1st 3 paragraphs of a long article
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A few summers ago in Toronto, I saw a couple break up on the street. After several minutes of yelling, the woman turned to walk away. The man then grabbed her wrist and yanked her back with so much force it sent her stumbling to the ground. There was an instant pause, as if the couple and everyone that saw the incident realized a line had been crossed. The man scrambled to help her up. The woman, swatting him away, hissed back, “Don’t you ever touch me like that again.” Several strangers walking by stopped to ask the woman if she was alright and lingered protectively until her now-former lover moved on in the opposite direction.
No matter where I am in China, I often see similar scenes of couples fighting in public, except the screaming is even more shrill and the escalation to violence more frequent. In fact, tearful arguing, arm grabbing, shoving and kicking are so commonplace on Beijing’s streets that I’ve come to wonder whether it’s part of the local mating ritual.
Passers-by rarely stop and if they do, it’s only to gawk, not intervene. Occasionally someone will pull out his phone, but only to capture the spectacle with his camera rather than call for help. When the onlookers have had their fill, they carry on without saying a word, leaving the couple to continue their quarrel undisturbed.
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more @
http://qz.com/56501/domestic-violence-is...in-public/
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A few summers ago in Toronto, I saw a couple break up on the street. After several minutes of yelling, the woman turned to walk away. The man then grabbed her wrist and yanked her back with so much force it sent her stumbling to the ground. There was an instant pause, as if the couple and everyone that saw the incident realized a line had been crossed. The man scrambled to help her up. The woman, swatting him away, hissed back, “Don’t you ever touch me like that again.” Several strangers walking by stopped to ask the woman if she was alright and lingered protectively until her now-former lover moved on in the opposite direction.
No matter where I am in China, I often see similar scenes of couples fighting in public, except the screaming is even more shrill and the escalation to violence more frequent. In fact, tearful arguing, arm grabbing, shoving and kicking are so commonplace on Beijing’s streets that I’ve come to wonder whether it’s part of the local mating ritual.
Passers-by rarely stop and if they do, it’s only to gawk, not intervene. Occasionally someone will pull out his phone, but only to capture the spectacle with his camera rather than call for help. When the onlookers have had their fill, they carry on without saying a word, leaving the couple to continue their quarrel undisturbed.
______________________________________________
more @
http://qz.com/56501/domestic-violence-is...in-public/