By Hui Guniang

Judge Later

By Hui Guniang

A newspaper agency director visited an interviewee with his intern reporter. The interviewee was an elderly painter who had no children and lived alone. When they entered, they were shocked by what they saw. A musty smell filled the room. Socks and undergarments were strewn everywhere. Cockroaches darted in and out amongst the debris. Packets of instant noodles full of ash and growing mold were stacked on the table. It was a terrible sight to behold.

They basically had to clear a path through the mess to get to the sofa. To find enough room to sit, they then had to remove all the color-stained brushes and pallets as well as piles of scrap paper. By the time they could finally sit down for the interview, the intern was extremely tired and frustrated.

But none of this fazed the old painter. When the interview was over and they said goodbye, he replied,“Thank you for the interview, but before you leave, please put everything back where it was on the sofa, so that I can find it. I will need that stuff soon.” So the director put everything back in its original position, including the brushes and bits of scrap paper.

After they left, the intern reporter could not wrap her mind around what she had just witnessed and asked, “What is the point of putting everything back in such a pigsty? He didn’t even feel the least bit selfconscious about his filth.”

The director smiled and said,“Maybe it is the kind of lifestyle that makes sense to him. It may look chaotic to us, but for him it might be organized.”

“How can somebody live such a messy life?” she said indignantly.

“We couldn’t live like that, but it looks like he might. We are in no position to criticize or look down on his lifestyle. His life doesn’t depend on us. He has his own values, which may not be accepted by the norm, but we shall still respect him.”

In many cases, we fail to respect others, purely because what we are confronted with we consider to be incomprehensible and goes against our outlook on life and the world, contradicting everything we know to be correct. Everyone is an individual who exists with the freedom and the right to make a choice. As long as their choices do not violate humanity and the law, no one has the right to deny their existence, no matter how bizarre and ridiculous it may seem.

In “What the Japan Earthquake Taught Us,” a lesson was drawn from the calmness, objectivity and professionalism of the Japanese media when reporting the disasters. With all the footage, a certain distance was rigorously maintained, and virtually no TV audiences could see the true gore, the death, or hear the wailing cries. One day, the television station NHK was to interview a father and his son who were reunited again after the disaster. The father said he must ask his son first and then he turned around and walked into the ward. The camera was running and showed nothing but a white curtain as they waited. For up to two minutes this scene was on the air. Nothing happened. There was no editing. They simply waited until the father came out and invited the crew in. It was interesting to watch. Adequate understanding was given to the interviewee and sufficient information was given to the audience. The interview won unanimous approval globally for its elegant and prudent approach, and the NHK report was praised as a “gentlemanly reporting style.”

It is not hard to respect what we understand, but it is difficult to respect what one does not. Overcoming this prejudice is an admirable achievement and a truly noble way of conducting oneself. It displays an elegance of the soul if one can stay neutral towards others, refraining oneself from interfering in others’ lives, allowing mutual personal space, to tolerate others’ way of existence, and accept things that seem senseless with a sound peace of mind.

(FromLove, Marriage and Family,February 2016. Translation: Trans)