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The recent and very emotional funeral services for 44 year old Fuhua Chen, the latest victim of fatal violence against a delivery man, has put delivery people across the city on the news radar. Part of the interest in this now international story was the very moving arrival of Mr. Chen's daughter, and the ache and sorrow that she suffered as she awaited a visa to enter the United State. She came alone to claim her father’s body and mourn him according to her customs.
Like many others murdered while on the job, Mr. Chen was an immigrant working to support his family back home. He was just doing his job and trying to make a delivery on time. Now, he is dead.
WNYC ran a piece the day of the funeral, focused not on the funeral but rather on the perils of delivering food. Several delivery people and even some owners were interviewed for the piece. No customers were interviewed, but they should have been.
One of the things that many New Yorkers love about New York, is delivery of any kind. And yet we don’t consider at all the demands that are placed on those who cart things to us. We find it all very funny and worthy of ridicule.
On Seinfeld, there was an episode about a Chinese delivery man, who was (following the typical script) abused and left to suffer. Those responsible for his suffering were the very people we - in adoration - used to tune in to every Thursday. There are many other examples of the way we collectively view delivery people, many jokes and many oh so funny turns of phrase. Yes, it is all so hilarious sometimes.
But in real life, delivery people face more crime than they do must-see-tv sitcom moments. Robbery is a common issue for those who dare to get on a bicycle or moped and deliver food to people whom they have never seen before. And in the winter time, when delivery orders are up, so is the number of crimes committed against delivery workers. Most of us who sit happily waiting for that delivery order to arrive don’t think too much about the people making the delivery, or what might be happening to them on the way to our apartments. And how much do we tip the guy who just peddled for ten or fifteen minutes to make a fifteen dollar delivery? Do we smile at them, or thank them? Or do we just complain because they are late or forgot the chopsticks?
The fact that these are delivery “people” – Human Beings – bringing the requested food often slips our minds; we easily dehumanize or laugh at the guy who dares to peddle into the dark and unknown, hoping for a decent tip (and you can bet that his tips are all he gets in the way of income). He becomes nothing more than a cartoon figure that we can make fun of on late night television. Shame on us.
In honor of those who have died delivering Chinese food here is a brief list:
February 12th 2004 Huang Chen, beaten to death
October 15th, 2002 Jian Lin Chun, stabbed to death in the lobby of a building.
September 1st, 2000, Jin-Sheng Liu, killed making a delivery.
June 23rd, 1999, Ng Cheung Cheung, was beaten to death with a baseball bat.
December 10th, 1998, Li-Rong Lin, was stabbed to death.
Tags:
chinese delivery, delivery, murder, shame on us
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Posted on 11/14/2005
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