平權(quán)運動下，亞裔美國人的掙扎與分裂

Between her pricey private tutors and SAT camp, Julie Yao knew that her education meant everything to her Chinese immigrant parents. They believed that because she was Asian, colleges would judge her by higher standards.

來往于昂貴私人教師和SAT訓(xùn)練營之間的朱莉·姚(Julie Yao)清楚，自己的教育對她的中國移民父母來說意味著一切。他們認(rèn)為，因為她是亞裔，大學(xué)會以更高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來評判她。

But Ms. Yao, who was 14 when the family moved to the United States from Shenzhen, also came to appreciate the struggles of racial minorities in America through what she learned from textbooks and friends. She saw firsthand how black and Latino classmates who didn’t have some of the educational and economic privileges she did were just as studious and successful.

但14歲就和家人一起從深圳搬來美國的姚，從課本和朋友身上已經(jīng)學(xué)到了美國少數(shù)族裔的斗爭。她親眼看見，那些教育和經(jīng)濟(jì)條件不及自己優(yōu)越的黑人和拉丁裔同學(xué)，也可以一樣勤奮和成功。

Ms. Yao, now 21 and a junior at Barnard College, grew to support affirmative action. Test scores, she believed, were not the only measure of academic potential.

現(xiàn)年21歲的姚是巴納德學(xué)院(Barnard College)的大一新生，已經(jīng)是平權(quán)行動的支持者。她認(rèn)為，考試成績并非衡量學(xué)術(shù)潛能的唯一指標(biāo)。

“On the other hand,” Ms. Yao said, “I have all this information from Asian parents, the older generation, saying how it’s discriminating against Asian-American children.”

“但是在另一方面，”朱莉·姚說，“我的所有信息都來自我的亞裔父母，上一代人，他們說這是在區(qū)別對待亞裔美國小孩。”

Ms. Yao’s internal conflict reflects a broader ambivalence among Asian-Americans over not just affirmative action, but also their place in the American racial order.

姚的內(nèi)心掙扎反映了廣泛層面上的亞裔美國人的矛盾心理，不只是對于平權(quán)行動，也對于他們在美國種族秩序中的地位。

A lawsuit that accuses Harvard of systematically discriminating against Asian-Americans in admissions, as well as a proposal to change the way New York City’s specialized high schools admit students, have brought new attention to fault lines in the racial politics both inside and outside the country’s diverse Asian communities.

就哈佛大學(xué)錄取過程中對亞裔美國人的制度歧視發(fā)起的一項訴訟，以及一項改變紐約市特殊高中招生辦法的提議，再一次把人們的注意力轉(zhuǎn)移到了多元的美國亞裔群體內(nèi)外的種族政治斷層。

Asian-Americans have been among the most vocal and visible opponents of race-based affirmative action policies, creating a popular perception that they are at odds with black and Latino people, who remain underrepresented in many elite educational institutions. But that framing obscures the reality of national surveys that show that most Asian-Americans favor affirmative action in education. Many find solidarity with other minorities.

對于以種族為基礎(chǔ)的平權(quán)運動政策，亞裔美國人一直是聲音最高、最為顯著的反對者，這讓人們普遍認(rèn)為，他們與許多精英院校內(nèi)仍屬弱勢的黑人和拉丁族裔是存在不和的。但這樣的假象卻遮蔽了全國性調(diào)查的事實——大部分亞裔美國人都支持教育平權(quán)運動。許多人認(rèn)為自己和其他少數(shù)族裔是一個共同體。

Still, the various generational, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds of Asian-Americans have contributed to rifts in how they approach their most pressing issues.

然而，不同世代、地域和社會經(jīng)濟(jì)背景的亞裔美國人，在最為緊迫的問題上有著不同的看法，從而導(dǎo)致分裂。

Southeast Asian communities, for instance, have high rates of poverty and their interests often align with black and Latino communities on affirmative action and other social justice causes. South Asians, who surveys show are often not perceived as Asian, are among the highest earners and educational achievers; they are also strong supporters of affirmative action. They report experiencing more discrimination than other Asians in the United States.

例如，東南亞裔群體貧困率高，在平權(quán)行動以及其他社會正義問題上，他們的利益往往與黑人和拉丁裔群體一致。而調(diào)查中顯示往往不被視作亞洲人的南亞人口，則是有著最高收入和教育成就的群體之一，他們也是平權(quán)運動的堅定支持者。他們反映，自己比美國其他亞裔人口受到了更多的歧視。

Meanwhile, some of the most fervent activism against affirmative action comes from a growing movement of recent first-generation Chinese immigrants, academics said. They have found their political voice in the past few years in battles over education, the conviction of a Chinese-American police officer in a shooting in New York, and proposals by different states to compile demographic data on Asians by country of origin.

但與此同時，有學(xué)者稱，反對平權(quán)運動最激烈的呼聲，有一部分來自近年的第一代中國移民日漸興起的運動。在近幾年圍繞教育展開的爭斗中，在紐約一名華裔美國警察因槍擊被定罪的案件中，以及一些州根據(jù)原屬國對亞裔人口數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)行分類整理的提議，讓他們找到了自己的政治聲音。

Much of their advocacy boils down to concerns that they face double standards in American life. But some Asian-Americans worry that they might appear to be providing cover for causes that run counter to minority interests. They find themselves trying to protect their own stakes but not at the expense of other groups’.

他們的大部分主張都可以歸結(jié)為對美國生活中所面臨的雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的擔(dān)憂。但有些亞裔美國人擔(dān)心他們被人當(dāng)成了幌子，用來掩蓋那些與少數(shù)族裔利益背道而馳的運動。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己需要在不犧牲其他群體的情況下，保住自己的利益。

“We are slotted into this middle position that a lot of Asian-Americans sort of feel comfortable thinking that ‘I’ll be a colorblind person,’ which really means, ‘I’ll swear fealty to the white supremacy,’” said the author of the “Ask a Korean!” blog, who goes by the pen name T. K. Park.

“我們正處于這樣一種中間位置，那就是許多亞裔美國人似乎覺得‘我就當(dāng)個色盲’沒什么問題，這句話的真正意義是，‘我宣誓效忠白人至上主義’，”以T·K·樸(T. K. Park)為筆名的“Ask a Korean!”(去問韓國人!)博主寫道。

In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio recently recommended changing the admissions criteria for the city’s most elite public schools, where Asian-Americans are vastly overrepresented and black and Latino students are underrepresented. Currently, the only metric for admission is a test, but Mr. de Blasio wants to allot seats to the top students from all of the city’s middle schools, which would most likely cut into the number of spots for Asian-Americans.

在紐約，市長白思豪(Bill de Blasio)最近提出了一項改變紐約最頂尖公立學(xué)校招生標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的建議。在這些學(xué)校里，亞裔美國人過多，而黑人和拉丁裔學(xué)生不足。目前，入學(xué)的唯一指標(biāo)是一項考試，但白思豪希望將席位分配給全市所有中學(xué)的頂尖學(xué)生，這很可能會減少亞裔美國人的名額。

Mr. Park said he found the plan discriminatory, but not because he thought there was animosity toward Asian-American students. The problem, he said, was that it forced Asian-Americans to give up something instead of compelling high-performing schools that are predominantly white to integrate.

T·K·樸表示，他認(rèn)為這一計劃是具有歧視性的，但他并不認(rèn)為這是因為對亞裔美國學(xué)生懷有敵意。他說，問題在于這是在迫使亞裔美國人放棄一些東西，而不是去要求那些以白人為主的績優(yōu)學(xué)校去進(jìn)行族裔融合。

“The real conversation, I think, is why these exclusive prep schools are not under discussion,” Mr. Park said. “No matter how you try to put it nicely, this is about white people having theirs, and telling Asians and African-Americans and Latinos to fight over the rest.”

“我認(rèn)為，真正的談話在于為什么這些難進(jìn)的預(yù)科學(xué)校不在討論之中，”T·K·樸說。“不論你如何修飾你的表達(dá)，這都是白人的歸白人的，然后告訴亞裔和非裔、拉丁裔去爭搶剩下的東西。”

Black and Asian-American people have often been pitted against one another over the years, dating to the mid-20th century, when white people praised the work ethic and ability of Asian-Americans as a way to disparage the African-American struggle.

多年來，黑人和亞裔美國人經(jīng)常被拿來對比，這可以追溯到20世紀(jì)中期，當(dāng)時，白人稱贊亞裔美國人的職業(yè)道德和能力，作為貶低非裔美國人斗爭的一種方式。

Differences over the nature of the discrimination that each group faces remain something of a sore spot. The fact that many of the Asian-American students at New York’s specialized high schools come from poor families has been one argument raised in opposition to race-conscious admission policies.

每個群體面臨的歧視在本質(zhì)上的不同始終是一個痛點。紐約特殊高中的許多亞裔美國學(xué)生來自貧困家庭，這個事實是反對有種族意識的招生政策的一個依據(jù)。

But that ignores the fact that black people have and continue to be discriminated against in highly damaging ways, such as mass incarceration, police violence and segregation, said Claire Jean Kim, a professor of Asian-American studies at the University of California, Irvine.

但加州大學(xué)歐文分校(University of California, Irvine)的亞裔美國人研究教授克萊爾·簡·金(Claire Jean Kim)表示，這忽略了一個事實，那就是，黑人遭到了——并且仍在遭到——極具破壞性的歧視，比如大規(guī)模監(jiān)禁、警察暴力和種族隔離。

“The question of how Asian-Americans are positioned relative to black people is a very serious and important question that Asian-Americans have not grappled with,” Professor Kim said. “Asians in general are getting certain types of advantages by not being black.”

“亞裔美國人相對于黑人的地位是一個非常嚴(yán)肅和重要的問題，但亞裔美國人并沒有就這個問題進(jìn)行斗爭，”金教授說，“總的來說，亞裔因為自己不是黑人而獲得了某些優(yōu)勢。”

That is not to discount the ugly history of violence, racism and exclusion that Asian-Americans have and continue to endure. Studies have found that Asian-Americans are the least likely of any race to be promoted to management roles in the professional world. They have the highest poverty rates in some communities. And some Asian-Americans say their causes usually get little mainstream political support.

這并不是在抹殺亞裔美國人經(jīng)歷過并在繼續(xù)經(jīng)歷的暴力、種族主義和排斥的丑惡歷史。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在所有種族中，亞裔是職場中最難被提升到管理職位的種族。在一些社區(qū)里，亞裔的貧困率最高。一些亞裔美國人表示，他們的訴求通常得不到主流的政治支持。

That might be changing with a budding movement led by some Chinese-American activists against affirmative action. That movement took off in 2014, with a campaign that defeated a California bill that would have allowed affirmative action in the state’s public colleges and universities. The activists generally immigrated to the United States over the past 20 years from mainland China. They are mostly well-educated and often communicate through WeChat, a Chinese messaging app.

這種情況可能會被一些華裔美國活動人士領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的一場新興運動所改變。這個反對平權(quán)行動的運動在2014年興起，當(dāng)時的一場活動挫敗了加州的一項允許公立學(xué)院和大學(xué)采取平權(quán)行動的法案。這些活動人士大多是在過去20年里從中國大陸移民到美國的華人。他們大多受過良好教育，經(jīng)常通過中國的訊息應(yīng)用微信進(jìn)行交流。

“On some affirmative action debates they are used as a wedge,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, associate dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside. “But what you’re seeing more and more, Asian-American activists, specifically Chinese activists, are more than happy to play that role of wedge. They use the language of discrimination and victimhood.”

“在某些關(guān)于平權(quán)行動的爭論中，他們被用來制造隔閡，”加州大學(xué)里弗賽德分校(University of California, Riverside)公共政策學(xué)院(School of Public Policy)的副院長卡爾蒂克·拉馬克里希南(Karthick Ramakrishnan)說，“但你看到，越來越多的亞裔美國活動人士，尤其是華裔活動人士，非常樂意扮演這種制造隔閡的角色。他們會使用歧視和受害者的語言。”

Tony Xu, a 48-year-old Chinese immigrant, sees affirmative action as a form of racism, calling it “a tool to discriminate against Asian-Americans.”

48歲的中國移民托尼·徐(Tony Xu)將平權(quán)行動視為一種種族主義，稱它是“歧視亞裔美國人的工具”。

Mr. Xu, who lives in Fremont, Calif., came to the United States two decades ago as a software engineer and now owns a real estate company. He said his daughter was a rising junior in high school and planned to apply to several elite universities including Stanford and Ivy League schools. He became politically active during the fight over the California bill, he said, and belongs to the Silicon Valley Chinese Association, which opposes affirmative action.

托尼·徐住在加州弗里蒙特，20年前以軟件工程師的身份移民到美國，現(xiàn)在擁有一家房地產(chǎn)公司。他說他的女兒即將開始高中的最后一年，打算申請幾所頂尖大學(xué)，包括斯坦福大學(xué)(Stanford)和常春藤盟校。他表示，在抵制這項加州法案的斗爭中，他成了政治活躍分子，他是反對平權(quán)行動的硅谷華裔協(xié)會(Silicon Valley Chinese Association)的一員。

Mr. Xu said he did not see the benefit of racial diversity in schools. In China and Japan, for instance, schools are basically monoracial, but those students turn out just fine, he said.

托尼·徐表示，他不覺得學(xué)校進(jìn)行種族多元化有什么好處。他表示，比如在中國和日本，學(xué)?；旧隙际菃我环N族，但那里的學(xué)生最后都挺好。

“I believe everyone, if you work hard, you spend time, you can achieve the same goal,” he said.

“我相信每個人只要努力工作，投入時間，就能實現(xiàn)同樣的目標(biāo)，”他說。

Other first-generation Chinese immigrants see a more complex reality. Steven Chen, who came to the United States three decades ago from Hangzhou, said he believed many fellow immigrants were misled by false information in online echo chambers. Mr. Chen, a 54-year-old network administrator who lives in Irvine, Calif., and supports affirmative action, said he hoped to help change that, though he didn’t fault others for their desire to protest.

其他第一代中國移民看到了更復(fù)雜的現(xiàn)實。30年前從杭州移民到美國的史蒂文·陳(Steven Chen)表示，他覺得，許多移民同胞被網(wǎng)上回音室內(nèi)的虛假信息誤導(dǎo)了。54歲的陳住在加州歐文市，是一名網(wǎng)絡(luò)管理員，他支持平權(quán)行動。他表示，他希望自己能幫助改變這種現(xiàn)狀，但他并不責(zé)怪那些想要抗議的人。

“If the message sounds like we are very selfish people, we don’t care about minorities, that will be bad,” he said. But if “the message given out is reasonable, trying to solve the real issues, then it is O.K.”

他表示，“如果他們給人的印象是我們非常自私，不關(guān)心少數(shù)族裔，那就太糟糕了”，但如果“他們發(fā)出的信息是合理的，試圖解決真正的問題，那就沒問題”。