Sam Richards: A radical experiment in empathy

翻译人员: Chunxiang Qian 校对人员: Stephanie Zhou

我的学生常问我

My students often ask me, "What is sociology?"

“什么是社会学？”

And I tell them it's the study of the way in which human beings are shaped

我说，“社会学研究的是

人类是如何被

无形的东西所塑造。”

by things that they don't see.

And they say, "So, how can I be a sociologist?

然后他们问，“怎么才能成为社会学家？

How can I understand those invisible forces?"

怎样才能理解那些看不见的力量？”

我说：“换位思考。”

And I say, "Empathy.

Start with empathy.

由此开始

It all begins with empathy.

一切源自换位思考

Take yourself out of your shoes,

从你自己的立场走出

put yourself into the shoes of another person."

从别人的立场看问题

Here, I'll give you an example.

举个例子

So I imagine my life if, a hundred years ago,

我曾设想

如果一百年前

China had been the most powerful nation in the world

中国成为了世界第一强国

and they came to the United States in search of coal.

他们来了美国

搜寻煤矿

And they found it, and, in fact, they found lots of it right here.

后来他们发现了，还发现了不少

And pretty soon, they began shipping that coal,

他们就很快开始了运输那些煤

一吨又一吨

ton by ton,

railcar by railcar, boatload by boatload,

一车接一车 一船挨一船

运回中国和世界各地

back to China and elsewhere around the world.

他们由此而发家

And they got fabulously wealthy in doing so.

And they built beautiful cities

他们靠着煤炭

all powered on that coal.

建起了美丽的城市

And back here in the United States,

然后回头看看美国

这里经济萧条不景气

we saw economic despair, deprivation.

我看到了这些

This is what I saw.

I saw people struggling to get by,

人们勉强糊口度日

not knowing what was what and what was next.

无助而没有未来

And I asked myself the question:

然后就问问自己

“美国怎么变这么穷了？

How is it possible that we could be so poor here in the United States,

煤炭是多么值钱的资源

because coal is such a wealthy resource; it's so much money?

值这么多钱呢。”

然后我意识到

And I realize:

because the Chinese ingratiated themselves

是中国讨好了

with a small ruling class here in the United States,

一小部分美国的统治阶级

who stole all of that money and all of that wealth for themselves.

而这一小部分人得到了所有的好处

And the rest of us, the vast majority of us,

其余的大部分人，我们大多数人

struggle to get by.

都是挣扎糊口

And the Chinese gave this small ruling elite

中国给这些统治阶级精英们

loads of military weapons and sophisticated technology

大量的军备武器和尖端科技

以保证我们这样的普通民众

in order to ensure that people like me

would not speak out against this relationship.

不敢公然表示不满

Does this sound familiar?

这个故事听着挺耳熟吧？

And they did things like train Americans to help protect the coal.

然后他们就训练了一帮美国人

来保护煤矿

And everywhere, there were symbols of the Chinese --

到处都是中国的标志－

everywhere, a constant reminder.

遍布每一个角落

再说说中国

And back in China,

中国人对此这么看呢？

what do they say in China?

Nothing! They don't talk about us. They don't talk about the coal.

只字不提。他们不谈论我们，不谈论煤矿

你要是问问中国人

If you ask them,

they'll say, "Well, you know, we need the coal.

他们会说：“这个，煤很重要啊，我们需要煤。

I mean, come on, I'm not going to turn down my thermostat.

你可别指望我调低我家暖气的温度

那绝对不可能。”

You can't expect that."

And so, I get angry, and I get pissed,

于是我火了 气愤了

as do lots of average people.

大多数人都会

我们就开始抗议 愈演愈烈

And we fight back, and it gets really ugly.

And the Chinese respond in a very ugly way.

中国的回应方式也很不友好

And before we know it, they send in the tanks

我们还没回过神他们就把坦克派过来了

and they send in the troops.

然后派来了军队

And lots of people are dying.

很多人战死

And it's a very, very difficult situation.

状况越来越糟

Can you imagine what you would feel

你能换位思考

想象我的感受吗？

if you were in my shoes?

你能想象走出大门

Can you imagine walking out of this building

and seeing a tank sitting out there,

见外面停了一辆坦克

or a truck full of soldiers?

或者一卡车士兵？

想象你的感受

Just imagine what you would feel, because you know why they're here;

你知道他们冲什么来，清楚他们的所为

you know what they're doing here.

你肯定感到又气又悲了

And you just feel the anger and you feel the fear.

If you can, that's empathy. That's empathy.

如果你能感受到这一点－这就是换位思考了

You've left your shoes, and you've stood in mine.

你从自己的立场转换到我的立场

你就能换位思考了

And you've got to feel that.

这是个热身

OK, so that's the warm-up.

只是热身

That's the warm-up.

Now we're going to have the real radical experiment.

现在我们就要开始

真正激进的试验

So, for the remainder of my talk, what I want you to do

下面我希望你们

is put yourselves in the shoes of an ordinary Arab Muslim

从一个

居住在中东的普通穆斯林的

living in the Middle East --

角度出发

in particular, in Iraq.

具体点，就是伊拉克

And so to help you,

为了让你进入状态

perhaps you're a member of this middle-class family in Baghdad.

假设你就来自一个住在巴格达的中产家庭

What you want is the best for your kids.

你希望你的孩子有好的环境

You want your kids to have a better life.

你希望孩子有更好的生活

And you watch the news, you pay attention.

你看新闻关心时事

You read the newspaper, you go down to the coffee shop with your friends,

你看报纸，和朋友去咖啡厅

阅读世界各地的报纸

you read the newspapers from around the world.

有时候还看看卫星电视

Sometimes you even watch satellite, CNN, from the United States.

美国的CNN

You have a sense of what the Americans are thinking.

你大概知道美国人的一般观点

但是，你也就只是希望自己过得好点

But really, you just want a better life for yourself.

那才是你想要的

That's what you want.

You're Arab Muslim living in Iraq.

你是住在伊拉克的阿拉伯穆斯林

你想过更好的生活

You want a better life for yourself.

现在 让我帮你

So here, let me help you.

Let me help you with some things that you might be thinking.

让我来帮你整理一下

你的思绪

Number one:

第一，在过去的二十年中

this incursion into your land these past 20 years and before --

甚至更早，你的祖国遭受入侵

the reason anyone is interested in your land,

是因为所有人，特别是美国人都盯住了

and particularly the United States, is oil.

石油

It's all about oil; you know that, everybody knows that.

根源就在石油 天下皆知

People back in the United States know it's about oil.

美国人也知道是因为石油

It's because somebody else has a design for your resource.

因为别人在打着

你的资源的算盘

It's your resource -- it's not somebody else's.

这资源是你的不是别人的

It's your land; it's your resource.

这是你的国土 你的资源

Somebody else has a design for it.

有人动了心眼儿

他们为什么要打这个算盘？

And you know why they have a design?

You know why they have their eyes set on it?

他们为什么动这个心眼儿？

因为他们的经济体系

Because they have an entire economic system

建于石油之上

that's dependent on that oil -- foreign oil,

进口石油

oil from other parts of the world that they don't own.

从别的国家抢过去的石油

And what else do you think about these people?

你对这些人有什么想法

这些美国人真有钱

The Americans, they're rich.

Come on, they live in big houses, they have big cars.

住着大房子 开着好车

个个金发碧眼 快乐似神仙

They all have blond hair, blue eyes. They're happy.

你这么想么，这不一定是真的

You think that. It's not true, of course, but that's the media impression.

但这是媒体传递的印象，这是你听到看到的

And that's what you get.

美国有大都市

And they have big cities,

and the cities are all dependent on oil.

这些大都市都依靠石油

And back home, what do you see?

回了自家，看到是什么？

Poverty, despair, struggle.

贫穷，绝望，挣扎

你的国家不富裕

Look, you don't live in a wealthy country.

I mean -- this is Iraq.

这是伊拉克

This is what you see.

这是你每日所见

You see people struggling to get by.

人们勉强糊口度日

过日子不容易，到处是贫困

It's not easy; you see a lot of poverty.

对此你肯定有自己的想法

And you feel something about this.

These people have designs for your resource,

这些人盘算着你的资源

而这是他们的样子

and this is what you see?

这些你谈论的话题

Something else you see that you talk about --

美国人并不谈起

Americans don't talk about this, but you do --

比如，世界的军事化

there's this thing, this militarization of the world,

是以美国为中心

and it's centered right in the United States.

而且美国的军费

And the United States is responsible

占世界军费开支的

for almost one half of the world's military spending.

二分之一

他们才有世界人口的四分之一

Four percent of the world's population!

你每天都能看到感受到这些

And you feel it; you see it every day.

这是你生活的一部分

It's part of your life.

And you talk about it with your friends.

你和朋友聊起这些

你读到这些东西

You read about it.

And back when Saddam Hussein was in power,

萨达姆･侯赛因当权的时候

the Americans didn't care about his crimes.

美国人可没关心他的罪行

When he was gassing the Kurds and gassing Iran,

他对库尔人和伊朗人用毒气的时候

他们可一声没吭

they didn't care about it.

When oil was at stake,

一旦出现了石油危机

somehow, suddenly, things mattered.

美国人就突然开始大发慈悲

And what you see, something else:

你就看到了

美国

the United States,

the hub of democracy around the world --

这个世界民主的中心

他们并不总是

they don't seem to really be supporting democratic countries

世界各民主国家的后盾

all around the world.

There are a lot of countries, oil-producing countries,

很多产油国

that aren't very democratic, but supported by the United States.

他们不民主，但这不妨碍美国支持他们

这就奇怪了

That's odd.

Oh -- these incursions, these two wars,

这么多次入侵，两次战争

the 10 years of sanctions,

十年制裁

the eight years of occupation,

八年占领

the insurgency that's been unleashed on your people,

对人民发动的反叛

成百上千的

the tens of thousands, the hundreds of thousands

of civilian deaths?

平民死亡

只因石油

All because of oil.

You can't help but think that.

你无法不去想这些

You talk about it.

谈起这些

It's in the forefront of your mind, always.

在你脑中开始占据主要

You say, "How is that possible?"

你说：“怎么能这样？”

And this man, he's everyman --

这个人，他可以是任何人－

your grandfather, your uncle,

你的祖父，你的叔叔，

你的父亲，你的儿子，

your father, your son, your neighbor,

你的邻居，你的教授，你的学生

your professor, your student.

Once a life of happiness and joy

曾经有着幸福和快乐

and suddenly, pain and sorrow.

都化为了悲伤和痛苦

你的国家的每一个人

Everyone in your country has been touched by the violence,

都生活在暴力的阴影下

流血 痛苦

the bloodshed, the pain, the horror -- everybody.

恐惧，笼罩每一个人

Not a single person in your country has not been touched.

你的国家里

无一个人可置身事外

还有件事

But there's something else.

There's something else about these people, these Americans who are there.

在伊拉克的这些美国人

这些人还有个特征

There's something else about them that you see

这个特征你看到了而他们没有意识到

that they don't see themselves.

你发现了吗，他们是基督徒

And what do you see? They're Christians!

They're Christians.

他们是基督徒

They worship the Christian God, they have crosses, they carry Bibles.

他们崇拜基督教之神，他们带着十字架和圣经

Their Bibles have a little insignia

他们的圣经上有一个

写着“美军”的徽章

that says "US Army" on them.

And their leaders, their leaders:

他们的领导者

before they send their sons and daughters off to war in your country --

在他们把他们的儿女

送上你的国家的战场－

而你深知原因－

and you know the reason --

before they send them off,

在他们出发之前

they go to a Christian church, and they pray to their Christian God,

他们去教堂，向基督的神祈祷

祈求他们的神的指引和保护

and they ask for protection and guidance from that god.

为什么？

Why?

Well, obviously, when people die in the war,

显然，战争肯定会死人

they are Muslims, they are Iraqis -- they're not Americans.

死的是穆斯林，是伊拉克人－

他们不是美国人

他们可不希望美国人死，得祈求保护他们的军队

You don't want Americans to die -- "Protect Our Troops."

你会感受到这些－

And you feel something about that --

肯定会

of course you do.

And they do wonderful things.

美军做了些好事

You read about it, you hear about it.

你读到听说了

They're there to build schools and help people.

他们建造学校，帮助人们，这是他们想做的

That's what they want to do.

他们做了好事，但也做了坏事

They do wonderful things, but they also do the bad things,

你看不出区别

and you can't tell the difference.

当你看到一个像这个威廉姆･博金上尉的人

And this guy, you get a guy like Lt. Gen. William Boykin.

说你的神是虚假的

Here's a guy who says that your god is a false god.

Your god's an idol; his god is the true god.

你的神只是个偶像，他的神才是真正的神

The solution to the problem in the Middle East, according to him,

他的解决中东问题的方案

就是把你们所有人都变成基督徒－

is to convert you all to Christianity --

背弃你自己的宗教

just get rid of your religion.

And you know that. Americans don't read about this guy.

你知道这些 美国人不知道

他们对他一无所知，但你知道

They don't know anything about him, but you do.

You pass it around. You pass his words around.

你告诉别人他说的话

你十分害怕

I mean, this is serious. You're afraid.

He was one of the leading commanders in the second invasion of Iraq.

这个人是第二次对伊拉克入侵的一个指挥官

你想：“天啊，要是这个家伙这么想

And you're thinking, "My God, if this guy is saying that,

then all the soldiers must be saying that."

那他的手下肯定也都是这么想的。”

这个词

And this word here --

George Bush called this war a crusade.

乔治･布什称这场入侵为十字军东征

Man, the Americans, they're just like, "Ah, crusade.

美国人一听，“哦，圣战啊

管他呢。”

Whatever. I don't know what that means."

但你知道圣战意味着什么

You know what it means -- it's a holy war against Muslims.

这是对穆斯林的圣战

Look, invade, subdue them, take their resources.

看着吧，侵略了他们，降服他们，夺走他们的资源

不屈就杀

If they won't submit, kill them.

这就是圣战

That's what this is about.

And you're thinking, "My God, these Christians are coming to kill us."

你想，“天哪，这些基督徒要来取我们性命。”

这是多么可怕

This is frightening.

You feel frightened. Of course you feel frightened.

你吓坏了，肯定吓坏了

And this man, Terry Jones:

这个人，泰瑞･琼斯：

I mean here's a guy who wants to burn Qurans, right?

他要烧了所有的古兰经

美国人说：“他是个蠢货。

And the Americans: "Ah, he's a knucklehead.

他以前是个酒店经理，

He's a former hotel manager; he's got three dozen members of his church ..."

他的教堂只有三十来个人。”

他们付之一笑，你不会

They laugh him off.

You don't laugh him off, because in the context of everything else,

因为在那个环境下

这说辞十分有道理

all the pieces fit.

当然那只是美国人的想法

Of course this is how Americans think.

但在中东，不仅仅是你的国家

So people all over the Middle East, not just in your country,

都在抗议

are protesting.

“他要烧了我们的圣经古兰经

"He wants to burn Qurans, our holy book.

这些基督徒当他们是谁？

These Christians -- who are these Christians?

他们太邪恶卑鄙了－

They're so evil, they're so mean -- this is what they're about?"

这些人就是这样的。”

This is what you're thinking as an Arab Muslim,

这就是你作为一个阿拉伯穆斯林的想法

作为一个伊拉克人

as an Iraqi.

Of course you're going to think this.

你当然会这么想

And then your cousin says, "Hey coz, check out this website.

然后你堂兄弟说

“兄弟，看看这个网站

You've got to see this -- Bible Boot Camp.

圣经训练营

这些基督徒真是疯了

These Christians are nuts!

They're training their little kids to be soldiers for Jesus.

他们在训练自己的小孩成为上帝的士兵

They take little kids and run them through these things

他们把那些想法灌输给小孩子

till they teach them how to say, 'Sir! Yes, sir!'

让他们只会言听计从

还教他们怎么扔手榴弹和维护武器

and things like 'grenade toss' and 'weapons care and maintenance.'

然后继续看网站

And go to the website -- it says 'US Army' right on it.

上头写着”美国军队“

I mean, these Christians, they're nuts.

这些基督徒真是疯了，他们怎么能这么对待孩子？”

How can they do this to their little kids?"

你看着这个网站

And you're reading this website.

And of course, Christians in the United States, or anybody,

而美国的基督徒，或者随便谁

says, "This is some little church in the middle of nowhere."

只会说：“这是个荒唐名不见经传的小小教堂”

但你可不知道

You don't know that.

For you, this is like, all Christians.

对你来说这就代表了所有基督徒

It's all over the Web: "Bible Boot Camp."

网上铺天盖地都是，圣经训练营

And look at this.

再看看这个

They even teach their kids --

他们甚至教小孩子

they train them in the same way the US Marines train.

他们用美国海军陆战队的方法来训练小孩

这真是开了眼了

Isn't that interesting.

And it scares you, and it frightens you.

这吓坏你了

So these guys, you see them.

你看到这些人

You see, I, Sam Richards -- I know who these guys are.

我，山姆･理查茲，我知道这些人

他们是我的学生，我的朋友

They're my students, my friends; I know what they're thinking.

我知道他们在想什么，但你一无所知。

You don't know.

你看到他们

When you see them, they're something else.

就变成了别的什么

They're something else.

他们对你来说是这个

That's what they are to you.

在美国我们不这么看

We don't see it that way in the United States,

but you see it that way.

但是你会

So here.

那么

Of course, you've got it wrong.

当然，你意会错了

You're generalizing. It's wrong.

你一般化了你的推理，你错了

You don't understand the Americans.

你不了解美国人

It's not a Christian invasion.

这不是基督徒入侵

We're not just there for oil; we're there for lots of reasons.

我们取那儿不光为了石油，还有其他很多原因

你想错了

You have it wrong. You've missed it.

当然，很多人不支持武装暴动

And of course, most of you don't support the insurgency;

你并不支持杀掉美国人

you don't support killing Americans;

you don't support the terrorists.

也不支持恐怖分子

Of course you don't. Very few people do.

你当然不，很少有人支持暴力

But -- some of you do.

但有些人支持

这是一个看法

And this is a perspective.

OK. So now, here's what we're going to do.

好的，现在我们要做的

Step outside of your shoes that you're in right now,

就是放开

你现在的立场

and step back into your normal shoes.

回到你正常的角色中

So everyone's back in the room. OK?

大家都回到这个屋子来

激进的试验来了

Now here comes the radical experiment.

我们都回了家

So we're all back home.

这张照片，这个女人

This photo: this woman --

我能感受她的感受

man, I feel her.

我理解她

I feel her.

她是我的姐妹

She's my sister,

my wife, my cousin, my neighbor.

我的妻子，我的堂姐，我的邻居

She's anybody to me.

她是我周围的人

These guys standing there, everybody in the photo --

照片里的每一个人

I feel this photo, man.

我都能设身处地地理解他们

接下来我要你们做的

So here's what I want you to do.

Let's go back to my first example, of the Chinese.

就是回到第一个中国的例子

I want you to go there.

希望你想像一下

It's all about coal, and the Chinese are here in the United States.

中国人在美国攫取煤矿

What I want you to do is picture her

你们把她想像成一个中国女人

as a Chinese woman receiving a Chinese flag

她正在接收中国国旗

because her loved one has died in America in the coal uprising.

因为她爱的人在美国的煤矿起义中

死去了

And the soldiers are Chinese,

士兵都是中国人

and everybody else is Chinese.

其他也是中国人

As an American, how do you feel about this picture?

作为一个美国人，你对这样照片作何感想？

你怎么去看这个场景？

What do you think about that scene?

OK, try this. Bring it back.

好的 我们再回来

这个场景

This is the scene here.

It's an American, American soldiers,

一个美国人，美国士兵

American woman who lost her loved one in the Middle East,

一个在中东－伊拉克或阿富汗

失去了爱人的美国女人

in Iraq or Afghanistan.

现在把你自己

Now, put yourself in the shoes,

放回到

go back to the shoes of an Arab Muslim living in Iraq.

一个伊拉克的阿拉伯穆斯林角度去看

你对这张照片的

What are you feeling and thinking about this photo,

和这个女人

有何看法

about this woman?

好的

OK,

now follow me on this,

现在跟着我

because I'm taking a big risk here.

因为我在冒很大的险

我也邀请你和我一起冒险

And so I'm going to invite you to take a risk with me.

These gentlemen here, they're insurgents.

这两名男子，他们是叛乱分子

They were caught by the American soldiers, trying to kill Americans.

他们要杀美国士兵

被抓住了

And maybe they succeeded. Maybe they succeeded.

也许他们成功了，也许没有

把你自己想像成

Put yourself in the shoes of the Americans who caught them.

抓他们的士兵

Can you feel the rage?

你感到愤怒吗？

Can you feel that you just want to take these guys

你会想抓住他们

and wring their necks?

并扭断他们的脖子吗？

Can you go there?

你能做到吗？

It shouldn't be that difficult.

这并不会太难

You just -- oh, man.

你就是恨得牙痒痒

Now, put yourself in their shoes.

现在，假设你是叛乱者

他们是野蛮的杀手

Are they brutal killers

亦或是爱国者？

or patriotic defenders?

哪个？

Which one?

Can you feel their anger,

能感受到他们的愤怒

their fear,

恐惧

their rage

还有愤慨吗

对发生在他们国家的一切的怒火吗？

at what has happened in their country?

你能否想像

Can you imagine that maybe one of them, in the morning,

也许他们中的一个

bent down to their child and hugged their child

早上弯下身拥抱自己的孩子

and said, "Dear, I'll be back later.

说：“宝贝，待会儿见。

I'm going out to defend your freedom, your lives.

我要去保护你的自由，你的生命。

我去保护我们自己

I'm going out to look out for us,

the future of our country."

保护国家的未来。”

你能想象吗？

Can you imagine that?

Can you imagine saying that?

你能想象去说这些吗？

Can you go there?

能吗？

What do you think they're feeling?

你觉得他们是怎么想的

You see, that's empathy.

你看，这就是换位思考

也是理解

It's also understanding.

[understand]

现在你也许会问

Now, you might ask,

"OK, Sam, so why do you do this sort of thing?

“山姆，你这么干是为什么？

Why would you use this example of all examples?"

为什么要用这两个例子？”

我说，因为

And I say, because.

You're allowed to hate these people.

你可以憎恨这些人

You're allowed to just hate them with every fiber of your being.

你可以用全身每一点力气

去恨他们

And if I can get you to step into their shoes

如果我能让你们

设身处地

and walk an inch -- one tiny inch --

从他们的角度

做些许思考

那么假设你能把这样的社会学分析

then imagine the kind of sociological analysis

that you can do in all other aspects of your life.

运用到你生活的各方面

你就能做到更多

You can walk a mile

when it comes to understanding why that person's driving 40 miles per hour

如果你能理解

为什么那人以四十迈的速度

超车

in the passing lane;

or your teenage son;

或者你十来岁的儿子

or your neighbor who annoys you by cutting his lawn on Sunday mornings.

或者你的邻居

在周日早上割草烦到了你

Whatever it is, you can go so far.

不管是什么，你能运用换位思考

And this is what I tell my students:

这就是我告诉学生的

step outside of your tiny, little world.

走出你自己的小世界

Step inside of the tiny, little world of somebody else.

走进别人的

小世界

不停地尝试

And then do it again

and do it again and do it again.

And suddenly, all these tiny, little worlds,

最终这些小世界

they come together in this complex web.

就会交织成一张大网

And they build a big, complex world.

他们构成了一个巨大的复杂的世界

And suddenly, without realizing it,

突然间，不知不觉中

世界在眼中就不同了

you're seeing the world differently.

Everything has changed.

一切都变了

Everything in your life has changed.

你生命里的每一件事都变了

这当然是我的目的所在

And that's, of course, what this is about.

关注别人的生活

Attend to other lives,

别人的视角

other visions.

Listen to other people,

倾听别人

启迪自我

enlighten ourselves.

I'm not saying that I support the terrorists in Iraq.

我不是说

我支持伊拉克的恐怖分子

而是作为一名社会学家

But as a sociologist, what I am saying is:

我是说

I understand.

我能够理解

And now perhaps -- perhaps -- you do, too.

也许，也许，现在你也可以了

谢谢

Thank you.

(Applause)

（掌声）