Kind-hearted woman suspicious of evil intent
58-year-old Chen Xianmei, reportedly the 19th passer-by, was the only stranger that cared enough to stop for the badly injured girl.
"I didn't think much. I just wanted to save the girl," recalled Chen, adding that several shopkeepers claimed to be not related to the girl, but no one came out to help.
Speaking of whether she is afraid of being treated as the person responsible for the accident, Chen said "No. If I see an old man tumble down, I would also go to help him up. There has to be someone offering a hand."
Chen's neighbors also praised her as a nice person. The grandma, who has not had much education and cannot read, always encourages her grandson to be helpful, according to a neighbor.
However, there are still rumors that Chen was just hyping up the situation and planning to be a celebrity. Chen was very grieved to hear such news, adding "Is it so hard to be a good person?"
"Passers-by effect"
Footage of the accident has stirred an Internet sensation and sparked massive public outcry over social morality and people's indifference to life.
"I was shocked when I saw the news. How could people be so heartless! The passers-by were utterly conscienceless," criticized one web user.
"People cannot stop from being cold-blooded," commented someone else online.
Many netizens are now calling for the witnesses to be brave and explain what they were thinking the moment they saw the bleeding girl.
Hu Shenzhi, a psychologist on interpersonal relationships and founder of the Sunflower Counseling Center, pointed out that the indifference was caused by the "passers-by effect," which refers to the phenomenon that a person will not offer to save a dying man if other passers-by had not helped, and the person will not feel much guilt either for acting against conscience and social morality.
Hu added that the accident also revealed that people nowadays are not likely to trust each other, since in some cases many of those who did the saving were later wrongly accused of being the one to cause the accident. Therefore, many people would rather stay away than get involved in good deeds.
Therefore, Gu Xiaoming, sociology professor at Fudan University, suggested that a life and death education should be included in the current education system to enhance people's understanding toward the value of life and help them nurture a joyful heart.
"People tend to treat the accident rationally, calculating beforehand what responsibility they would assume if the girl ends up dying despite their efforts," said Gu.
