Job Discussion Forums

smarts · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 159 Location: beijing

Egas,

Regarding the SARS situation, i would be interested to know which aspect of life in Beijing, or the response of the government or people, you find irrational.

is it the fact that people are taking precautions against getting the disease, or is it the fact they people are trying to prevent the further spread of SARS which you think is irrational

or, as I can understand it from your other posts about SARS, you think it is not a serious problem which people should not be overly concerned about it, and so any reaction at all to stop SARS spreading is irratioanl.

it seems to be the case that in the beginning, the Chinee Government basically ignored SARS for some time. Maybe they also thought that it wasnt a serious problem and the chance to get it and die from it is statistically remote, in which case their "no reaction" might be rational if we follow your line of thinking.

when consdiering what is ratioanal and irrational in people's behaviour to SARS is
- that not everyone has had the benefit of a Q & A session with a medical professional who can allay SARS concerns and give scientific medical reasoning and advice
- not all apsects of the SARS virus are knwon at this time and so how it spreads etc etc is not fully understood
- loads of beijingers dont have the same axcess to medical facilities and treatment that you might have.
- there is incomplete nifomration regardnig SARS and everybody is trying to do their best to cope with the situation
- are people resonding to the hype and sensationalism and misinformation out there...(in which case your "article" just adds to that, dont yuo think.

something else you should consider is that once the Chinese Premier publicly went out amongst the population to personally take on the SARS issue, then from that point on, the Chinese people can know that the Governemnt will seriously take all steps to prevent and contain the SARS. The methods they use may not agree with your western sensibilities, but for sure they will overcome the SARS situation.

The public face and central role of the government is significant in this process and sends a pretty clear message to the "common chinese" that the government will take all steps to combat SARS.

so Mr Egas, your reference to Mao and past mistrust of the governemnt is just somehow entirley irrelevant (at least in my opinion .....you getting this Hamish)

I perosnally believe your story to be condescending of Beijing and its inhabitants, and contrary to your image of Beijing, Beijing is alive and teaming with activity. Poeple are not "running scared".

so Hamish, where am I?, and am i a teacher?....has nothing to do with it. I didnt know you had to be either in China or a teacher to post on this forum,.........or is that a rule of yours.....
in any event....where am I, well accrodng to some, I may be on the edge of irratioanlity, ...oters might call it Beijing.
and am i a teacher?........how can i join your club, is there a membership card or something, or can i just apply on the internet and take a crack at any offers that come along?

by the way hamish, when is your next spelling bee?
and just to keep you happy Hamish, all of the above is just my opinion.

leslie · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 235

Minhang Oz · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 610 Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin

Smarts,you sound like an intelligent person,but do you ever read your stuff before hitting the SUBMIT button?What the hell is the "Chinee government"? That's one of many.You're [n.b.] publishing for others to read,so show your readers some respect,otherwise they'll think you're semi-literate.Hubei Canuck could do the same...what or where is Chian?Which country is Austrailia?[one of your other posts]We all make errors and typos,but should pick most of them up.As for your query about who this site is for,read the masthead.Are you a teacher or a student? I hope you're not the first,but you'd benefit from being the second.

smarts · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 159 Location: beijing

your post on spelling mistakes is not much to do with this thread...in fact it is irrelevant
and by the way is it spelling mistakes, or just crap typing......who knows?

gmat · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 274 Location: S Korea

Egas · Guest

The good news is that Pacific News has already posted my article on their web site.

http://news.pacificnews.org/news

They also paid me 200 US dollars, which is more good news. The bad news is that the article is heavily edited and barely resembles the original. But hey, at least my name is on it!

If you don't like what I write, tough! Regardless of whether my views are the same as yours or not isn't terribly important. My opinion isn't going to kill anyone. My word isn't God's, but I don't see how expressing some opinions in a written article of this kind is a crime. I really couldn't be bothered debating the issue any more. The article is not polemic, but entertainment.

gmat · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 274 Location: S Korea

Congrats Egas!

smarts · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 159 Location: beijing

like I said...shallow
at least you got 200 bucks......
so who's profiting from SARS anyway

Egas · Guest

By the way, I must give credit to Hamish for giving me the lead for Pacific News.

As far as the claim that I am becoming one of the media that I knocked - it's probably a reasonable criticism, although I never thought much about it when I wrote the piece. I am a writer by nature, and have published magazine and newspaper stuff before, but only the odd thing. I have also written academic stuff in academic journals, related to my PhD. Further I am writing a young adults novel, but as any budding novelist knows, it's a difficult market to crack.

I also wrote a book on philosophy about ten years ago, but couldn't get it published. Smarts, I can email it to you if you want! Wink

I should add that although the article may make it seem like I live a typical drunken ex-pats' life, it is far from the truth. Actually I am very isolated from the ex-pat community (of course my school has many foreign teachers, though). I only go to the bar once a week max, and actually drink very little. I just go to relax and meet people I can speak English with.

hubei_canuk · Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Posts: 240 Location: hubei china

200 bucks!
Geez Egas looks like your are profiting on the SARs panic and anxiety!
..
What's the big deal about getting a first class restaurant all to yourself?
I bet the service is a lot better.
He who dares, Wins!
...
It's time for everybody to ask for a raise.

hubei_canuk · Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Posts: 240 Location: hubei china

"Though he is not afraid of SARS, nevertheless it affects him in a dramatic way, writes PNS commentator Marcus Anthony. His Chinese girlfriend is leaving Beijing as her office is closed down and a friend shuns him."
- news pacific blurb
======================
Hey Egas!
Looks like they are using your article for sensationalism and creating panic.
Kinda the opposite of your POV isn't it?
....
I don't think it's that you don't take SARS seriously. Looks like you are addicted to pub crawling. Smile

...
200 buckeroos ain't bad. Congrats.
Is that American Bucks?

Minhang Oz · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 610 Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin

Well done Egas,that was quick! And Smarts,I know this hasn't dawned on you yet,but this site is about teaching English [has someone explained ESL/EFL to you?],and I think spelling is a factor in there somewhere.And it's not about crap typing-I'm the slowest one finger typist alive.It's about presenting your ideas in a coherent,organised,and reasonably correct way...as you'd expect your students to do if you had any.I notice you ignored that part of my post.

Egas · Guest

Call me a media *beep* if you will...

chinasyndrome · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2003 5:21 am Post subject:

Egas! Congratulations!
Very Happy

You deserve the $200, not only for writing an interesting article but for putting up with the sub-intelligent crap that is unsuccessfully trying to pass itself off as the reasonable if semi-literate voice of dissention. (Whew! That was a highly articulate outburst!)

Minhang Oz, you make a valid point. (Just thought I'd give the Dia Tribe (or is that Diarrhea Mad

Tribe) another visible target, seeing as their eyesight isn't too good). Wink

If'n yo cain't bae braht, bae po-lite. Yuk, yuk, yuk. Very Happy

chiansidnroom

TEECHER · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Posts: 47

Did this thread mention irrational behaviour at the beginning? There seems to be just a bit of it on this thread as well as other locales. The Chinese populace seems to be escalating into panic mode. There are different examples of this in many news stories. There are many important developments occurring in China on an hourly basis. And we are bickering over spelling?????? Let's do our best to get on with an intelligent discussion on our shared information. Lighten up and use your time to make good use of the information available to you. And perhaps try to help others as well. Bye for now