Reader's Letter | Personal thoughts on the incident in Chengdu 49: "Don't make sloppy words"?

Editor's note: Last week, the "Chengdu 49" incident has been in the public opinion of all parties since the Weibo account @49中中classmate Lin's mother called everyone to pay attention to the incident on Weibo because her son fell out of the building and could not get a reasonable response. The fire burned on the field for many days, during which there were many doubts, including but not limited to the statement by Lin's mother on Weibo that "the only thing missing is the monitoring when jumping off the building", parents were not notified in time, and the child was sent directly to the funeral home, etc.; in the early morning of May 11th At 3:54, Chengdu Chenghua Education issued an announcement of the joint investigation team, stating that "the student's death is a personal act." The mother expressed her disapproval of the survey results at 8:28 a.m. on the same day. At 19:43 in the evening, @安成华 issued a police report , saying that the death of student Zhi Gao "ruled out a criminal case" and that "the family members have no objection to the investigation results." That night, some people went to the gate of Chengdu No. 49 Middle School to lay flowers and demanded "truth" to observe the situation. After that, discussions of "Yan Ge (color revolution)" began to appear. On some online platforms, these people who went to the school were seen as For "Hong Kong rioters", even official Weibo accounts such as the Sichuan Internet Police have a tendency to set the tone . Even though the surveillance has been announced so far, the incident seems to have come to an end, but the damage to the public’s right to supervise during the period of public opinion fermentation, the lack of standardized procedures and systems that the school should follow after discovering that a student has an accident, and the link between public power’s attitude towards the truth and public opinion, etc. , has never been and has not been resolved.

 This article was written by the enthusiastic reader Mr. E in the early morning of May 12. The time reference in the article will be based on that day.

At the time of the limelight and the fire, I think the Sichuan dialect of "don't make sloppy words" began to spread all over the streets and alleys again. Especially yesterday (May 11) that big dragon and phoenix caused some people to stimulate their literary talents on Weibo again. I don't know what the wind commentary will look like today (May 12). Since this incident happened in a certain middle school, let me first introduce what is meant by "don't make sloppy speeches".

At present, students living in areas where the Sichuan dialect is commonly used will often shut their mouths with a reprimand of "don't make sloppy words" once they openly express their views on a certain current event, especially if they deviate from the prescribed posture. These words often appear in the mouths of parents and teachers. Its magic power is that it can suppress and eliminate the urge to speak most words and write by hand, just like a smashed can . This sentence is often inexplicable, and any unpleasant remarks can be sent off with this sentence. "Don't slander" on campus often has additional meanings such as not publishing unfavorable remarks to the school, not evaluating the events that are taking place in the school, and not questioning the definition of events by the school and the competent authorities.

A word can be effective, it must be supported by the school's countermeasures and the acquiescence of parents. If a student jumps off a building in a middle school, the school often warns the student through the teacher that any information disclosed to the outside will be punished, such as punishment, expulsion, and inability to take the college entrance examination. Taking the future as a threat, parents are unwilling to let their children experience risks, so they will "consciously" keep reminding "don't make slander." Under the interaction, until the limelight passed, the jumper seemed to have never existed. Therefore, the importance of this sentence is to quickly silence and eliminate all discussions, public opinion is concerned about cooling down, and the alarm is lifted; and the once "don't make slanderous words" begins to wait for the next event.

Among other things, the school's expectation of students is to remain silent, to treat what is happening as if it did not exist. For the sake of work and parents for the sake of school status, teachers keep responding to students with those words in classes, at home, and in private communications. From the perspective of the school and parents, the students are immature and need to obey and obey orders. Only those who have been "quiet" to read the "Book of Sages" are "good" students.

Schools and parents label what students see, hear, and think as "sham words", with obvious purposes and benefits: to discourage discussion and maintain authority. It is welcome and encouraged in a social context governed by above. The school hopes to let students realize that recruiting you can help you pass the college entrance examination, so your students must "consciously" be kind to the school, so you should "take the initiative to maintain the school's image" and stop touching on things that embarrass the school; parents I hope to let the children realize that since you have raised you, you should respect my authority, and don't care about those things that affect the future. Students' views on current affairs and school affairs can all be classified as "flat words", and their thoughts have never been more important than the schools and their parents' consideration.

Therefore, the price of "don't talk shit" is that some things will remain unforgettable because of the lack of channels to tell. It is normal to express what you have seen, the news you have heard, and the opinions you have in mind, but if you put on the label of "flat words", your true thoughts will be stigmatized, the right to express your own opinions will be substantially deprived, and insisting on your own opinions will be regarded as shame. . Under pressure from all parties, you will be forced to recognize it: it is "wrong" to say the real thoughts that the school is not happy with, and it is "inappropriate" not to express the required posture. We don't need to think about those things all the time, we Need to avoid touching on things that embarrass the school. It's easy to further develop into a sense of guilt: I'm not doing it right, and I should be grateful for what the school has taught me. In this way, in addition to the unspoken guilt, let yourself be tortured, let the school succeed, and let the parents feel at ease, does it really solve the problem? The classmates around you jump off the building, sexually assault, bully, things have already happened, if you force yourself to turn a blind eye, will they really disappear?

I have to admit that in the reality that the space is getting narrower and narrower, it is more and more difficult to express your thoughts without considering the feelings of the parents of the school and not following the prescribed posture. As a result, self-evidence falls into an infinite loop, which further increases the difficulty of expressing one's own thoughts, so that they are forced to choose silence due to fear. But there is one fact that we can admit without disobedience. The mythical nature of schools and parents will be shattered in the process of eliminating "flat words". At least we no longer have to admit that schools and parents are sacred because they destroy our true cognition, and we can be more noble than them, because we can also perceive the authenticity that comes from our original intentions.

So my suggestion is: don't give up expression, even if the space is narrow, you should keep your own ideas. It doesn't matter if you can't express them now, we have to defend our memory. The humiliation, stress, and trauma of the inability to self-determine under mandatory silence and normative expressions are known only to you. Only by expressing your true thoughts smoothly can you have the opportunity to relieve pain and get rid of mental shackles, which will benefit you. Expressing your true thoughts is like meeting someone you like or a friend you like. You can control it without going against your heart. Maybe you need to scrutinize the structure and details before you express it, but you will start to have the opportunity to believe that you are becoming an independent thinker. Then there are the appendages of schools and parents, which will be more difficult to control our spiritual world from now on. No matter how intimidated the school or the parent may block it, we can form a set of soft countermeasures. Mutual support between peers inside and outside the school is very important at this time. In short, don't give up the right to express yourself, don't force yourself to forget your inner anger, those are not "flat words".

Expressing your thoughts is not a sin.

That is not a sin.

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