您现在的位置: Language Tips> Columnist> Liu Shinan  
   
 





 
Kind lessons for robber and society
A media report last week of how an elderly woman foiled a robbery attempt and even saved...
[ 2008-04-16 11:01 ]

 Kind lessons for robber and society

A media report last week of how an elderly woman foiled a robbery attempt and even saved the wounded burglar's life has triggered debates among netizens.

Li Jianhua, a retired teacher from Weihai, Shandong province, was attacked by a burglar in her home but fought back bravely. The man stabbed Li on her head and neck. He was also injured in the fight. In the end, the 19-year-old robber collapsed, partly because of injury and partly because of the psychological strain. He asked Li to kill him. Li said to the boy: "You are my son's age. Your parents must have undergone many hardships to bring you up. How can you do such a thing? If you have difficulty, I can help you. Now you go; I won't call the police. Or we go to the hospital." The young man was so moved that he called her "Mom".

Readers were divided in their understanding of Li's action. An online survey found that 55.2 percent of the netizens supported her while 38.4 percent expressed disapproval. While expressing admiration for Li's kind-heartedness, the second group said she was too lenient to a criminal, citing the story of a farmer and a snake, and even accused her of conniving at the crime. The first group said she did nothing wrong for she was trying to save a "degenerating soul".

I think both sides are right in their respective ways of assessing Li's action but both have rather one-sided approaches.

Generally, one should not hide a crime. But in this particular case, it might be better to emotionally move a misguided youth so that he gets a chance to reform himself than to put him in jail, which may ruin the rest of his life. The question here is whether the young man was really repenting what he had done. He looked so, for he appeared panic-stricken as if it was his first ever attempt to rob a person. But who knows? Nowadays, it is never easy to tell a person's real intention.

Before this question is answered, it is not meaningful to argue whether Li's protection of the robber is reasonable - or legal - or not. What is more important is the motive behind Li's action.

In what Li said to the young man, we see a loving mother and a professional teacher.

"Your parents must have undergone many hardships to bring you up. How can you do such a thing?" This is the typical language a teacher uses to urge his/her students to learn to be good. But the robber is not Li's student. And this is exactly why Li is admirable.

Kind lessons for robber and society

Faced with a robber who had lost his weapon in the tussle, the former teacher chose not to run away from possible danger but to educate the young man on ethics. This may appear to be "pedantically doltish", as Li's critics put it. But it is actually the natural act of a conscientious teacher. She did so out of both a mother's and a teacher's love for youngsters.

What a noble feeling.

This is - or should be - an intrinsic feeling of all teachers as a profession. However, this feeling is dying among a considerable - though small - number of teachers. There are two reasons why this is happening.

First, some teachers are too occupied with their efforts to earn money from parents who force their children to attend extra-curricular courses. Their love for students has been overtaken by their desire for money.

Second, the education authorities' excessive emphasis on "respecting students" encouraged some students to hurt their teachers' feelings. For many years, the authorities and "education experts" have encouraged students to be defiant to their teachers. And incorrect interpretations of the Law on Protection of Minors by parents have deterred teachers from criticizing students for their misconduct.

Something has to be done to stop the trend and help teachers preserve their professional ethics.

E-mail: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/16/2008 page8)

我要看更多专栏文章 

 

About the author:
 

刘式南 高级编辑。1968年毕业于武汉华中师范学院(现华中师范大学)英文系。1982年毕业于北京体育学院(现北京体育大学)研究生院体育情报专业。1982年进入中国日报社,先后担任体育记者、时政记者、国际新闻编辑、要闻版责任编辑、发稿部主任、《上海英文星报》总编辑、《中国商业周刊》总编辑等职。现任《中国日报》总编辑助理及专栏作家。1997年获国务院“特殊贡献专家政府津贴”。2000年被中华全国新闻工作者协会授予“全国百佳新闻工作者”称号。2006年获中国新闻奖二等奖(编辑)。

 
英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
相关文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本频道最新推荐
 
新加坡开展促友善全民教育活动
小长假的前一天 virtual Friday
英语中的“植物”喻人
Burying loved ones deadly expensive
经济危机时期入读哈佛难上加难
翻吧推荐
 
论坛热贴
 
“学会做人”如何翻译
做作怎么翻译
美国人电话留言精选
大话西游中英文对白
夜宵怎么翻译比较地道