Rubberneck Nation?
I had a minor bike accident yesterday. As accidents go, this was fairly benign: neither myself nor the pedestrian with whom I collided were injured and my bike wasn't damaged, but it was frightening all the same. I landed hard on my hip but quickly got to my feet, apologizing to the man whom I hit (it was clearly my fault) and quickly standing up and continuing my commute to school. The whole incident lasted less than one minute.
However, time was clearly sufficient for a small crowd to gather around about ten feet from where I was on the ground, looking at me nervously as if they expected me to rise up in a fit of anger. I glanced at them and forced a smile, saying that I was ok, and with that the crowd dispersed and I continued on to class.
After arriving at school in one piece, I told a few of my classmates and friends what had happened. Most snidely commented that the Chinese are blatant rubberneckers, keen to witness accidents and fights but unwilling to intervene and help. This, clearly, is a commonly-held belief among foreigners.
Yet really, could one be blamed for not approaching me? As a foreigner, they might have expected me to react angrily, and given my size they might have been afraid for the pedestrian's safety. I believe my conciliatory behavior following the incident surprised more than a few of them and caused them to carry on with whatever they were doing in the first place. In addition, they had no reason to expect me to speak and understand Chinese so I can understand their reluctance to talk to me. And certainly, a big laowai being knocked to the concrete can easily explain why a crowd gathered so soon.
On the other hand, I did once read an essay by a Chinese woman who decried her countrymen's reluctance to help strangers in need. And in his memoir River Town, Peter Hessler does mention how the people of Fuling would excitedly ask if anyone was killed when they heard of a car accident. The laowai belief that the Chinese point, stare, but do not act does have plenty of anecdotal support.
Yet isn't that true in any country? More than a few people I've met believe the entire appeal of auto racing is the possibility that a fatal crash might take out one of the competitors. And as a person stuck in many a traffic jam in the state of California, I can assure you that rubbernecking isn't limited to China.
Why then, do foreigners notice it so much in China? One possibility is simply the sheer number of people on the roads and sidewalks in every Chinese town. It doesn't take long to gather a lot of people around a particular scene, simply because there are constantly a lot of people about.
December 11th, 2007 - 22:35
Americans are prone to rubbernecking too, especially when there is an accident on a freeway or someone has been pulled over by a policeman. That said in the past year I have been amazed and incredibly thankful for the kindness of strangers. The first “random act of kindess” occured when my mother collapsed outside her home, taking me down with her. Within minutes five strangers appeared to help us out. The second happened when I had a terrible fall in the Home Depot parking lot, two strangers immediately appeared and offered me aid. It’s comforting to know that there are still a lot good samaritans around.