Monday, September 30, 2013

Hobbling Around Town

I like my job, but sometimes it is nice to take a break. The problem is that I could not really take advantage of the days off I had. I was not as mobile as I like to be and Hong Kong is by no means a great place to get around if you are on crutches. It was an interesting experience, but I got a little tired of how much people here have absolutely no consideration for anyone with any handicap. Trying to go anywhere on crutches was a challenge, but I'm sure it would be a million times harder in a wheelchair.

There are not as many elevators in Hong Kong as there should be. This is not a level place where all the streets are flat. There are hills and sometimes you have to go up a flight of stairs to get to the next street. People in wheelchairs might know all the ways to get around, which probably include going very far out of their way to find some kind of ramp, but I'm used to just walking in as straight a line as possible.

The MTR definitely needs more elevators. The biggest stations have one or two and they always seem to be full of people who could easily take the stairs and escalators. The smallest stations do not have any elevators at all. Some do not even have escalators. I asked a Chinese person how handicapped people get around and he said they can take a taxi. His cavalier attitude truly disappointed me.

There are great things about Chinese people, but compassion for their fellow man does not seem to be one of them. I have been here a while and I think I might be used to the blatant racism. Hong Kong is 95% Chinese, so anyone who looks different is going to be treated differently. The price gouging is easier to deal with if you can haggle in Chinese.

What I'm still having trouble adjusting to is how selfish so many people are. Where I come from, you hold the door open for other people when you are going through. It has nothing to do with gender or age. It is simple common courtesy. I would be amazed if I ever saw anyone hold the door open for anyone else in Hong Kong.

I see smokers blowing their filth in people's faces all the time. I realize smokers all over the world are a privileged group with special rights that allow them to poison whoever they want, but they are even more inconsiderate here than they are in Europe. And Europe is shockingly poisoned compared to the United States.

The worst thing for me has always been the MTR. It is the best way to get around, but is full of the most selfish people I have ever seen in my entire life. Some of these people would run over their own grandmothers to be the first on the train. For some reason, everyone has to be first. There is plenty of time to get on and the doors will never close on people and cut them in half. If you are in the doorway, it automatically opens. If you miss a train, there will be another in three minutes. Yet every day, I see a million people who all have to be first at all costs.

I don't know how many times I have seen healthy young people just sit in their precious seats while an old person or a pregnant woman stands next to them. There are special seats designated for pregnant women, handicapped and the elderly, but I have never seen anyone ever give up any of those seats for someone else. The MTR is usually pretty crowded. Rush hour is between 6am and 2am. Actually sitting down on a train is rare, so perhaps the people who have a seat would rather die than give it to someone who needs it more. They got there first. They won. That hard plastic is their prize come hell or high water.

It does not especially bother me that no one ever gave up a seat for me while I was on crutches. I was otherwise healthy and only mildly incapacitated. It very much bothers me when I see an old lady who can barely stand up having to stand on the train just because the healthy people sitting around her don't give a shit about anyone but themselves.

The Chinese have a reputation for being polite. In many ways they are. They will never say bad things about you to your face. In other ways, they are not even close.

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