this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024
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As a Chinese person, I've noticed these incidents becoming more frequent in recent years. Despite gun control, there have been more knife attacks and vehicle rammings. Many innocent lives have been lost and families shattered, which is deeply distressing and frightening. I often remind my family and friends to be cautious when going out.

Discussing these topics is often restricted or prohibited within China. I'm curious to understand why people who want to 'take revenge on society' harm strangers who are defenseless and unknown to them. Logically, this behavior is hard to comprehend. There's an old Chinese saying that roughly translates to 'revenge should be directed at the source of the grievance.' If someone has been wronged and feels desperate, shouldn't they confront those who harmed them directly? By attacking random strangers, only innocent people suffer while those responsible remain unaffected.

I'm deeply saddened by this situation and am seeking insights. This is my first post on Lemmy, and I hope people can explain this issue or recommend books or videos that address the reasons behind such behaviors. Thank you very much.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago (10 children)

I'm in the USA, so all of my answers would be colored by my culture. My knowledge of the culture in China is limited.

There’s an old Chinese saying that roughly translates to ‘revenge should be directed at the source of the grievance.’ If someone has been wronged and feels desperate, shouldn’t they confront those who harmed them directly?

If I had to make a guess I'd say it may be a recognition of the collectivist view of society in China. As in "I am wronged by society, so any member of society is a valid target for my anger/revenge."

For someone that becomes an attacker, it is likely the result of many events, not one. How many times have they tried to move to a Tier 1 city and been rejected? How many times have they been passed over for better education or job opportunities? When they raise their objections how many times are they met by others with "没精打采。" ("nothing can be done about it")?

As someone living in Chinese culture, you're probably better equipped to answer this than most of us. I appreciate you sharing your question and your answers as you have here. I'm interested in understanding this from your perspective.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

I wouldn't rush to blame "collectivist society" for random acts of violence when America exists.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

I wouldn’t rush to blame “collectivist society” for random acts of violence when America exists.

You might want to read my post again if thats what you came away with. If you're still having difficulty, let me know, I'm willing to type out the long explanation of what I am seeing is pretty clear right now.

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