To bike or not to bike: An ethical issue
To bike or not to bike: An ethical issue
Describe
The author worries about his image when biking in Uganda. He is a modern well-equipped and wealthy mzungu riding a luxurious mountain bike for pleasure and fitness, while around him poor people of Uganda are busy working for life and using their bikes for ferrying life’s staples. Although struggling with that contrast, he continues his practice of “luxurious” biking, and tries to present himself as friendly and respectful to surrounding Ugandans.
Despite the struggle of the author, his descriptive writing shows that he gets used to looking down at the local people. That is the impression readers get increasingly with reading, and it is especially clear with the last phrase of “[creating] a culture of I-you instead I-it”.
The stakeholders include the author and the local Ugandans. It would be better if the former does not pay too much attention on the impact of his appearance, but instead loves the latter as peers, and then keeping his biking practice with a cheaper bikes, cheaper equipments, and using spare money to help the community.
Explain
Benefits and losses: The author benefits because he still can maintain his biking practice, in full, with a shiny new mountain bike, and with fully mzungu’s appearance as he wishes. The country of Uganda might benefit because it can potentially keep the author – definitely as a good consumer and perhaps also as a good worker (supposing he is doing some useful job for the country), in the country for longer. The local Ugandans lose because they have to accept in their community a mzungu who intrinsically does not recognize the human equality between him and them, and also behaves offensively with his biking.
Kind of ethical problem: Character. The author thinks that he should stop biking, but continues doing that nonetheless since he has a pity for himself. When trying to make himself less offensive and more friendly, he perhaps does not recognize that in deep
Describe
The author worries about his image when biking in Uganda. He is a modern well-equipped and wealthy mzungu riding a luxurious mountain bike for pleasure and fitness, while around him poor people of Uganda are busy working for life and using their bikes for ferrying life’s staples. Although struggling with that contrast, he continues his practice of “luxurious” biking, and tries to present himself as friendly and respectful to surrounding Ugandans.
Despite the struggle of the author, his descriptive writing shows that he gets used to looking down at the local people. That is the impression readers get increasingly with reading, and it is especially clear with the last phrase of “[creating] a culture of I-you instead I-it”.
The stakeholders include the author and the local Ugandans. It would be better if the former does not pay too much attention on the impact of his appearance, but instead loves the latter as peers, and then keeping his biking practice with a cheaper bikes, cheaper equipments, and using spare money to help the community.
Explain
Benefits and losses: The author benefits because he still can maintain his biking practice, in full, with a shiny new mountain bike, and with fully mzungu’s appearance as he wishes. The country of Uganda might benefit because it can potentially keep the author – definitely as a good consumer and perhaps also as a good worker (supposing he is doing some useful job for the country), in the country for longer. The local Ugandans lose because they have to accept in their community a mzungu who intrinsically does not recognize the human equality between him and them, and also behaves offensively with his biking.
Kind of ethical problem: Character. The author thinks that he should stop biking, but continues doing that nonetheless since he has a pity for himself. When trying to make himself less offensive and more friendly, he perhaps does not recognize that in deep