黑人学者深入“美国最白社区”,得出的结果让人后怕 | 远读重洋

黑人学者深入“美国最白社区”,得出的结果让人后怕 | 远读重洋
2020年06月10日 18:13 远读重洋

黑人弗洛伊德之死,在美国造成了极大的动荡。现在事发已经两个多星期了,局势却依然没有缓和的迹象。

很多抗议者表示,哪怕冒着被感染新冠病毒的风险,也要上街游行。

对这一点,很多中国人可能很不理解。要知道,新冠疫情已经让美国死了10万多人,美国民众却不怎么紧张;为什么警察粗暴执法,死了一个人,却在美国引发了这么大的乱子呢?

难道10万人的命,还不如1个人的命,对美国人的警示作用大吗?

其实说到底,这还是因为疫情给美国人带来的冲击,远没有种族问题带来的伤害严重。

况且,疫情还是个突发事件,主要是天灾,美国政府最多也就是“不作为”或者“防疫不力”的问题;而种族问题,却是美国社会时时刻刻都要面对的痛。

虽然弗洛伊德的死,只是一个人;但美国社会对黑人的歧视却是无处不在的,从这个角度来说,弗洛伊德之死也只是一个引子,种族问题的“雷”其实早就已经埋下了。

美国一位黑人社会学家,里奇·本杰明(Rich Benjamin)的经历,就能很好地说明这一点。

里奇是一位知名作家,同时也是一位冒险家,曾经在美国等20多个国家深度旅行。

2007年,他在美国花了两年时间,开始了一次长达27000英里的旅程。这趟旅行的目的地是美国发展最快“皮肤最白”的行政聚居区,也就是只有白人生活的社区。

他把这些地区,统称为Whitopia,有人把这个名词翻译成了“白托邦”,也就是白人的乌托邦。

2009年,在这场旅行结束之后,里奇出版了一本书:“Searching for Whitopia:An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America”(《寻找“白托邦”:一场在白人美国心脏地区的神奇旅行》)。

这本书里记录了很多美国白人社区的现状和发展趋势。作者发现,美国的社区开始变得越来越缺少多样化,很多社区开始有意无意地打出“纯白人社区”的招牌。而在这种文化的驱动下,在美国的很多地方,这样的“白托邦”正在越变越多。

后来,里奇·本杰明还被邀请到了TED,围绕这个话题发表了一场演讲,也引起了广泛关注。

不过,就在作者出版这本书,以及在TED演讲之后,很多人开始攻击作者,批评他是一个“种族主义者”。

有人表示,不同的人住在不同的社区,这是人类甚至群居动物的本性,就像宽吻海豚只和宽吻海豚在一起游泳;斑点海豚只和斑点海豚在一起游泳,这有什么错?为什么要强迫一个人住在没有同伴的地方?

但是里奇认为,这是一个糟糕的类比,因为社区并不是娘胎里带出来的,而是人们在社会中自行建造的。人们在社会中刻意建造这样的社区,支持这种隔离,恰恰是“种族主义”的表现。

也有一些人对里奇调查白人社区很不乐意,毕竟这种事太少见了,过去的美国乃至全世界,大多数的社会研究都是白人学者针对黑人贫民窟,或者世界各地的原住民部落。

黑人学者研究美国白人社区,可能还是破天荒的头一遭,所以自然也会引起一些风波。

不过支持里奇的人也很多,目前在美国亚马逊上,这本书的评分高达4分。在亚马逊的介绍语中,还列出了一个很有意思的数据。

在美国的Whitopian社区中,特朗普拥有高达94%的支持率,在总统选举中,特朗普在Whitopia赢得了67%的选票,而在全国范围内,特朗普的投票率只有46%

从这个角度,里奇的研究也被很多人看成是解释唐特朗普崛起的少数几个开创性研究之一

里奇也在一篇文章中表示,白人专家试图向美国解释“黑人贫民窟”的文献很多,他只是做了相反的事情而已。

作为黑人思想家和作家,他只是想重新诠释一下美国白人的主流生活方式,难道这也有错吗?

其实,跳开这件事本身,从里奇的著作,以及一些人对里奇的批评里,我们确实可以明显感觉到美国的“种族主义”问题。

就像作者说的,美国就算没有“种族主义者”,也肯定存在“种族主义”。

这次的“弗洛伊德事件”,也许可以从一个侧面,印证这个观点。

最后在这里,我把里奇·本杰明在TED的演讲也分享给你,希望在他的演讲里,你可以了解一个更真实的美国。

以下为演讲全文:

Imagine a place where your neighbors greet your children by name; a place with splendid vistas; a place where you can drive just 20 minutes and put your sailboat on the water. It's a seductive place, isn't it?

想象一下这样一个地方:风景秀丽,只需要开车20分钟就可以在水中泛舟;人们其乐融融,邻居可以随口叫出你们家小孩的名字……这样的地方,就像世外桃源一样,不是吗?

I don't live there. (Laughter) But I did journey on a 27,000-mile trip for two years, to the fastest-growing and whitest counties in America.

我并没有住在这样的地方(笑)。不过我曾经经历过一次27000英里的旅行,在那次旅行中,我去过美国发展最快,以及“最白”的地方。

What is a Whitopia? I define Whitopia in three ways: First, a Whitopia has posted at least six percent population growth since 2000. Secondly, the majority of that growth comes from white migrants. And third, the Whitopia has an ineffable charm, a pleasant look and feel, a je Ne sais quoi. (Laughter)

这些地方简直就跟想象中的“白托邦”一样。什么样的地方才是“白托邦”?我选择三个方法定义这种地方:

第一,这个地方从2000年以后,人口的增长速度必须超过6%;

第二,这个地方的人口增长,主要是因为外地移民;

第三,这个地方必须有魅力,让人愉悦,秀色可餐。(笑)

To learn how and why Whitopias are ticking, I immersed myself for several months apiece in three of them: first, St. George, Utah; second, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and third, Forsyth County, Georgia.

为了探究“白托邦”的起源和崛起,我花了很大的功夫,去研究三个典型的“白托邦”城市:第一个是犹他州的圣乔治;第二个是爱达荷州的科达伦;第三个是乔治亚州的福赛斯

First stop, St. George -- a beautiful town of red rock landscapes.

首先第一站,圣乔治,一个拥有丹霞地貌的美丽小镇。

In the 1850s, Brigham Young dispatched families to St. George to grow cotton because of the hot, arid climate. And so they called it Utah's Dixie, and the name sticks to this day.

1850年代,因为圣乔治炎热、干燥的气候,杨百翰家族迁到圣乔治种植棉花。他们称这里为犹他州的迪克西,这个名字一直沿用到如今。

I approached my time in each Whitopia like an anthropologist. I made detailed spreadsheets of all the power brokers in the communities, who I needed to meet, where I needed to be, and I threw myself with gusto in these communities.

在这里,我像一个人类学家一样安排日程。我列出了“白托邦”里权贵人物的详细名单,哪些人是我应该拜访的?哪些地方是我需要去的?总之,我满怀热情地融入这个社区。

I went to zoning board meetings, I went to Democratic clubs and Republican clubs. I went to poker nights.

我参加了各个区域的集会,也去了民主党和共和党的俱乐部,晚上我们还一起打牌。

In St. George, I rented a home at the Entrada, one of the town's premier gated communities. There were no Motel 6's or Howard Johnsons for me. I lived in Whitopia as a resident, and not like a visitor.

在圣乔治的时候,我租了一座公寓的屋子,这个公寓是小镇里面最高档的那种带门禁的小区。在这里,我没找到汽车旅馆或者连锁酒店,所以我像一个当地人一样住在“白托邦”,而不是像一个游客一样。

I rented myself this home by phone. (Laughter) (Applause)

当然,我租房子的时候,是通过电话租的。(笑声)(鼓掌)

Golf is the perfect seductive symbol of Whitopia. When I went on my journey, I had barely ever held a golf club. By the time I left, I was golfing at least three times a week. (Laughter)

高尔夫是“白托邦”最显眼的标志,在开始这次旅行前,我几乎从来没去过高尔夫俱乐部;但当我离开那里的时候,我至少每周会打三次高尔夫球。(笑声)

Golf helps people bond. Some of the best interviews I ever scored during my trip were on the golf courses. One venture capitalist, for example, invited me to golf in his private club that had no minority members.

高尔夫可以让人们联结起来,我在这次旅行中的很多精彩采访,也都是我在高尔夫球场完成的。有一次,一位风险投资家,还邀请我去他的私人俱乐部打球,这家俱乐部以前可从没对少数族裔开放过。

I also went fishing. (Laughter) Because I had never fished, this fellow had to teach me how to cast my line and what bait to use.

我还学着当地人去钓鱼了。(笑声)因为我从来没有钓过鱼,有个家伙还手把手教我怎么抛线,怎么使用鱼饵。

I also played poker every weekend. It was Texas Hold 'em with a $10 buy-in. My poker mates may have been bluffing about the hands that they drew, but they weren't bluffing about their social beliefs. Some of the most raw, salty conversations I ever had during my journey were at the poker table.

每周末,我也会和当地人一起玩扑克牌,就是那种十块钱押底的德州扑克。我的这些牌友在玩扑克的时候,会偷奸耍滑无所不用其极,但是他们在社会信仰方面,却非常认真一丝不苟。在我的旅程中,很多别有滋味的生活对话,也都是在扑克牌桌上发生的。

I'm a gung ho entertainer. I love to cook, I hosted many dinner parties, and in return, people invited me to their dinner parties, and to their barbecues, and to their pool parties, and to their birthday parties.

我是一个非常喜欢热闹的人。我喜欢做饭,也邀请过很多人参加我的晚餐派对。同样的,很多人也邀请我去他们的晚餐派对,或者烧烤派对、泳池派对、生日派对等等。

But it wasn't all fun. Immigration turned out to be a big issue in this Whitopia. The St. George's Citizens Council on Illegal Immigration held regular and active protests against immigration, and so what I gleaned from this Whitopia is what a hot debate this would become. It was a real-time preview, and so it has become.

但是这次的旅程,也并非全都是乐趣。在这个“白托邦”里,外来移民是一个很大的问题。圣乔治的当地议会经常处理一些关于非法移民的事情,包括反对非法移民的抗议活动。这是我在当地发现的一个问题,也是一个已经出现,并且在现在和未来依然需要面对的问题。

Next stop: Almost Heaven, a cabin I rented for myself in Coeur d'Alene, in the beautiful North Idaho Panhandle. I rented this place for myself, also by phone. (Laughter)

下一站,科达伦,一个天堂般的地方。在美丽的北爱达荷州科达伦,我租了一个小木屋。我是自己租到这个地方的,当然,依然是用电话租的。(笑声)

The book "A Thousand Places To See Before You Die" lists Coeur d'Alene -- it's a gorgeous paradise for huntsmen, boatmen and fishermen.

有一本书叫《死亡之前一定要去的1000个地方》,科达伦就在这本书的名单里面。这里可是猎人、船夫和捕鱼者的天堂。

My growing golf skills came in handy in Coeur d'Alene. I golfed with retired LAPD cops.

我渐入佳境的高尔夫球技在科达伦终于派上了用场,一些在洛杉矶警察局退休的警察,经常和我一起打高尔夫。

In 1993, around 11,000 families and cops fled Los Angeles after the L.A. racial unrest, for North Idaho, and they've built an expatriated community.

1993年,差不多有11000个家庭和警察,在经历了“洛杉矶种族骚乱”(发生在1992年)之后,逃离了洛杉矶,来到北爱荷华建造了这个移民社区。

Given the conservatism of these cops, there's no surprise that North Idaho has a strong gun culture. In fact, it is said, North Idaho has more gun dealers than gas stations.

鉴于这些警察的保守主义思想,毫无疑问,北爱荷华存在根深蒂固的枪支文化。事实上,在北爱达荷,卖枪支的商店比加油站还要多。

So what's a resident to do to fit in? I hit the gun club. When I rented a gun, the gentleman behind the counter was perfectly pleasant and kind, until I showed him my New York City driver's license. That's when he got nervous. I'm not as bad a shot as I thought I might have been.

所以,应该怎么融入到当地人的生活呢?我决定去一下枪支俱乐部。当我租枪的时候,柜台后面的绅士非常和善,直到我给他看了我自己纽约州的驾照之后,他才稍微惊疑了一下。在这里,我发现我的枪法没有想象中的那么差劲。

What I learned from North Idaho is the peculiar brand of paranoia that can permeate a community when so many cops and guns are around.

在北爱达荷,除了满地都是的警察和枪支文化,我还发现了一个非常特别的现象。

In North Idaho, in my red pickup truck, I kept a notepad. And in that notepad I counted more Confederate flags than black people. In North Idaho, I found Confederate flags on key chains, on cellphone paraphernalia, and on cars.

在北爱达荷的时候,我在我的红色皮卡车里放了一个记事本。通过这个记事本,我发现我在路上遇到的联邦旗帜个数,都比我遇到的黑人数量多。在北爱达荷,我可以在钥匙链、手机用品、汽车等很多东西上,都看到联邦旗帜。

About a seven-minute drive from my hidden lake cabin was the compound of Aryan Nations, the white supremacist group. America's Promise Ministries, the religious arm of Aryan Nations, happened to have a three-day retreat during my visit. So I decided to crash it. (Laughter)

在离我居住的湖边小屋差不多有七分钟车程的地方,有一个“雅利安人”聚居区,这是一个“白人至上主义者”团体。当我在这里旅行的时候,这个“美国希望之都”“雅利安民族的宗教组织”恰好在组织一个为期三天的会议。于是,我决定去凑个热闹。(笑声)

I'm the only non-Aryan journalist I'm aware of ever to have done so. (Laughter) Among the many memorable episodes of that retreat... (Laughter) ...is when Abe, an Aryan, sidled up next to me. He slapped my knee, and he said, "Hey Rich, I just want you to know one thing. We are not white supremacists. We are white separatists. We don't think we're better than you, we just want to be away from you." (Laughter)

我是来到这个组织的,前所未有的唯一一位非雅利安族记者。(笑声)可以想象,在这个聚会上,会有无数难以忘怀的故事……当时,有一个名叫亚伯的雅利安人悄悄悄走过来,坐在我身边。他拍着我的膝盖,对我说:“你好,里奇,我只想让你知道一件事。我们不是白人至上主义者,我们是白人分离主义者。我们并不认为我们比你优越,我们只是想离你们远一点。”(笑声)

Indeed, most white people in Whitopia are neither white supremacists or white separatists; in fact, they're not there for explicitly racial reasons at all. Rather, they emigrate there for friendliness, comfort, security, safety -- reasons that they implicitly associate to whiteness in itself.

确实,在“白托邦”里生活的很多白人,都不是白人至上主义者,甚至也不是白人分离主义者。事实上,他们根本不是因为特定的种族原因才生活在这里。他们迁居到这里,只是为了友谊、舒适、安全、踏实……他们只是潜移默化地把这些因素和种族联系在了一起。

Next stop was Georgia. In Georgia, I stayed in an exurb north of Atlanta. In Utah, I found poker; in Idaho, I found guns; in Georgia, I found God. (Laughter)

下一站,是乔治亚州。在这里,我住在亚特兰大北边的远郊地区。在犹他,我学会了扑克牌;在爱达荷,我与枪结缘;在乔治亚州,我遇到了上帝。(笑声)

The way that I immersed myself in this Whitopia was to become active at First Redeemer Church, a megachurch that's so huge that it has golf carts to escort the congregants around its many parking lots on campus.

我融入这个“白托邦”的方法是,成为第一大基督教堂的积极分子。这个教堂是如此之大,甚至拥有自己的高尔夫球车,专门用来从停车场接送教徒。

I was active in the youth ministry. And for me, personally, I was more comfortable in this Whitopia than say, in a Colorado, or an Idaho, or even a suburban Boston. That is because [there], in Georgia, white people and black people are more historically familiar to one another. I was less exotic in this Whitopia. (Laughter)

我在这里的青年团体中非常活跃,实际上对我来说,这个“白托邦”给我的感觉要跟舒适。舒适程度超过了科罗拉多、爱达荷,乃至波士顿。原因可能是,在乔治亚,白人和黑人在历史上就对彼此很熟悉。在这个“白托邦”,我没有那么格格不入。(笑声)

But what does it all mean? Whitopian dreaming, Whitopia migration, is a push-pull phenomenon, full of alarming pushes and alluring pulls, and Whitopia operates at the level of conscious and unconscious bias.

但是,这一切都说明了什么呢?“白托邦”的幻想,和“白托邦”的崛起,可能是个“有推有拉”的现象。这个过程中充满了令人震惊的推力,和给人诱惑的拉力,而且“白托邦”的出现背后,还存在一种有意无意的偏见。

It's possible for people to be in Whitopia not for racist reasons, though it has racist outcomes.

很多人来到“白托邦”,可能并不是因为种族问题,但这一行为,却造成了种族主义的结果。

Many Whitopians feel pushed by illegals, social welfare abuse, minorities, density, crowded schools. Many Whitopians feel pulled by merit, freedom, the allure of privatism -- privatized places, privatized people, privatized things.

很多“白托邦”居民觉得自己是被逼搬到这里来的,被逼的原因有:非法移民、滥用社会福利、少数族裔人口、人口密度太大、拥挤的学校等等;同时,也有很多“白托邦”居民觉得自己是被一些优势吸引来的,这些优势包括:奖金、自由、个人特权,比如说拥有私人领地、私人关系,以及可以私自享用的一切东西。

And I learned in Whitopia how a country can have racism without racists.

然而,我从“白托邦”里发现的是,在一个没有种族主义者的国家,是如何出现种族主义问题的。

Many of my smug urban liberal friends couldn't believe I would go on such a venture. The reality is that many white Americans are affable and kind.

我很多生活在城市里的自由主义朋友,都很难相信我踏上了这样一个旅程。但事实证明,很多美国白人也是非常友善和宽容的。

Interpersonal race relations -- how we treat each other as human beings -- are vastly better than in my parents' generation. Can you imagine me going to Whitopia 40 years ago? What a journey that would have been. (Laughter)

如今种族之间的关系已经远远好于我们父母那一辈了,起码我们都把彼此当人看了。你能想象40年前,我只身一人去“白托邦”旅行吗?那会是多么难以描述的旅程啊!(笑声)

And yet, some things haven't changed. America is as residentially and educationally segregated today as it was in 1970.

但是同时,有些事情依然没有变化。美国很多地方还是存在居住和教育方面的种族隔离问题,这和1970年的情况可能并没有什么区别。

As Americans, we often find ways to cook for each other, to dance with each other, to host with each other, but why can't that translate into how we treat each other as communities? It's a devastating irony, how we have gone forward as individuals, and backwards as communities.

同为美国人,我们可以做到经常一起聚餐、一起跳舞、互相去对方家中做客,但是我们为什么不能转变成彼此生活在同一个社区呢?这可是天大的讽刺,我们在个体上进步,却在群体方面退步。

One of the Whitopian outlooks that really hit me was a proverbial saying: "One black man is a delightful dinner guest; 50 black men is a ghetto."

“白托邦”里有一句谚语,我觉得是一种非常真实的写照:一个黑人是一个受欢迎的晚餐贵宾,50个黑人就变成了贫民窟。

One of the big contexts animating my Whitopian journey was the year 2042. By 2042, white people will no longer be the American majority. As such, will there be more Whitopias? In looking at this, the danger of Whitopia is that the more segregation we have, the less we can look at and confront conscious and unconscious bias.

让我能够把“白托邦之旅”坚持下去的大背景是2042年。这一年,白人将不再是美国人口的主要构成。到那时候,美国会有更多的“白托邦”出现吗?在思考这个问题时,你会发现“白托邦”现象带来的危险,那就是:人们越分离,就越看不到有意无意的偏见。

I ventured on my two-year, 27,000 mile journey to learn where, why, and how white people are fleeing, but I didn't expect to have so much fun on my journey. (Laughter)

在我两年的27000英里的旅途中,我了解到了白人为什么要逃、要逃到哪里去、要怎么逃。但是我没想到,这个旅途会如此有趣。(笑声)

I didn't expect to learn so much about myself. I don't expect I'll be living in a Whitopia -- or a Blacktopia, for that matter. I do plan to continue golfing every chance I get. (Laughter) And I'll just have to leave the guns and megachurches back in Whitopia. Thank you.

我并没有期望能够更加了解自己,我也没想过要定居在“白托邦”或者“黑托邦”。但是我已经打算一有机会就去打高尔夫球了。(笑声) 不过,我得和“白托邦”里的枪支和大型教堂说再见了。谢谢。

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