Mainlanders

I've accepted the fact that there exists a population of assholes in every culture. However, when the asshole-to-population ratio reaches a certain point, the whole culture is labeled as sub-par. This has been my recent view of the Mainland Chinese.

I've known a great number of extraordinary Mainland Chinese, whether they be born and raised in Canada or came at a later age. A lot of them excels at their professions and is just as caring and considerate as any of the great people I've known if not more. On the other side of the scale are the horrible horrible people I've met or heard about throughout the years. They disgust me.

Feeling unmotivated, I was late for Sunday worship this morning. I quickly settled down trying to keep the disturbance of my late entrance as little as possible. I moved into the center of the row so the seats next to the aisle remain unobstructed for late comers. Then two girls sat down next to me near the aisle. They started chatting as soon as they sat down, we were at the front row of the upper floor. After 3 minutes of chattering while the special guest speaker passionately shares his findings on the book of Daniel, I grew increasingly impatient. I turned my face sharply to them and looked one of them in the eye, confirming their age group and identity. They were both in their late 20s and judging from their accent, they were Mainland Chinese without a question. I didn't know what they were talking about, but from time to time I'd catch a sentence or two. They'd give out comments about the speaker's style and speech patterns from time to time. After 10 minutes, people behind our row started moving restlessly in their seat, not being able to focus under the constant chattering. I saw it from the the corner of my eyes as I began to ponder what I should do next. I let out a long sigh and turned my face again to them and stared at one of the girls for a brief while. Their voice died down a little. It's funny how they tried to cover their mouths with a booklet in their hands, thinking that it will reduce the sound of the conversation. Another 10 minutes went by, their conversation became a continuous hissing instead of the short bursts of comments, demolishing whatever concentration I had left. For the 3rd time, I turned my head to them and put up a mute sign on my mouth. They were so involved in their discussion they didn't see me. I then reached out my right hand and tapped on the back of the bench 4 times to get their attention. Both of them turned to the noise and saw my sign. They murmured sorry and had their eyes fixated back onto the speaker.

That was not the end of the ordeal, they murmured a few words quietly to each other and one of the girls would turn and stare at my face as I observed through my peripheral vision. I didn't care. 40 minutes or so into the sermon, they both stared at me then got up and left.

I wasn't surprised, I've seen a good share of Mainland Chinese not having the slightest public manners and I won't be afraid to be the bad guy the next time around.