Official Blog Post 5

Link to news article:
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20110227-265528.html

Summary of the news article:
          A father rented out his child to another person for money and to lessen his burden as his family was very poor at that time and could not bear to feed an extra mouth. His child was returned to him after the "rental period" was over and he found out that his child had been abused and used as a slave. (Which is what we are learning now in school, the topic on "slavery") He hopes to turn back the clock and rescue his child and prevent him for getting hurt. He also blames the person who rented the child and accuses him of child abuse.

Reflections:
          Netizens who have been viewing this news article have scolded the father for renting out his child. They are also enraged that he still blames and accuses the person who rented the child for child abuse. They feel that if the father cared about his child more, it would not have happened and he is not in any position to blame others. He can only blame himself for not showing care and concern to his only child.
          I feel that there is a two-point perspective in viewing this situation. The first perspective is to view this situation in the shoes of the father while the second perspective is to view the situation in the shoes of the Netizens. After doing so, we can conclude the final result of who is in the wrong and who is right.
           Firstly, in the perspective of the father. I feel that the father is not in the wrong for renting out his child. He is actually caring for his child if you think in a different way. Many people with an average IQ would just say, "Oh, he rented out his child and now he is blaming the person who rented the child for child abuse? He is in the wrong, how could he blame others?". However, if you possess an IQ above an average person, you could view the situation in this way. The father is actually showing care and concern to his child. He did not expect his child to be abused initially and in actual fact, he rented out his child just to let his child lead a happy life and does not want him to suffer along with him. By providing his child with a happy life, he is actually showing care and concern. He also stated that if he knew that his child was going to be abused, he would go back in time and not rent out his child. Sure, we cannot tell if he really means it or not, but I am sure that he possesses a fact that every parent does. A parent would always love his or her child. It is quite obvious that the father is indeed showing care and concern to his child. He rented his child out to not only give his child a happy life, but also does not want him to suffer with a poor family. He also rented out his child for personal benefits such as to lessen his burden and not have an extra mouth to feed. If you would consider this statement, you would conclude that the father is a very cold-hearted person. However, if you would link it back to all I have said, you would realise that he is not only doing it for his personal benefits, he is also doing it for his child. If he were to not "rent" out his child to others, his child would definitely suffer along with the family. In fact, the family would even suffer more with an addition of a new family member to feed. He would rather take a risk to let his child suffer or live a happy life, rather than to guarantee that his child would live a hard life. Furthermore, by renting out his child, he would earn some "rental fees" which would ensure that his family could cope with for a while. Therefore, in conclusion of the first perspective, I feel that the father was actually right to rent out his child as it is a way to show care and concern. Without the rental, he would not earn some money to cope with and would also have an extra mouth to feed. This would make the family suffer more with its current state. Furthermore, the family was quite poor.
          Now, in the second perspective of the Netizens. The Netizens would definitely feel that the father is in the wrong for renting out his child and letting him suffer by eating faeces. However, I am sure that no one had expected this to even happened. The Netizens are actually in the wrong to accuse the father that what he did was wrong. Surely they do not expect the father to predict the future and know that his son was going to be abused? Furthermore, if they would put themselves into the shoes of the father, they would understand the pain that he is suffering at that point of time. In their own perspective, they would obviously feel free to comment in a bad way but if they were to understand the feeling of being poor, they would think before they speak. Let me tell you something: If you were the one who were in the situation, how would you feel if Netizens gave comments that are totally rubbish when they do not understand anything? Obviously you would feel enraged. You wouldn't like lowly educated people commenting on your current situation without understanding the full context of the situation!

          So in conclusion, I feel that the Netizens are actually in the wrong by commenting without understanding the full situation. In conclusion, the father is partially right to do what he did while the Netizens are totally wrong.