Netizens recently named a 50-year-old man in Shangqiu, Henan province, "street cleaning brother". For the past five months, "street cleaning brother" and his wife have been clearing streets of trash on way to their morning exercise in a park. But after the netizens discovered that the man was deputy head of the local chengguan (urban law enforcement bureau), some of them changed their attitude, arguing that he might be trying to get cheap publicity, which is not a healthy sign, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

Public opinion on "street cleaning brother" reveals a regular pattern. Even if an official is sincere in his/her actions, people, especially netizens, question his/her integrity. But genuine acts of even officials should be welcome irrespective of whether they are meant to draw attention - and the example of "street cleaning brother" is a case in point - for they can encourage others to do some healthy work.

"Street cleaning brother", however, was not trying to make a show, because unlike many other officials he didn't call the press or try to draw attention or force his subordinates to follow him. His story was discovered accidentally and posted online by a netizen.

That some netizens changed their view after discovering his identity is understandable. But it's not rational for the majority of netizens to change their view. The public should still treat him as an ordinary resident of the area rather than an official. He may be an official but he is a citizen first, and should be lauded for trying to keep the environment clean.

In modern society, every citizen is equal. But at times, people tend to see even genuine acts by some citizens through tinted glasses. If an ordinary citizen does a good deed, we readily praise him or her. So, why should we view official's genuine act differently?