work early in the morning I have to shield my face as septic cyclists spit as they ride on by spraying me with their toxic flack.

Yesterday I'm on a bus and the driver is constantly winding down the window dropping big gobs of saliva onto the road making me wretch and squirm in some spasm of revulsion.

On all occasions like my friend I wanted to stand up and speak my mind but controlled myself and invested in my ulcer. Last night at the supermarket where some elderly fellow pushed in line, I could have morphed into the Hulk but luckily chilled out' like the checkout operator who failed to bat an eyelid – but who are the beneficiaries of non-compliance?

Ideally we need a constant, in your face approach to civil society that is continually making people aware that it is not ok to be acting selfishly. There is a code of behavior and its going to take time to meet the standard.

Recent 'damage control' as seen in the present swine flu or as in last years' Olympics is just a quick fix that lacks real sustainability. A few UMO bod's scouting the streets also fails to address the situation adequately.

Clarity in the law, mass exposure of citizens' rights, awareness of the dangers of lax hygiene – these are issues that impact on us all and eventually find their way not just into the environment and quality of life equations but also the economy.

With the nation registering its first confirmed case of swine flu on the mainland yesterday greater care and urgency to hygiene must be extended beyond mere quarantine.