“一個巨大盲點”：紐約亞裔為何感覺被忽視
紐約——本月早些時候，當(dāng)市長白思豪(Bill de Blasio)提出改變該市頂尖公立高中的入學(xué)方式時，他身邊圍繞著數(shù)十名熱情的學(xué)生、工會領(lǐng)袖和民選官員，以及“所有孩子機(jī)會均等”的標(biāo)語。
Noticeably absent were representatives from one group that would be heavily affected by the change: Asian-Americans, whose children dominate those schools.
引人注目的是，一個深受該變化影響的群體卻沒有代表在場——亞裔美國人，他們的子女在這些學(xué)校占據(jù)多數(shù)。
“This cliché of, ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu’ really felt like it rang true,” said U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-Queens and graduate of one of the schools, Stuyvesant High School, who was not invited to the event. “I don’t think with any other community if there was such a large impact or sweeping change, they would not have been consulted or brought into the discussions.”
“‘不是坐在餐桌邊，就是在菜單上’這種陳詞濫調(diào)聽上去還真是那么回事，”來自皇后區(qū)的國會眾議員孟昭文說。她畢業(yè)于其中一所知名學(xué)校史岱文森高中(Stuyvesant High School)，那次活動沒有邀請她參加。“我想在其他社區(qū)，若是有如此大的影響或者這么大的變化，他們不會不被征求意見或者獲邀參與討論的。”
Asian-American community leaders say that in New York, far from being the “model minority” — a term many view as disparaging and inaccurate — they are the overlooked minority, taken for granted in the city’s calculus of political power.
亞裔美國人社區(qū)的領(lǐng)袖們表示，在紐約，他們完全不是“模范少數(shù)族裔”——許多人認(rèn)為這個詞是一種貶損，而且也不準(zhǔn)確——他們是被忽視的少數(shù)族裔，在紐約城的政治算計中不被當(dāng)回事。
It does not seem to matter, Asian-American officeholders and activists say, that all five Asian-American elected officials at the city, state and federal levels are Democrats, like de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Nor does it matter that Asian-Americans of all backgrounds, including East and South Asians, now make up almost 15 percent of the city’s population, with the total number up by more than half since 2000. Or that the number of Chinese and Korean registered voters has doubled over the same period, according to the Center for Urban Research at the CUNY Graduate Center.
亞裔公職人員和活動人士稱，在紐約市、州和聯(lián)邦層面的全部五位亞裔當(dāng)選官員跟白思豪和州長安德魯·科莫(Andrew Cuomo)一樣都是民主黨人這一點，似乎于事無補(bǔ)。不同背景的亞裔美國人，包括東亞和南亞人，現(xiàn)在占紐約人口的15%，自2000年以來，這個數(shù)字增加了一半，也沒關(guān)系。同樣沒關(guān)系的是，紐約市立大學(xué)研究生中心(CUNY Graduate Center)的城市研究中心(Center for Urban Research)有數(shù)據(jù)顯示，華裔和韓裔的注冊選民數(shù)量同期翻了一番。
“It’s not just one thing, and it’s not just one time,” said Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, a Democrat who represents Chinatown and lower Manhattan. “It shows a huge blind spot for Asian-American communities as a whole.”
“不止一件事，也不止這一次，”代表唐人街和下曼哈頓的民主黨州眾議員牛毓琳說。“顯示出整個亞裔美國社區(qū)的一個巨大盲點。”
But it was de Blasio’s proposal to tackle the vexing issue of segregation at the specialized high schools that galvanized Asian reaction. The eight schools, which have a single test for admissions, have a disproportionate number of Asian students, and few black and Latino ones.
但白思豪提出的解決特殊高中種族不均這一棘手問題的建議，激起了亞裔的強(qiáng)烈反應(yīng)。八所學(xué)校只有一個入學(xué)考試，學(xué)生中的亞裔人數(shù)比例格外之高，非裔和西語裔學(xué)生則太少。
De Blasio has proposed throwing out the test and instead admitting students based on their class rank and state test scores, which would increase the numbers of black and Latino students significantly. Because the number of seats at the school are limited, that would necessarily mean fewer Asian students would get in. Changing the admissions method would require an act of the Legislature for the three long-established specialized schools, and perhaps for all of them.
白思豪建議取消考試，根據(jù)他們的班級和州考試成績錄取學(xué)生，這將帶來非裔和西語裔學(xué)生數(shù)量的顯著增加。由于學(xué)校的名額有限，這必然意味著減少亞裔學(xué)生入學(xué)。改變招生方法需要立法機(jī)關(guān)通過跟三所歷史悠久的專業(yè)學(xué)校有、或許是對所有此類學(xué)校關(guān)的法案。
But in announcing the plan de Blasio did not mention the schools’ importance to Asian-Americans. Despite stereotypes about their success, Asian-Americans are the poorest immigrant group in the city, noted Joseph P. Viteritti, a professor of public policy at Hunter College, and many view the schools as a ladder to the middle class, and the test as the fairest way to determine admission.
但白思豪在宣布該計劃時，并沒有提及這些學(xué)校對亞裔美國人的重要性。亨特學(xué)院(Hunter College)公共政策教授約瑟夫·P. 維特里蒂(Joseph P. Viteritti)指出，盡管人們對亞裔美國人的成功存在刻板印象，但亞裔美國人是該市最貧窮的移民群體。許多人把這些學(xué)校視為通往中產(chǎn)階級的階梯，而該考試是最公平的入學(xué)方式。
A report released Thursday by the Asian-American Federation, a network of community service groups, found that 9 in 10 Asian households in poverty lack affordable housing, and one-quarter of those eligible to work did not have health insurance.
社區(qū)服務(wù)團(tuán)體網(wǎng)絡(luò)亞美聯(lián)盟(Asian-American Federation)周四發(fā)布的一份報告顯示，10個亞洲貧困家庭中有9個缺乏廉價住房，有四分之一有工作能力的人沒有醫(yī)療保險。
Richard A. Carranza, the schools chancellor, intensified matters when he said in a television interview, “I just don’t buy into the narrative that any one ethnic group owns admissions to these schools.”
紐約校監(jiān)理查德·A·卡蘭薩(Richard A. Carranza)在接受電視采訪時表示，“我只是不能接受學(xué)校入學(xué)資格由某一個族裔群體所有這種說法。”
John C. Liu, a former councilman and city comptroller whose mayoral ambitions were derailed by financial improprieties, called Carranza’s remarks “the most offensive and irritating comments that Asian-Americans have heard in quite some time.”
劉淳逸(John C. Liu)是前市議員和紐約市主計長，其競選市長的雄心因財務(wù)不當(dāng)行為而受到阻撓，他稱卡蘭薩的言論是“很長一段時間以來亞裔美國人聽到的最令人反感和憤怒的言論”。
Liu, along with Chin is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, another of the elite high schools.
劉淳逸畢業(yè)于另一所精英學(xué)校布朗克斯科學(xué)高中(Bronx High School of Science)。
Carranza, asked whether he could have displayed more empathy to Asian-American families deeply invested in the current system, did not back off his comments.
被問道現(xiàn)在是不是覺得，自己應(yīng)該對在當(dāng)前體制中做了大量投入的亞裔美國家庭表現(xiàn)出更多同理心時，卡蘭薩沒有收回自己的說法。
“If you choose to be offended as an Asian resident of New York City, that’s a choice you make,” he said. “If you choose to not be offended, that’s a choice you make. But the statement is true: No one owns it. The City of New York, taxpayers, own the public school system of New York City.”
“作為紐約市的亞裔居民，如果你選擇感覺受了冒犯，那是你的選擇，”他說。“如果你選擇不覺得受了冒犯，那也是你的選擇。但我的話是真的：它不歸誰擁有。紐約市的公立學(xué)校系統(tǒng)是由紐約市與納稅人所有的。”
Asked about the criticisms, Eric Phillips, de Blasio’s press secretary, seemed more conciliatory: “When leaders in a community tell us we need to do more to engage them, we take it as a serious sign we have to do more, and do better,” he said in a statement. “While we aren’t going to shy away from doing what we believe is right, every community has a right to be heard and engaged — and it’s our job to make sure this community is a part in that process.”
被問及那些批評時，白思豪的新聞秘書埃里克·菲利普斯(Eric Phillips)的態(tài)度似乎更為緩和：“當(dāng)一個社區(qū)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者告訴我們，我們需要更多與他們接觸時，我們認(rèn)為這是一個嚴(yán)重的跡象，表明我們必須做得更多，做得更好，“他在一份聲明中說。“雖然我們不會回避我們認(rèn)為正確的事情，但每個社區(qū)都有權(quán)得到傾聽和參與其中——我們的工作就是確保這個社區(qū)參與到這一過程中去。”
A central question in the debate is where Asians fall in the worldview of the city’s political establishment. Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, had initially backed de Blasio’s proposal. But after facing a backlash from Asian community leaders, and the prospect that some donors would cancel future fundraisers, Adams moderated his position and expressed reservations.
辯論中的一個核心問題是，亞裔在這個城市政治體系的世界觀中處于何種地位。布魯克林區(qū)區(qū)長埃里克·亞當(dāng)斯(Eric Adams)最初支持白思豪的提議。但在面對來自亞裔社區(qū)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的強(qiáng)烈反對，以及一些捐助者將取消未來籌款活動后，亞當(dāng)斯調(diào)整了自己的立場，表達(dá)了保留意見。
“Some progressives seem to be pushing the narrative that Asians are not minorities, immigrants and people of color,” said Assemblyman Ron Kim, D-Queens. And that is “even worse when done in the name of reform and social justice,” he added, and may drive some Asian-Americans to embrace more conservative and Republican candidates.
“一些進(jìn)步人士似乎在推動亞裔不是少數(shù)族裔、移民和有色人種的敘事，”皇后區(qū)州議員金兌錫(Ron Kim)表示。他還說，這種事“在改革和社會正義的名義之下進(jìn)行，因此就更糟糕，”并可能會令一些亞裔美國人更接受保守派和共和黨候選人。
De Blasio’s proposal coincided with new revelations that Harvard University had used intangible measures like personality traits to lower Asian applicants’ ratings, in an effort to limit their numbers at the college.
在白思豪提出這個提議的同時，哈佛大學(xué)的做法正遭到最新的曝光，該校使用性格特征等無形尺度來降低亞裔申請人入學(xué)率，以限制他們在大學(xué)的數(shù)量。
Lost in the rhetoric, Kim and other elected leaders said, is the fact that Asian-Americans are hardly monolithic on issues of race and education, as evidenced by their wide range of opinions over affirmative action.
金兌錫和其他民選領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人說，雖然有種種令人迷惑的言論，但亞裔美國人在種族和教育方面并不是鐵板一塊，他們對平權(quán)行動的各種不同意見可以證明這一點。
Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the Asian American Federation, said, “As much as we understand and applaud the mayor’s efforts to diversify the specialized high schools, there is tremendous anger among parents around the lack of engagement prior to the announcement.”
亞裔美國人聯(lián)合會執(zhí)行董事姚久安(Jo-Ann Yoo)表示，“盡管我們理解并贊揚(yáng)市長為專業(yè)化高中的多元化做出的努力，但家長們依然因為提議公布之前未能得到充分參與而感到極大憤慨。”
In their view, rather than making Asian-Americans part of the solution to the racial imbalance at the specialized schools, de Blasio targeted them as the problem, making the prospect of selling them on the change that much more difficult.
在他們看來，白思豪不是讓亞裔美國人參與解決專業(yè)學(xué)校種族不平衡問題，而是在解決該問題時刻意針對他們，這樣一來，說服他們接受這一變革就變得更加困難。
“He ran for office, in part, by saying he would open the pathways for political engagement and community engagement” in a way that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not, said Basil A. Smikle Jr., a former executive director of the New York state Democratic Party. “But sometimes the process is just as important as the outcome, and the process unfortunately tarnished the potential outcome of this policy.”
前紐約州民主黨執(zhí)行主任史米克(Basil A. Smikle Jr.)表示，“他競選市長時說，他可以打開政治參與和社區(qū)參與的途徑，”——以一種前任市長邁克爾·布隆伯格(Michael Bloomberg)未能做到的方式——“但有時候，過程和結(jié)果同樣重要，不幸的是，這一次的過程玷污了這項政策的潛在成果。”
