Can we leave the brave waitress alone

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-10 07:53

The story of Deng Yujiao, a waitress who resisted the sexual advances of local officials in Badong, Hubei province, and killed one of them, has not ended with her acquittal by a court. On the contrary, the public attention she got during the case has prompted some people to offer her weird jobs. It would be better if the people shifted their focus and let Deng be herself, says an article in the China Youth Daily. Excerpt:

Many new windows seemed to have opened for Deng Yujiao, like being offered an undergraduate seat in the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Botany by Prof Fu Dezhi.

She has also been offered an editor's job with a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan by a website and even a chance to act in a legendary movie. Then there are some manufacturers who want Deng to promote their products.

Deng's image has changed from a fighter and a victim to a triumphant heroine, who fights evil and defends morality.

This reflects the unprecedented attention the public has been paying to social incidents.

Deng's predicament should have ended with her acquittal by a court, but public gaze is still following her everywhere, showing the negative impact excessive public attention can have on an individual.

Amid the public frenzy, the basic question seems to have escaped most people's minds: What does Deng, an ordinary individual, really need?

Though we cannot read her thoughts, it is very unlikely that she would like to be an undergraduate student of Botany or take a job that is beyond her capability.

Solicitude toward the disadvantaged, by its description, should reflect conscience. And unreasonable promises, which do not conform to vulnerable groups' needs, aspirations or capability, indicate morbid social mentality.

(China Daily 07/10/2009 page9)