Alice Goffman: How we're priming some kids for college — and others for prison

譯者: Melody Tang 審譯者: 庭芝 梁

美國兒童在成長的過程中，

On the path that American children travel to adulthood,

two institutions oversee the journey.

有兩種機構發揮著守望的功能：

The first is the one we hear a lot about: college.

第一種是我們經常聽到的：大學。

Some of you may remember the excitement that you felt

你們當中有些人可能還記得，

當你收到錄取通知書的那一刻， 自己有多麼興奮。

when you first set off for college.

Some of you may be in college right now

有些人可能現在正在上大學，

and you're feeling this excitement at this very moment.

此刻你正感到無比的興奮。

College has some shortcomings.

當然大學也有一些不足之處，

It's expensive; it leaves young people in debt.

比如學費太貴，導致年輕人負债累累。

但是整體來說， 大學是一條相當不錯的道路。

But all in all, it's a pretty good path.

Young people emerge from college with pride and with great friends

年輕人從大學畢業，帶著自豪， 結交好朋友，

同時也學到許多有關世界的知識。

and with a lot of knowledge about the world.

And perhaps most importantly,

或許更重要的是，

a better chance in the labor market than they had before they got there.

對找工作來說， 他們比上大學前有了更好的機會。

Today I want to talk about the second institution

今天，我要談談另一種

在美國守望著孩童成長過程的機構，

overseeing the journey from childhood to adulthood in the United States.

And that institution is prison.

那就是監獄。

Young people on this journey are meeting with probation officers

在監獄裡，年輕人遇到的是觀護人，

instead of with teachers.

而不是老師。

They're going to court dates instead of to class.

他們得按時去法院報到，而不是教室。

Their junior year abroad is instead a trip to a state correctional facility.

別人在大三出國旅遊時， 他們的旅途是去州立感化院。

And they're emerging from their 20s

當他們在20多歲時，

not with degrees in business and English,

他們拿到的不是企管或英文的學位，

but with criminal records.

而是犯罪前科紀錄。

This institution is also costing us a lot,

這個機構也花費許多公帑，

在紐澤西州， 將一個年輕人送進監獄的花費，

about 40,000 dollars a year

to send a young person to prison in New Jersey.

大約是一年4萬美元，

但這筆錢是納稅人付的。

But here, taxpayers are footing the bill

and what kids are getting is a cold prison cell

而這些孩子得到的是冰冷的監獄牢房，

and a permanent mark against them when they come home

以及在他們出獄返家後，或是找工作時，

and apply for work.

無法抹除的永久印記。

There are more and more kids on this journey to adulthood

在美國，有愈來愈多的孩子 步上這條成長的道路，

than ever before in the United States and that's because in the past 40 years,

因為在過去的40年，

our incarceration rate has grown by 700 percent.

我們的監禁率，成長了百分之七百。

我為這場演講製作了一張投影片。

I have one slide for this talk.

Here it is.

就是這張。

Here's our incarceration rate,

這是我們的監禁率。

about 716 people per 100,000 in the population.

每十萬人當中有716人入獄服刑。

這是OECD經濟合作暨發展組織 會員國的監禁率圖表。

Here's the OECD countries.

[圖表說明] 美國的監禁率全世界最高， 大約每十萬人有716人入獄服刑。

What's more, it's poor kids that we're sending to prison,

更重要的是， 我們將貧窮的孩子們送進監獄。

too many drawn from African-American and Latino communities

他們多數來自非裔美籍和拉丁裔社區。

so that prison now stands firmly between the young people trying to make it

現在，監獄阻擋了這些想要成功，

and the fulfillment of the American Dream.

以及實現美國夢的年輕人。

The problem's actually a bit worse than this

問題其實更為嚴重，

'cause we're not just sending poor kids to prison,

因為我們不只是將貧窮的孩子關起來，

we're saddling poor kids with court fees,

我們還讓這些孩子負擔法庭費用，

with probation and parole restrictions,

用緩刑和假釋來限制他們，

with low-level warrants,

或是對他們發布輕度通緝。

we're asking them to live in halfway houses and on house arrest,

我們讓他們住在中途之家 或是進行居家監禁。

and we're asking them to negotiate a police force

我們讓他們屈服於警察勢力

that is entering poor communities of color,

進入到有色人種的貧窮社區裏，

not for the purposes of promoting public safety,

目的不是為了要加強公共安全，

but to make arrest counts, to line city coffers.

而是為了讓逮捕人數達到要求， 以增加市政府收入。

This is the hidden underside to our historic experiment in punishment:

這是我們一直以來所進行的懲罰性實驗。 隱藏在背後的陰暗面是：

young people worried that at any moment, they will be stopped, searched and seized.

年輕人擔心，他們隨時可能 被攔下來、被搜查、被逮捕。

Not just in the streets, but in their homes,

不只是在街上如此，在家裡、

at school and at work.

在學校、或在工作時都有可能。

I got interested in this other path to adulthood

我開始對這一條成長的道路感到興趣，

when I was myself a college student

當我還是賓州大學學生的時候，

attending the University of Pennsylvania

in the early 2000s.

那時是在2000年年初。

Penn sits within a historic African-American neighborhood.

賓州大學位於一個 歷史上非裔美人居住的地區。

So you've got these two parallel journeys going on simultaneously:

在那裡，可以看到這兩條平行的成長道路：

the kids attending this elite, private university,

一邊的孩子，進入精英的的私人大學就讀，

and the kids from the adjacent neighborhood,

住在另一邊鄰近社區的孩子們，

some of whom are making it to college,

雖然有一些也進了大學，

and many of whom are being shipped to prison.

但是大多數的孩子卻被送進監獄裏。

In my sophomore year, I started tutoring a young woman who was in high school

在我大二那年， 我開始為一個高中的女孩補習。

who lived about 10 minutes away from the university.

她住在距離這個大學10分鐘路程的地方。

Soon, her cousin came home from a juvenile detention center.

不久，他的一位表弟 從少年拘留所回到家裡。

He was 15, a freshman in high school.

他當時15歲，剛就讀高中一年級。

I began to get to know him and his friends and family,

我開始認識他、他的朋友以及家人。

and I asked him what he thought about me writing about his life

我問他，我是否可以在大四的論文裡

for my senior thesis in college.

描寫有關他的故事。

This senior thesis became a dissertation at Princeton

這篇大四所寫的論文，後來也成為 我在普林斯頓大學的博士論文，

and now a book.

以及我所寫的一本書。

By the end of my sophomore year,

在我大二那年結束時，

I moved into the neighborhood and I spent the next six years

我搬到那個社區居住， 在接下來的六年裏，

trying to understand what young people were facing as they came of age.

我試著了解年輕人 在成長過程所要面對的事物。

The first week I spent in this neighborhood,

我住在那裡的第一週，

I saw two boys, five and seven years old,

我看到兩個男孩，分別是五歲和七歲，

play this game of chase,

他們正在玩追逐遊戲。

where the older boy ran after the other boy.

那個大男孩追著另一個男孩。

He played the cop.

大男孩扮演警察。

When the cop caught up to the younger boy,

當這個警察追到小男孩時，

he pushed him down,

他將他推倒在地，

handcuffed him with imaginary handcuffs,

假裝用手銬銬上他的手，

took a quarter out of the other child's pocket,

從他的口袋拿出一個25分的硬幣，

saying, "I'm seizing that."

他說：「我要拿走這個硬幣」。

He asked the child if he was carrying any drugs

他問那個小孩是否身上有毒品，

or if he had a warrant.

或者正在被通緝？

Many times, I saw this game repeated,

我經常看到孩子們玩這個遊戲。

sometimes children would simply give up running,

有時候，孩子會放棄逃跑，

and stick their bodies flat against the ground

身體直直地趴在地上，

with their hands above their heads, or flat up against a wall.

將手舉在頭上，或將手靠在牆壁上。

Children would yell at each other,

孩子們會彼此大叫，

"I'm going to lock you up,

「我要把你關起來。

I'm going to lock you up and you're never coming home!"

我要把你關起來， 讓你永遠不能回家！」

Once I saw a six-year-old child pull another child's pants down

有一次我看到一個六歲小孩 拉下另一個小孩的褲子，

and try to do a cavity search.

試著對他做「體腔檢查」。

In the first 18 months that I lived in this neighborhood,

我住在那個社區的前18個月，

I wrote down every time I saw any contact between police

我紀錄下每一次我所看到

警察和我的鄰居之間的接觸過程。

and people that were my neighbors.

So in the first 18 months,

在那18個月當中，

I watched the police stop pedestrians or people in cars,

我看著警察攔下行人 或是車子裡的人，

search people, run people's names,

對他們搜查，問他們的名字，

chase people through the streets,

在街上追著他們，

pull people in for questioning,

將他們帶回去問話，或是逮捕他們。

or make an arrest every single day, with five exceptions.

這些事每天都在上演， 只有五天平安無事。

Fifty-two times, I watched the police break down doors,

總共有52次，我看到警察破門而入，

chase people through houses

穿過房子追著人們，

or make an arrest of someone in their home.

或者在他們的家裡抓人。

Fourteen times in this first year and a half,

在一年半內有14次，

I watched the police punch, choke, kick, stomp on or beat young men

我看到警察在逮捕年輕人後，

對他們打、嗆、踢、踩或揍。

after they had caught them.

Bit by bit, I got to know two brothers,

後來，我認識了兩兄弟，

Chuck and Tim.

恰克 和 提姆。

Chuck was 18 when we met, a senior in high school.

我遇到恰克時，他18歲， 就讀高中四年級。

He was playing on the basketball team and making C's and B's.

他是籃球隊的隊員，成績有C有B。

His younger brother, Tim, was 10.

他的弟弟提姆，那時10歲。

And Tim loved Chuck; he followed him around a lot,

提姆很愛恰克， 他總是跟在恰克屁股後面，

looked to Chuck to be a mentor.

視哥哥為偶像。

They lived with their mom and grandfather

他們和母親、祖父居住在

in a two-story row home with a front lawn and a back porch.

一座兩層樓的連棟房屋裡， 房屋前有草地，後有陽台。

Their mom was struggling with addiction all while the boys were growing up.

在他們的成長過程裡， 他們的母親一直有吸毒問題。

She never really was able to hold down a job for very long.

她沒有長期穩定的工作，

It was their grandfather's pension that supported the family,

他們依靠祖父的退休金生活。

not really enough to pay for food and clothes

那筆退休金並不足以支付 成長中男孩所需的食物和衣服，

and school supplies for growing boys.

以及學費開銷。

The family was really struggling.

那個家庭實在過得很幸苦。

So when we met, Chuck was a senior in high school.

我認識他們時，恰克在讀高中四年級。

He had just turned 18.

他剛滿18歲。

That winter, a kid in the schoolyard

那個冬天，一個學校的孩子

called Chuck's mom a crack whore.

辱罵恰克的母親是"吸毒婊子"。

Chuck pushed the kid's face into the snow

恰克將那個孩子的臉壓到雪裡，

and the school cops charged him with aggravated assault.

校警以重度攻擊罪名起訴他。

The other kid was fine the next day,

那個被打的孩子，其實第二天就沒事了，

I think it was his pride that was injured more than anything.

我想主要是他的自尊心受到傷害。

But anyway, since Chuck was 18,

但是，由於恰克已經年滿18歲，

this agg. assault case sent him to adult county jail

他因為重度攻擊罪名， 被關進郡立的成人監獄。

on State Road in northeast Philadelphia,

這所監獄位於費城東北邊的州立公路上。

where he sat, unable to pay the bail -- he couldn't afford it --

他因為無法付出假釋金而被關著 －－ 他根本負擔不起 －－

while the trial dates dragged on and on and on

他的出庭日期被一拖再拖，

through almost his entire senior year.

幾乎拖延了他整個高中四年級。

Finally, near the end of this season,

最後，在這個季節快要結束前，

the judge on this assault case threw out most of the charges

審理這個傷害案的法官 駁回了大多數的控告，

and Chuck came home

恰克可以回家了，

with only a few hundred dollars' worth of court fees hanging over his head.

卻也欠下數百美元的訴訟費債務。

Tim was pretty happy that day.

提姆那天很高興。

The next fall, Chuck tried to re-enroll as a senior,

隔年秋天，恰克要返校重讀高四，

but the school secretary told him that

但是學校秘書告訴他，

he was then 19 and too old to be readmitted.

由於他已經19歲了， 超過高四的就學年齡，無法復學。

Then the judge on his assault case issued him a warrant for his arrest

接著，審理恰克傷害案的法官 對他發佈一份通緝，

because he couldn't pay the 225 dollars in court fees

因為他沒有支付225美元的訴訟費用。

that came due a few weeks after the case ended.

通緝令在他的案件審理結束後的 幾個星期發出。

Then he was a high school dropout living on the run.

當時，他被高中退學， 而且還要躲避通緝，

Tim's first arrest came later that year

提姆在那一年後期，第一次被警察逮捕，

after he turned 11.

那時他才剛滿11歲。

Chuck had managed to get his warrant lifted

恰克後來被解除通緝，

and he was on a payment plan for the court fees

因為他用分期付款來支付訴訟費用。

and he was driving Tim to school in his girlfriend's car.

有一天，他開著女朋友的車子 載提姆去學校，

So a cop pulls them over, runs the car,

一位警察攔住他們，盤查他們的車，

and the car comes up as stolen in California.

結果那是一輛在加州失竊的贓車。

Chuck had no idea where in the history of this car it had been stolen.

恰克並不知道，這輛車曾經被偷，

His girlfriend's uncle bought it from a used car auction

那是他的女朋友的叔叔，

在費城東北區向一位中古車商買的。

in northeast Philly.

Chuck and Tim had never been outside of the tri-state,

恰克和提姆從來沒有離開過 鄰近三個州的範圍，

let alone to California.

更不用說到過加州。

But anyway, the cops down at the precinct

但是，管轄當地的警察

charged Chuck with receiving stolen property.

以收受贓物的罪名起訴恰克。

And then a juvenile judge, a few days later,

接著幾天之後，一位主管少年案件的法官

charged Tim, age 11,

起訴了11歲的提姆，

with accessory to receiving a stolen property

罪名是收受贓物罪的共犯，

and then he was placed on three years of probation.

並且判處三年的緩刑。

With this probation sentence hanging over his head,

因為這個緩刑的判決，

Chuck sat his little brother down

恰克開始教他的弟弟

and began teaching him how to run from the police.

如何躲避警察。

They would sit side by side on their back porch

他們比肩坐在家裡的後陽台，

looking out into the shared alleyway

對著公共的巷道，

and Chuck would coach Tim how to spot undercover cars,

恰克教提姆如何辨別便衣警察的車子，

how to negotiate a late-night police raid, how and where to hide.

如何避開深夜警察的盤查， 以及去哪裡躲藏。

I want you to imagine for a second

我要你們想像一下，

what Chuck and Tim's lives would be like

恰克和提姆過著什麼樣的生活？

if they were living in a neighborhood where kids were going to college,

如果他們居住在 孩子們都能上大學的地區，

not prison.

而不是被送進監獄。

A neighborhood like the one I got to grow up in.

就像是我從小到大所居住的社區。

Okay, you might say.

好吧，你會說，

But Chuck and Tim, kids like them, they're committing crimes!

但是像恰克和提姆這樣的孩子， 他們還是有犯罪啊！

Don't they deserve to be in prison?

他們不應該關在監獄嗎？

Don't they deserve to be living in fear of arrest?

他們害怕被逮捕，難道不是應得的嗎？

Well, my answer would be no.

好，我的回答是：「不」。

They don't.

他們不應該如此被對待。

And certainly not for the same things that other young people

尤其他們所做的事，

with more privilege are doing with impunity.

和那些住在優渥環境的年輕人一樣， 但是後者卻不會受罰。

If Chuck had gone to my high school,

如果恰克進入我所就讀的高中，

that schoolyard fight would have ended there,

他在學校內的打架事件，不會擴大到校外，

as a schoolyard fight.

就只是當作校園事件處理。

It never would have become an aggravated assault case.

這樣的行為並不會演變成重度傷害罪。

Not a single kid that I went to college with

我有許多大學同學，

has a criminal record right now.

到現在沒有任何一位有犯罪紀錄。

Not a single one.

一個都沒有。

But can you imagine how many might have if the police had stopped those kids

但是你可以想像： 如果警察把他們攔下來，

and searched their pockets for drugs as they walked to class?

搜查他們的口袋是否有毒品， 會有多少人因此留下犯罪紀錄？

Or had raided their frat parties in the middle of the night?

或者在半夜，到他們的聚會進行臨檢？

Okay, you might say.

好，你可能會說，

But doesn't this high incarceration rate

難道不是因為提高監禁率，

partly account for our really low crime rate?

才降低了犯罪率嗎？

Crime is down. That's a good thing.

能降低犯罪率，當然是件好事。

Totally, that is a good thing. Crime is down.

總體而言，那是件好事，犯罪率降低了。

It dropped precipitously in the '90s and through the 2000s.

在1990和2000年之間，犯罪率明顯地降低。

But according to a committee of academics

但是，根據去年由美國國家科學院舉辦的

convened by the National Academy of Sciences last year,

一場學術性會議結果，

the relationship between our historically high incarceration rates

過去我們的高監禁率

and our low crime rate is pretty shaky.

與低犯罪率之間的關係，非常微弱。

It turns out that the crime rate goes up and down

也就是說，犯罪率的高低

irrespective of how many young people we send to prison.

與年輕人被關在監獄的數量無關。

We tend to think about justice in a pretty narrow way:

我們常常用狹隘的觀點來看待正義：

good and bad, innocent and guilty.

只有好與壞，無辜和有罪。

Injustice is about being wrongfully convicted.

錯誤判決並不等於正義。

So if you're convicted of something you did do,

如果你是因為確實做了壞事而被判有罪，

you should be punished for it.

你是應該受到懲罰。

There are innocent and guilty people,

但是，有無辜的人和有罪的人，

there are victims and there are perpetrators.

有被害人，有肇事者。

Maybe we could think a little bit more broadly than that.

或許我們可以有更寬廣的思維。

Right now, we're asking kids who live in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods,

現在，我們如何看待這些 住在最貧困環境裡的小孩？

who have the least amount of family resources,

他們缺乏家庭的資源，

who are attending the country's worst schools,

他們就讀郡裡最差的學校，

who are facing the toughest time in the labor market,

他們在找工作時，面對最艱困的情境，

who are living in neighborhoods where violence is an everyday problem,

他們所居住的環境，每天都有暴力事件，

we're asking these kids to walk the thinnest possible line --

我們讓這些孩子， 走在最狹窄的道路上 －－

to basically never do anything wrong.

就是基本上，不可以犯任何過錯。

Why are we not providing support to young kids facing these challenges?

這些孩子面臨困難時， 為何我們不給予支持？

Why are we offering only handcuffs, jail time and this fugitive existence?

為什麼我們給他們的只是逮捕， 入獄，或是不斷逃亡的日子？

Can we imagine something better?

難道我們不能想到更好的解決方式嗎？

Can we imagine a criminal justice system that prioritizes recovery,

我們能否設想一個重視復原、預防，

prevention, civic inclusion,

以及公民包容的刑事司法系統，

rather than punishment?

而不是只能強調懲罰？

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

A criminal justice system that acknowledges

設想一個刑事司法系統

願意承認在美國歷史上， 曾經排斥有色人種，

the legacy of exclusion that poor people of color in the U.S. have faced

並且不再促進和延續這種排斥觀點。

and that does not promote and perpetuate those exclusions.

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

And finally, a criminal justice system that believes in black young people,

最後，設想一個 相信黑人青年的刑事司法系統，

rather than treating black young people as the enemy to be rounded up.

而不是將這些黑人青年 當作是敵人一樣加以逮捕。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

The good news is that we already are.

好消息是，我們已經在做了。

A few years ago, Michelle Alexander wrote "The New Jim Crow,"

幾年前，蜜雪兒．亞歷山大寫了 "The New Jim Crow“ 這本書，

which got Americans to see incarceration as a civil rights issue

它讓美國民眾 採用和以往不同的方式

of historic proportions in a way they had not seen it before.

將"監禁"視為一項重要的人權議題。

President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have come out very strongly

歐巴馬總統和檢察總長 Eric Holder

對於量刑改革

on sentencing reform,

on the need to address racial disparity in incarceration.

以及監禁的種族歧視問題 非常重視。

We're seeing states throw out Stop and Frisk

我們看到一些州廢除了「攔檢」和「搜查」

as the civil rights violation that it is.

因為這些行為違反了人權。

We're seeing cities and states decriminalize possession of marijuana.

我們看到一些城市和州 不再將持有大麻視為犯罪。

New York, New Jersey and California

在紐約州、紐澤西州和加州，

have been dropping their prison populations, closing prisons,

正在減少囚犯人數，關閉監獄，

while also seeing a big drop in crime.

同時也看到犯罪率大幅降低。

Texas has gotten into the game now,

德州也開始加入改革，

also closing prisons, investing in education.

關閉一些監獄，轉而投資教育。

This curious coalition is building from the right and the left,

有一些令人驚訝的組織， 由社會各階層人士共同組成，

made up of former prisoners and fiscal conservatives,

其中包括了更生人和財政保守派，

of civil rights activists and libertarians,

人權鬥士和自由主義者，

of young people taking to the streets to protest police violence

有些年輕人走上街頭，

抗議警察以暴力對付 手無寸鐵的黑人青年，

against unarmed black teenagers,

and older, wealthier people --

除此之外，還有許多年長，富有的人 －－

some of you are here in the audience --

你們有些正坐在觀眾席裡 －－

pumping big money into decarceration initiatives

熱心捐款贊助反監禁行動。

In a deeply divided Congress,

在意見分歧的國會裡，

the work of reforming our criminal justice system

改革現有刑事司法系統的工作

is just about the only thing that the right and the left

成為無論左派或右派議員

are coming together on.

唯一彼此有共識的議題。

I did not think I would see this political moment in my lifetime.

我從未曾想過， 在有生之年可以看到這一刻。

I think many of the people who have been working tirelessly

我想到，有許多人竭盡心力

to write about the causes and consequences

在探討史上高監禁率的原因和結果時，

of our historically high incarceration rates

他們也未曾想過

did not think we would see this moment in our lifetime.

會在有生之年見證這個時刻。

The question for us now is, how much can we make of it?

現在我們的問題是， 我們能因此學到什麼？

How much can we change?

我們能改變多少？

I want to end with a call to young people,

最後，我要向年輕人呼籲，

the young people attending college

無論你是正在讀大學的年輕人，

and the young people struggling to stay out of prison

還是努力想要離開監獄的年輕人，

or to make it through prison and return home.

或者即將服完刑期返家的年輕人。

It may seem like these paths to adulthood are worlds apart,

這些長大成人的道路天差地遠，

but the young people participating in these two institutions

但是經由這兩種機構而成長的年輕人

conveying us to adulthood,

讓我們所看到

they have one thing in common:

他們的共同點是：

Both can be leaders in the work of reforming our criminal justice system.

他們都可以成為 改革刑事司法系統的領導者。

Young people have always been leaders in the fight for equal rights,

在爭取平權的戰鬥中， 年輕人一直扮演著領導的角色。

the fight for more people to be granted dignity

這是為了替更多的人爭取尊嚴，

and a fighting chance at freedom.

以及爭取自由的機會。

The mission for the generation of young people

這一代年輕人的使命，

coming of age in this, a sea-change moment, potentially,

在這個急劇變化的時刻， 很有可能實現的

is to end mass incarceration and build a new criminal justice system,

是結束大規模的監禁， 並且建立一個嶄新的

強調「公平正義」的刑事司法系統。

emphasis on the word justice.

Thanks.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）