Your Creative Superpowers Can Help Protect Democracy | Sofia Ongele | TED

翻译人员: Alvin Lee 校对人员: Laixi Kang

Four years ago yesterday,

4 年前的昨天，

there was a shooting at my younger sister Jenny's high school,

我妹妹珍妮就读的 加利福尼亚州圣克拉利塔市索格斯高中，

Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California.

发生了一起枪击案。

Jenny was lucky enough to see kids running

珍妮很幸运，她正要下车的时候 看见同学们在跑，

when she was about to be dropped off by her carpool, so she stayed safe,

所以她没发生什么事，

but all of her friends were placed on lockdown.

但她所有的朋友们 都被封锁在学校里。

Kids I've watched grow up and have known for as long as I can remember.

这些孩子是我看着长大的， 从我记事的时候就认识他们了。

In the hours that followed, parents waited at my city's Central Park

接下来的几个小时里， 父母们在我们那里的中央公园等待，

to reunite with their kids

等着接他们的孩子，

as students were released building by building,

因为学生是按照教学楼 一栋栋来疏散的，

escorted by police and SWAT teams to the park.

之后由警察和特警队护送到公园。

Three days later, there was a vigil at that same Central Park

3 天后，我们 在同一个公园里守夜祈祷，

to honor Gracie Muehlberger and Dominic Blackwell,

纪念格雷西·米尔伯格 和多米尼克·布莱克威尔，

whose parents laid them to rest at the tender ages of 15 and 14.

他们的父母在那里安葬了他们， 在他们 15 岁和 14 岁的花样年华。

It was the largest gathering in my city's history.

这在我家乡城市历史上 是最大规模的一次聚集。

Despite the divisions in my hometown,

尽管我的家乡存在分歧，

we stood at peace with one another that night,

但那个晚上我们彼此和平相处，

yearning for a better future.

渴望更好的未来。

This very American tragedy

这场非常美国式的悲剧

that we have had to witness time and time again

我们不得不目睹一次又一次，

speaks to a larger issue about democracy.

反映了关于民主的一个更大的问题。

Like many people in the face of tragedy,

像亲历过这种悲剧的许多人一样，

I wanted to do something.

我想做点什么。

And to do something, to truly participate in democracy,

要做点什么，要真正参与民主，

we have to acknowledge that injustice is cyclical

我们就必须认识到 不公正是循环发生的，

他人的斗争也事关我们自己。

and that any fight of a neighbor is the fight of our own.

But how do we, wherever we may be,

但无论我们在哪里，有什么工具，

with whatever tools we have, fight that fight?

我们要如何来进行这场斗争呢？

I've realized over the course of growing up

我意识到在成长的过程中，

that what we largely consider to be participating in democracy

我们大部分人把参与民主，

is honestly kind of narrow and unimaginative.

想像得过于狭窄和缺乏想像力。

We're taught that we can vote and run for office,

我们被教育的是可以投票， 可以参加竞选，

which are both important,

这两者都很重要，

but what about those of us who can't because of our age,

但对于我们中的 一些人来说，由于年龄、

our immigration status, our class,

移民身份、阶级等原因 无法行使这些权力，

not to mention the countless others facing disenfranchisement

更别提无数其他人因为选民压制政策

through voter suppression.

而失去选举权。

The truth is, any of us, of any age,

事实上，我们每一个人， 无论年龄如何，

living in some semblance of a democracy or striving towards it,

都生活在某种形式的民主国家 或者力争民主的国家，

possess the tools to have a voice in our governments and communities.

都拥有在我们的政府 和社区发声的工具。

It's just a matter of learning how to have agency with those tools.

只是需要学习如何使用这些工具。

For me, that's been coding and social media.

我的工具就是编程和社交媒体。

It's unconventional, but I found the most success

这很反常规，但我发现最大的成功

in having an influence

就是利用我眼前的一切去产生影响力，

by using whatever's in front of me,

really tuning in to my networks and communities,

真正调动我的网络和社区，

meeting people where they're at

接纳人们本来的样子，

and centering joy and fun wherever I can.

把乐趣和快乐放在首位。

And it works. Let me explain.

这真的有效，请听我慢慢讲述。

In the case of this school shooting,

在这起校园枪击案中，

the parents of Gracie Muehlberger and Dominic Blackwell

格雷西·米尔伯格 和多米尼克·布莱克威尔的父母

began a push to have the two of them memorialized

开始号召为这两个孩子建立纪念碑，

at the entrance of our Central Park.

就在我们的中央公园门口。

To me and much of my community, this memorial was a no-brainer.

对我和我社区的大部分人来说， 这是理所当然的。

To others, it was "grandiose and highly inappropriate."

但有些人却视其为 “过于盛大而不恰当的”。

That's a direct quote, by the way.

对了，这句话是我直接引用的。

有许多当地官员认同这一点。

And a number of local officials agreed with them.

But that cannot and should not nullify the needs and the wants

但是这不能，也不该

使更广大社区的需求和愿望无效。

of the greater community.

So Gracie and Dominic's parents,

因此格雷西和多米尼克的父母，

determined to properly memorialize their children,

下定决心要好好纪念他们的孩子，

created a petition and organized efforts

写了请愿书，组织了一系列努力，

to push our city council to approve the memorial.

推动市议会批准建立纪念碑。

The petition got over 10,000 signatures and people emailed the city in masses.

请愿书收集了超过 1 万个签名， 数不清的电子邮件寄向市议会。

Eventually, they approved, and we all thought we were done.

最终，纪念碑被批准， 我们都以为大功告成。

But, as it turns out,

然而，结果出人意料，

the land that Central Park is on is owned by the Santa Clarita Water Board.

中央公园所处的土地属于 圣克拉利塔水务委员会。

So they have the final say.

所以他们拥有最终决定权。

And a committee created to advise on that decision

为此专门成立了一个委员会 来为这个决定提建议，

penned a seven-page paper

他们写了一份 7 页纸的报告，

on why they should actually reject the memorial.

来阐述为什么要拒绝建立纪念碑。

And we didn't even know about this or know this was still up for debate

我们当时对此一无所知， 也不知道市议会的决定仍有争议，

until the day they were supposed to vote on it.

直到他们原定投票表决的那一天。

I was so unbelievably angry.

我无比愤怒。

How is it that the community can come together, organize

为什么社区团结一心，组织起来，

and finally get a win

最终取得胜利，

just for it to be rendered fruitless by a vocal minority with fancy titles?

却被一小撮空有漂亮头衔的 嘈杂少数派化为乌有？

I wasn't having it, but I still felt powerless.

我无法接受，但我又感到无能为力。

I wasn't on the committee.

我不是那个委员会的一员。

I wasn't an elected official.

我不是被选出来的官员。

I couldn't even tell you what a water board did.

我甚至都不知道 水务委员会是干什么的。

但是，像我刚刚所说， 我拥有 2 种力量。

But, like I said, I had these two sources of power:

coding and social media.

编程和社交媒体。

You may be thinking, "Girl, like, OK."

你们也许会想：“得了吧。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But follow me here, follow me here.

但听我说，听我说。

I learned to code when I was 15 at a Kode With Klossy summer program,

通过“跟着 Klossy 学编程”暑假项目， 我在 15 岁时学会了编程，

where I learned that I could apply that skill

在那里我了解到，我可以把这项技能 应用到每件事上。

to anything and everything.

And on the content side of things,

至于内容创作方面，

I got bored during the pandemic and loved giving my unsolicited opinion

我在疫情期间感到无聊， 喜欢在网上大声发表意见，

and yelling on the internet,

so I got a pretty sizable following on TikTok

所以我在 TikTok 上 获得了相当数量的粉丝，

and joined the organization Gen-Z for Change,

并加入了“寻求改变的 Z 世代”组织，

and posting content to mobilize my generation

发布内容来动员我们这代人

to vote in the 2020 election.

参与 2020 年大选投票。

So I knew that with these two powers I held,

所以我知道，有这 2 种力量在手， 我可以做些事情。

I could do something.

I could make something real in the three or so hours I had.

我可以利用手头的 3 个小时做点什么。

So I got to work.

于是我开始行动。

I found an email address

我找到了一个电子邮箱地址，

where people could send public comments on agenda items

人们可以通过它发送 有关议题的公开评论，

and coded a tool where people could just put in their name,

并且编写了一个工具， 人们只需要填写自己的名字，

affiliation, anything else they wanted to send,

所属机构和任何其他想发送的内容，

and a randomly generated email would be created.

一封随机生成的电子邮件 就会被创建出来。

All they had to do was push "send."

他们只需要点击“发送”。

I finished it like 15 minutes before the deadline,

我在截止时间 15 分钟前完成了它，

it was one of the ugliest websites I had ever made.

这是我所做过的网站中最丑的一个。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I posted it to Instagram, Twitter, TikTok --

我把它发到了 Instagram，推特，TikTok上，

I had around 150,000 followers at the time.

当时我有差不多 15 万粉丝。

I sent it to my family.

我把它发给我家人。

My sister sent it to her friends who sent to their friends,

我妹妹发给她的朋友， 她朋友又发给自己的朋友，

and then I held my breath.

之后我屏息以待。

A few hours later, the water board voted 9 to 3 to approve the memorial,

几个小时后，水务委员会 以 9 比 3 的投票结果批准了纪念碑，

and I felt at ease.

我这才松了一口气。

It wasn't until a few months later, though,

然而直到几个月后，

that I learned that out of the 63 comments submitted,

我才知道，在所有提交的 63 条评论中，

56, the vast majority, were sent using the tool that I had coded.

有 56 份，占绝大多数， 是通过我编写的工具发送的。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Which is so insane because there was so little time

这太疯狂了，因为大家 能够用它的时间

people were able to use it in the first place.

本来就非常短。

This success was a testament to the fact that so often people want to speak out.

这件事的成功证明了， 很多时候人们是想表达意见的。

They want to do something but don't know how

他们想做些什么， 但是不知道怎么做，

or get discouraged in the face of bureaucracy.

或者在面对官僚体制的时候退缩了。

我们的核心价值就是让有需求的人 更容易得偿所愿。

Making it a little bit easier for folks needs to be a core value for all of us.

In another instance, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin

另外一个例子， 弗吉尼亚州州长格伦·扬金

created a tipline to report critical race theory

创建了一条热线，用于举报

being taught in schools.

那些教批判性种族理论的学校。

I had a problem with that.

我觉得这件事不对。

So I wanted there to be an easy, fun, community-oriented way

于是我想找一种轻松、 有趣、以社区为导向的方法，

to get this tipline taken down as soon as possible.

尽快关掉这条举报热线。

So I coded a tool that allowed people

于是我编写了一个工具，

可以让人们把《蜜蜂总动员》里的 歌词和台词发送给这条热线。

to send song lyrics and lines from The Bee Movie to the tipline.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Essentially, it takes the name of a real school, a real city in Virginia,

最终，它用弗吉尼亚州 真实的城市和真实的学校名，

and spits out a very ridiculous report.

生成了一份可笑的报告。

For example, "I have reason to believe

比如说，“我有理由相信，

Thomas Jefferson High School is teaching race.

托马斯·杰弗逊高中在教种族主义。

I overheard a teacher saying,

我听到一个老师说， ‘辣妹穿着性感牛仔裤。’”

'Shawty had them apple bottom jeans (jeans).'"

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Yeah, it's silly, it's goofy.

是的，有点滑稽，有点傻。

It's just as unserious as the creation of a teacher-reporting tipline itself,

就像创建举报老师的热线 这件事一样不严肃，

which is exactly what draws people to this kind of action.

但恰恰是这样的事， 才会引起大家的行动。

Democracy is just more fun and inviting when you take it into your own hands.

当你亲自动手参与时, 民主会变得更加有趣和诱人。

After I finished the website,

做完这个网站之后，

I sent it to my friends at Gen-Z for Change.

我把它发给了“寻求改变的 Z 世代” 组织的朋友们。

We all posted videos.

我们都上传了视频。

Thousands of emails were sent from every state in the country

上千封电子邮件从各个州发出，

and virtually every continent,

甚至从全世界各个角落发出，

and we had emails bouncing within 48 hours.

有些邮件在 48 小时 内就被退回了。

几个月后，这条热线 被正式但悄无声息地关闭了。

Months later, the tipline was quietly officially shut down.

Didn't even last a year.

甚至没有挺过 1 年。

Because of the skills of a few, the platforms of many

由于少数几个人的技能， 一群人的社交平台，

and the will of hundreds of thousands of meddling kids

以及上万名多管闲事的年轻人，

unified in our intolerance of injustice,

我们才能团结一致，对抗不公。

we were far more powerful than a couple people

我们的力量远超过

那几个在官方权力机构中的人。

in official positions of power.

Now, I'm not asking y'all to drop everything and learn how to code,

我并不是说让你们所有人 放下一切去学编程，

even though I definitely think you should.

尽管我内心觉得你们应该这么做。

Coding is part of my power, right?

毕竟编程是我力量的一部分。

But power manifests differently to different people.

但是力量对于不同的人 会以不同的形式呈现。

If you have a pen, write something.

如果你手中有笔，就写点什么。

If you have an instrument, play something.

如果你有乐器，就演奏点什么。

If you have the anger of a thousand suns and disposable income,

如果你内心充满愤怒，又不缺钱，

open your purse.

那就捐点。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And if you have social media and a smartphone --

如果你有社交媒体账号 和一部智能手机，

I know that y'all do, so don't try me --

我知道你们都有，别想着骗我，

tell a story, and let it spread like wildfire.

就讲述一个故事， 然后像野火一样让它传播蔓延。

And while it's true that a subset of people use their skills

尽管确实有一小部分人 会用他们的技能

for hateful, nefarious, less-than-democratic purposes,

去实现仇恨、卑鄙 和不够民主的目的，

the sheer existence of this subset

正是因为这些人的存在，

requires that we think of more innovative and creative ways

才需要我们想出更创新 更有创造力的方法，

to ensure that the voices of the masses are genuinely heard and accounted for.

来确保普通大众的声音 被真正听到和考虑进来。

Now, every time I'm home and I walk by Central Park,

现在，每次我回到老家， 路过中央公园的时候，

and see the new signage,

看到新的标志，

I'm reminded of the power, our anguish,

我就会想起我们的力量， 我们的痛苦，

我们的欢喜，我们的故事，

our joy, our stories,

and our unity holds.

我们的团结。

We were able to change my community forever and for the better,

我们可以永远改变我们的社区， 让它变得越来越好，

all by causing a ruckus on the internet.

只需要我们在互联网上发出声音。

要想在世界范围内提高民主稳定性，

The stability of democracy internationally

requires that we use whatever skills and resources we have

我们要运用拥有的一切技能和资源，

to combat hate, bring movements to life

来抵制仇恨，让运动充满生机，

and stand united in solidarity with one another

在地球的每个角落，

on every corner of the globe.

团结一致，互相声援。

Justice can't wait, so take what's in front of you,

公正不能等，拿起你面前的一切，

get really creative and cause a ruckus.

充满创意地去发声吧。

(Applause)

（掌声）