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So much grief but still focused: I asked Wang Dongqing whom he blamed for his son’s (the doctor) death. “I blame the health-care system,” he said. “Li Mengnan (

So much grief but still focused: I asked Wang Dongqing whom he blamed for his son’s (the doctor) death. “I blame the health-care system,” he said. “Li Mengnan (the killer) was just a representative of this conflict. Incidents like this have happened many times. How could we just blame Li?”

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
jjoonathan 12y ago
Wow: > When People’s Daily, a newspaper that acts as a Chinese government mouthpiece, posted an online questionnaire asking readers to rate their reaction to the murder, as a smiley face, a sad face, or an angry face, sixty-five per cent of readers chose the smiley face. After having read the accounts of what their health care system is like, it's not hard to understand this level of outrage. It sounds like many of these doctors are exploiting the hell out of their information asymmetry in order to defraud and extort patients who have already been driven to desperation by their ailments. Arguably this behavior is due to the fact that the doctors are underpaid in the first place, but I doubt anyone expects that to be much comfort to the patients. If Wang Dongqing was privy to his son's misgivings about the moral compromises he and/or his peers were making then the possibility of patient retaliation must have haunted him for some time. The fact that his son died as collateral damage rather than as a result of a slight he personally committed really drives home the fact that the only solution is to address the issue at the system level :/
- zo1 12y ago
  What? This kid murdered an innocent person in anger. It starts, and it ends there. Whether it was collateral damage, or how angry the kid was, is irrelevant. It's like saying: you know, there's all these fat people that are constantly abused and get run-around by pretty girls. They are suffering so bad, it's not hard to understand their level of outrage when one of them raped a woman. Seriously, violence against innocents can never be justified. No matter the rational behind it. And by defending them and their actions, we're just giving them credence and making them think their anger and actions are "not their fault".
  - jahnu 12y ago
    Causes or context for violent acts can be understood and taken into account when considering the act. Thankfully, most judicial systems do this.
    - zo1 12y ago
      Taken into account? Please elaborate... What sorts of things/causes/context can justify or play-down the severity of violent actions, in your view?
      - sliverstorm 12y ago
        Duress. Lies/false information. Or even premeditated vs. crime of passion, which is well established in our legal system. Or, how about that ?Italian? guy who hired thugs to kidnap his daughter's killer and extradite him to face trial
      - zo1 12y ago
        HN users are down-modding legitimate questions to spark debate? Interesting.
        salemh 12y ago
        I up-voted your parent comment, because it was a semi-legitimate question (semi, because the GP comment you made was a bit wild/out of context). However, asking the forum 'why' or playing a role of down-vote brigading is frowned on. Just make your points :)
      - jahnu 12y ago
        Easiest to understand would be crimes of passion. Someone who kills without pre-meditation is usually considered to have committed a lesser crime than someone who planned it. Then you have more complex situations. Killing an intruder in your home for example. The details are crucial to understanding if it's justified or not. Even more complex are the rules of engagement in war. Was the bombing of Dresden justified, etc. Every society grades and judges violent acts in context.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

jjoonathan 12y ago

Wow: > When People’s Daily, a newspaper that acts as a Chinese government mouthpiece, posted an online questionnaire asking readers to rate their reaction to the murder, as a smiley face, a sad face, or an angry face, sixty-five per cent of readers chose the smiley face. After having read the accounts of what their health care system is like, it's not hard to understand this level of outrage. It sounds like many of these doctors are exploiting the hell out of their information asymmetry in order to defraud and extort patients who have already been driven to desperation by their ailments. Arguably this behavior is due to the fact that the doctors are underpaid in the first place, but I doubt anyone expects that to be much comfort to the patients. If Wang Dongqing was privy to his son's misgivings about the moral compromises he and/or his peers were making then the possibility of patient retaliation must have haunted him for some time. The fact that his son died as collateral damage rather than as a result of a slight he personally committed really drives home the fact that the only solution is to address the issue at the system level :/

zo1 12y ago
What? This kid murdered an innocent person in anger. It starts, and it ends there. Whether it was collateral damage, or how angry the kid was, is irrelevant. It's like saying: you know, there's all these fat people that are constantly abused and get run-around by pretty girls. They are suffering so bad, it's not hard to understand their level of outrage when one of them raped a woman. Seriously, violence against innocents can never be justified. No matter the rational behind it. And by defending them and their actions, we're just giving them credence and making them think their anger and actions are "not their fault".
- jahnu 12y ago
  Causes or context for violent acts can be understood and taken into account when considering the act. Thankfully, most judicial systems do this.
  - zo1 12y ago
    Taken into account? Please elaborate... What sorts of things/causes/context can justify or play-down the severity of violent actions, in your view?
    - sliverstorm 12y ago
      Duress. Lies/false information. Or even premeditated vs. crime of passion, which is well established in our legal system. Or, how about that ?Italian? guy who hired thugs to kidnap his daughter's killer and extradite him to face trial
    - zo1 12y ago
      HN users are down-modding legitimate questions to spark debate? Interesting.
      - salemh 12y ago
        I up-voted your parent comment, because it was a semi-legitimate question (semi, because the GP comment you made was a bit wild/out of context). However, asking the forum 'why' or playing a role of down-vote brigading is frowned on. Just make your points :)
    - jahnu 12y ago
      Easiest to understand would be crimes of passion. Someone who kills without pre-meditation is usually considered to have committed a lesser crime than someone who planned it. Then you have more complex situations. Killing an intruder in your home for example. The details are crucial to understanding if it's justified or not. Even more complex are the rules of engagement in war. Was the bombing of Dresden justified, etc. Every society grades and judges violent acts in context.