I do not know if the American athletes accused of shoplifting in China actually committed that presumptuous offense. If they did, they displayed reckless indifference to the reality that many cultures are unequivocally determined to spare the law abiding majority the far too often excused predation so evident in America. Strange that, if so; the athletes are college students and have no doubt been thoroughly apprised of the superiority of all cultures to our own. You'd think they would know better, I mean, being academics and all.
When I was in the Far East in the US Navy from 1968-72, we were advised in as many words: "yeah, ok, go ahead and do things for which you would be almost reflexively exonerated in a U.S. far more interested in protecting the 'rights' of victimizers than those of their victims. You'll be ensnared in a system based on the conviction that crime is absolutely intolerable - Period!" In every port we left men behind who did not respect that warning and they were subjected to the tender embraces of criminal justice systems based on the concept that criminals are individuals who choose to do that which they ought to know will not be countenanced, "no! - under no circumstances"! If one chooses to enter such a country, one must comply with such law and those countries have every right to expect that of visitors.
The reason they are very quick to punish crimes such as shoplifting is that they know that to excuse that and similar lowlife practices gives license to even more destructive crimes - a very common sense idea. Their determination to prosecute that belief has the result of their countries being safe for the most ardently protected segments of any sane and healthy society - children and senior citizens. We know, to our shame, that we have failed in this. Its no mystery to the Chinese..
I went to university in Singapore in 1974. Their country was a tawdry hellhole of all manner of drug related disgrace when they were ruled by Westerners. Once the ethnic Chinese dominated Singaporeans took over in the early '60's they declared " As common sense requires, we affirm that we will not tolerate crime. We recognize no qualifiers to this commitment.We have witnessed undeniable evidence of the corrosive effect that Western excuses for crime have on any sensible society. Westerners think it paramount that the 'rights of the accused' be observed, to the rejection of all other considerations. We do not. "
One may disagree with their viewpoint but to be fair one must consider the disadvantages of ours. I recall the execrable "Bill" Clinton scolding the Singaporeans for having enacted corporal punishment on an American punk convicted of vandalism in their safe and orderly nation. The Singaporeans rightfully bade him look to the crime rate in his country.
Perhaps the situation with the UCLA athletes became political; maybe it was a bargaining chip between our President and that of China. If so, the athletes were subjected to considerations inappropriate to that of which they were accused. But if they did it, maybe they will wise up? Jack
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Personally, I think Trump was right to regret his actions -- he should have left those pipsqueaks to rot... Of course, if he had, he'd be accused of racism, but then he's accused of racism regardless, so no harm, no foul. Incidentally, I believe the malefactors have admitted to shoplifting not just one, but on multiple occasions.
Dr. Waddy: I didn't realize they had confessed. I did see a picture of one of them walking along looking downcast and ashamed. Colin Powell once said "we must regain a sense of shame in the U.S." I don't doubt the Chinese gave these presumptuous and amoral pukes to understand how very little regard they held for them. Hell, U.S. law enforcement officials are often enjoined(when I know for sure they know better) to refer to thugs as "this gentleman" and other ludicrous euphemisms. I worked in Shock Incarceration and I know criminals can be controlled; it takes organizational and political will to do so but it can be done. Our rights are precious but we needs must acknowledge that we pay a heavy price for some of them. I fully agree that with the insanely "antiTrump" crowd he'll always be wrong no matter what he does, so why even try with them? They deserve marginalization anyway.
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