I arrived back in Macau last night. I started cleaning before starting to prepare my lectures. Mold everywhere due to humidity. It’s surprising how dirty a place can get in such a short span of time. And, yes, there were also three dead cockroaches. Why are they always upside down when found dead? Is it because they struggle to survive against insecticide? Is it because their top “shell” is heavier than their legs?
On an unrelated matter, thinking of Hong Kong, I also had this thought: In asymmetric relationships, the person with the higher authority has more responsibility. If a professor has an affair with a student, the professor is more responsible (and deserves blame). If a boss and an employee get into a personal argument, it’s the boss’s responsibility not to take revenge against the employee (because the boss has more power over the employee than the other way round).
This isn’t new. It’s that famous Spiderman dictum. Power –> responsibility. Similarly, when a policeman and a citizen get into a physical confrontation, The policeman bears a larger part of the responsibility to avoid harm and not become vengeful against the other person. This isn’t related to politics. It’s a principle that comes before politics. The person with more power, more authority, is ethically charged to care more for the less powerful in their shared situation. That is why we expect the stronger of two countries in a war (e.g., US vs. Iraq) to exercise their power with care and precision.