Dear Editor,
Just recently, while waiting for my vehicle to be washed, I witnessed a few persons (Chinese nationals, based on language and appearance), disposing of empty plastic bottles in the nearby canal. As I would with any other persons, I voiced my disapproval, followed by a quick reprimand and instructions on how best to dispose of personal garbage. They quickly apologized and returned the third portion of garbage into their parked vehicle.
My mind pondered what would have been their behaviour had they been in their native country.
My investigations revealed that this display of social negligence would have been unlikely in China. Searching my mind for explanations, I then surmised that this must be a good case of ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’ or perhaps more intuitively, ‘If they don’t care, then why should we?’ Maybe there were other reasons.
What became abundantly clear though was that when a people accept mediocrity and practise disorder, then others will always accept us as such and treat us no better!
Yours faithfully,
J O Campbell
