See beggars' list in perspective

Shanghai's metro police published an online list of beggars on trains recently. It soon raised a heated debate on how the beggars, given that they are a disadvantaged group, should be treated, says an article on xinhuanet.com. Excerpts:

Police must have made great efforts to publish a detailed list, complete with concrete information on the beggars' household registrations, individual characters and personal habits. For example, on top of the list is a 22-year-old surnamed He who has been stopped from begging for 309 times in four years.

But netizens immediately started criticizing metro police for being indifferent to beggars. They also expressed indignation and suggested we be more sympathetic to and tolerant of such disadvantaged groups.

It's not wrong to be sympathetic to and tolerant of beggars. But we should also understand why police took such pains to publish the list. In fact, many beggars regard seeking alms as a profession, and earn more money and live a much better life than even some urban white-collar workers.

These professional beggars can hardly be considered a disadvantaged group if we look at their incomes and real living conditions. Instead, they take advantage of people's sympathy.

We should see the beggars who are professionals and those who are not differently. We should be sympathetic toward physically disabled people who are forced to beg and try to help them within our capacity.

But we should also support police to take certain measures against professional beggars who are actually selling their dignity and giving the really disadvantaged a bad name.

Bragging is a social evil

Many young people today tend to talk big, and this is becoming a worrying social problem, says an article on gmw.cn. Excerpts:

An online survey conducted by China Youth Daily recently showed that 62.9 percent of 10,208 respondents were worried about young people bragging about their achievements and 40.6 percent said they disliked such habits.

However, some people may disagree and argue that this is like making a mountain out of a molehill, because it's not uncommon to see some people boast about themselves and talk big.

Talking big on certain occasions is understandable, because it helps make social communication more interesting.

But we should be alert on such occasions so as to not allow unnecessary misunderstandings.

The respondents to the survey were worried because they found people who brag mainly talk big about their social networks, incomes and consumption capacity, factors that are closely related to one's social status. This suggests a person's desire to show off as well as his anxiety for being treated as successful.

Such traits in individuals reflect the rampancy of utilitarianism in today's society.

Bragging is always accompanied by lies, and lies need more lies to cover up. The mask of lies will ultimately ruin a person's credibility and life.

(China Daily 08/23/2012 page9)