Brother Lu: Hello! Thank you for the beautiful greeting card.In addition to the Chinese New Year congratulations on the Spring Festival, your greeting card also included this sentence, let me not forget to continue to write the letter introducing the United States to you in the new year after I finish writing those letters introducing the US election last year .You say that waiting and reading these letters has become one of the little pleasures of your life.I also hope not to disappoint you. I think, in the United States, compared with the past 1996, 1997 should be a relatively quiet year.Once the result of the presidential election is determined, the whole of the United States is like the ocean after the storm, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", "Human, too human, sailors take their places.The noise and tension were all gone.This is of course one of the characteristics of direct elections in this country.Since the waves formed by every drop of sea water play such a key role in the choice of "carrying the boat back to the boat", then of course, in a general election, both parties must try their best to stir up every drop of water.This is very natural.

Likewise, the swift calm thereafter was natural.One of the most direct by-products of politicians' efforts to influence every voter in the general election is to increase the country's political transparency and openness.After the common people have made their choices, the task of the politicians is to take office and work well.Regardless of whether they are elected or not, they will strive to leave a good impression on the voters in the next few years, so as to facilitate the next election.In a society with high political transparency, small actions such as forming cliques secretly, expanding personal power, and stumbling opponents are no longer compulsory courses for politicians.If any politician wants to try his hand in this area occasionally to gain additional benefits, it will be difficult to escape the result of being fined out like Nixon.

Therefore, since the founding of the United States, dozens of general elections have come over more than two hundred years.People have become completely accustomed to such periodic political operations involving the participation of the whole people.At the opening of the general election, we watched the show and judged it, and we chose the best star together.Once the curtain falls, life goes on as usual.Although, as I mentioned in my letter last year, after President Clinton was re-elected this year, there are still a series of unresolved unresolved issues such as whether he illegally raised funds in the general election, and he himself faces a civil lawsuit for sexual harassment.However, after the practice of Nixon's "Watergate Incident", the operation of all relevant supervisory and investigation agencies has fully matured.The common people in the United States know that the entire investigation will be carried out in the legislative and judicial branches immediately and openly, and a conclusion will naturally come out.Therefore, this does not affect the United States in 1997 after the general election. Just like the previous presidents took office, the whole society will quickly return to tranquility.

You may ask: So, in what is expected to be a quiet year, what theme will I use as my entry point to introduce you to America?I wanted to try the question of race in America that you've asked so many times. Race is arguably one of the biggest problems in America.Of course I also know that you are very concerned about this issue.But, despite what I have said in previous letters, I have largely avoided touching on the subject.Its complexity makes it a very "difficult" topic.Prompting me to face it, one of the important reasons is obviously its "unavoidable".If I were to introduce you to America, it would be impossible to avoid the subject.Furthermore, although my letter to you last year focused on introducing the U.S. general election, at the same time, a discussion on "whether affirmative action should be abolished" is going on in the United States, and the core of it is the issue of race.The importance of this discussion can be said to be no less important than the "presidential election".However, for me to really have an impulse to dive into racial issues, this still has to start with our trip to Sevannah.

In addition to the general election in the United States last year, there was actually a "100-year Olympics" there to join in the fun.However, in the letters I wrote to you last year, I hardly mentioned it.Because apart from the host city of the Olympic Games, Americans are not very interested in the Olympic Games, and it has almost no impact on American life.But the Olympics did bring many tourists to Georgia, a traditionally quiet southern state.It also gave the city of Atlanta a shot in the arm.Many people in this city once mistakenly thought that it was really just like the slogan they put forward, that they could immediately become "internationalized" because of this Olympic Games.

It is true that compared with many other countries in the world, the large cities of the United States can be regarded as sufficiently "international" due to their large floating immigrant population.This makes it difficult for some short-term visitors to the United States to perceive the essential differences between these cities and regions.However, Americans themselves know that there is actually a big difference between them.Even in the United States today where transportation is so developed and information is transmitted so quickly, if you go deeper, you will find that the north is the north and the south is the south.

The Atlanta Olympics had an impact on our lives last year.We have lived quietly in the countryside for many years, and for the first time we became amateur guides for several groups of visitors.Although not everyone comes here for the Olympics, it is precisely because of this "100-year Olympics" that the venue of the Olympics has become a must-see.As a result, within a short period of one year, for the first time, we collected so much leisure and leisure, and wandered leisurely in the big cities and small towns in the southern United States.Stepping on the stone streets that have been smoothed by the years, listening to the moving jazz played by the old black street musicians.

On the last day of 1996, we came to Sevana again with visiting friends.This is the fifth time we have come to this small port town in the south this year.The visitors this time are old friends whom we have not seen for nine years, a pair of Australian architects. They had put the small town of Sevanna in their itinerary early on, and they called on them to come here because they had heard of this historical small town in the southern United States when they were far away in Australia.One of the reasons why this small town is famous is that it was one of the few "survivors" in Georgia in the American Civil War and was not burned by the flames of war.Therefore, in the short history of the United States, it is very precious.The architecture here is very distinctive, and you can almost read the history of the American South in those houses, courtyards, cemeteries and churches over and over again.

There is also a Pulaski Castle on the outskirts of Sevannah.This is the third time we have visited this castle this year.For some reason, I want to take another look at the earth-red war building, cross its moat again, and stand on its thick wall.Although there are many large and small castle ruins here, the scale of Pulaski Castle is relatively large.In general, tourists seldom go around behind it. Every time we go, we have to walk around the outer wall outside the moat. In one corner, the wall is still full of bullet marks. After that, we came to the riverside of the Sevannah River. This small street by the river is the most historic.I don’t know when the stone paved street was uneven. One side of the narrow street is some traditional shops, and the other side is the river embankment.The most surprising thing is that there are two railway tracks paved in the middle of this old small street, which looks like the abandoned old train track of the old pier.However, with the sound of a siren, a train actually came in slowly and filled the whole street.It turns out that this port transportation line connected with the vicissitudes of life has not stopped using for many years.

Beneath the embankment, the Sevanna River flows quietly.This large southern port where we often see Chinese container ships today was not only an important port for imported slaves in the south.It is also the place where the last recorded black slaves in the United States came ashore.After that, the fall of Savannah meant that Georgia, the most stubborn slave-holding state in the south, was conquered.This also had its symbolic significance in the process of ending slavery. On the last day of 1996, when the sun was setting, we came here again.The water waves are golden.Even the usually dark street stones were covered with a layer of golden red luster.We are already very familiar with everything here.Therefore, it is no longer necessary to find the best angle for taking pictures like the previous two visits.We let the guests visit at will. All we need is to stand at the transition point of the two AD years, and stand in the silence of the south where the historical turmoil has gone away, to feel something.At this time, I thought, I should really write about the South and the North in American history, about their conflicts and wars around racial issues, and even the unresolved racial grievances.

However, you must also notice that although I have the urge to touch this topic, the complexity and difficulty of this topic have not been reduced at all.The issue of race is a problem that countless politicians, social activists, sociologists, scholars and other people with lofty ideals have tried to solve in the North American continent for hundreds of years.However, it seems that no one has any cure for the disease.Not only that, but people have found that with the development of modern society, the increase of immigrants, and the rapid changes of various modern concepts, there are more and more clues to racial issues, and the beginning and end of the line seem to be unclear.This state of chaos makes everyone who touches this issue somewhat frustrated.Some people even lose confidence because of it. But, I think, writing to you to talk about these issues, I can be more relaxed, without too much psychological burden.Because you know us well.You know I'm just one of the countless ordinary immigrants living here, and up to now, making a living has always been our primary concern.So, you don't expect us to issue incisive analysis like experts and scholars, or far-sighted grand theories.What you want to see is just some of the experiences we feel as a member of the minority in the United States, and the different perspectives we may have as a new immigrant with sensitive eyes.If the problem is complicated, then I think I will have achieved my purpose simply by making you understand where it is complicated. The racial issue in the United States is indeed complex, and it is entirely possible to be violent.The riots in Los Angeles five years ago can be said to be a microcosm.Not long after we came here, we, along with all Americans, were struck by the greatest violence in the United States in 25 years. This riot in the American metropolis, which was compared to an "earthquake", was caused by a seemingly trivial incident of drunken speeding. Such traffic incidents, not to mention in the United States, even in a metropolis like Los Angeles, do not know how many times a year there will be.Therefore, on March 3, 1991, when four white police officers from the Los Angeles Police Department spotted a speeding car on Route 210 and followed it with their lights on as usual, they must have never dreamed that they themselves , and the speeding driver being chased, the black youth named Lodney King, have all stepped into a historical trap since then.Whether they like it or not, their names will forever be associated with a city riot that shocked the world and will be written into the textbooks of American history. It was already past midnight.A car came across this Route 210 by accident.The driver noticed that four white policemen were beating a black man in front of the strong headlights on the side of the dark road.The passer-by was not a news reporter, and he thought of picking up the camera that happened to be carried on the car and aiming at what he saw. As a result, this short 83-second video not only became one of the most sensational news videos in the United States, but also appeared on television screens all over the world many times.Until today, six years later, we still see this video on TV from time to time.We believe that in the years to come, this video will often appear in various special TV programs in the United States, for example, discussing judicial justice, discussing police authority, and so on.Of course, more of them appear on TV programs that discuss racial issues. In fact, the occurrence of the riots in Los Angeles has been a full year after the above incident.During this year, Americans have repeatedly seen this video on TV and are waiting.What are they waiting for?After the beating incident, the four white police officers were charged with the criminal offense of assault and tried in the district court.What people are waiting for is the result of this trial. What happened next, you immediately saw the report on TV in China. On the afternoon of April 29, 1992, the predominantly white jury announced their verdict of "not guilty" of the four police defendants.That night, riots broke out in Los Angeles, which lasted for dozens of hours.At the same time, in the southern city of Atlanta, where the 1996 Olympic Games was held, similar riots occurred on a smaller scale, but the impact was much smaller. The scale of the riots in Los Angeles, I believe you must have been deeply impressed even if you are far away across the ocean.I remember that at that time, you and our other relatives and friends in China wrote to express concern about our safety. It can be seen that in a sense, the distances around the world have been greatly shortened today.Here, I would like to emphasize a few simple figures to prove that what you saw on the Chinese TV news at that time was indeed true. In the tens of hours of the Los Angeles riots, more than 50 people were killed, more than 2,000 were injured, more than 1,000 buildings were burned down, and the economic loss was around one billion dollars. I think you must have already made a very logical judgment.That is, the white police took the opportunity to beat the black people out of racial discrimination, and the jurors, who were mainly white, ignored the police crime facts reflected in the video, deliberately favored the white police officers, and declared them not guilty of the crime.As a result, the unbearable black people rose up to resist.Therefore, the Los Angeles riots clearly reflected the status quo of racial confrontation in American society with whites and blacks as the main contradiction.All I can say is that your judgment is only partially correct. The information you get is brief, and the inferences appear clear.However, just like many things in the world, when the facts are simplified, the seemingly clear conclusions sometimes blur the true face of the event, and even distort the meaning and lessons reflected in the event.In 1995, when I first wrote these letters introducing the United States to you, I briefly mentioned the Los Angeles riots, and I also mentioned that it was not so simple, and it was not something that people could easily see with a glance from a distance. concluded.It involves various issues at all levels of American society, and racial issues are inextricably intertwined with other issues. Let us go back to the starting point of this incident, back to the case that happened on Route 210 in Los Angeles in 1991.Look at what kind of defense evidence was used by the jury composed of 10 whites, one Asian, and one Latino during the investigation and trial for more than a year after that. After the videotape of the evidence, the unanimous conclusion of "the defendant is not guilty" will still be reached.Or, by inference, were the twelve of them simply "racists"? That's what the jurors saw.At midnight on the night of the crime, when four police officers spotted the speeding car, it was traveling at one hundred miles per hour (equivalent to one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour). In 1991, the highest highway speed limit in the United States was Sixty-five miles. In the United States, it should be said that speeding is quite common, and the police are also quite strict about speeding. However, even those who often drive fast with luck will admit that 1 hour per hour A hundred miles is pretty outrageous. It is often said that America is a dangerous place.In a recent poll, an overwhelming majority of Americans said their lives looked far less safe now than in the past, and that’s exactly how we feel here.And this sense of insecurity, everyone basically refers to the dangers brought about by the large traffic flow and fast speed of road driving. Let me give you another example about driving.When I first arrived in the United States, my friend who came a few years earlier than me gave me this kind of advice in the first phone call: first, learn to drive as soon as possible; second, when the person who teaches you to drive does not sit by and supervise , under no circumstances should you drive yourself out to practice driving.He added that otherwise, you could be charged with murder if something goes wrong.The first one is easy to understand, what about the second one?I was very confused at the time. Later I learned that according to the law of the United States, those who hold a learner driver's license are still in the learning stage.In order to drive safely, you must go out to practice driving under the supervision of a driver who has held a full-scale driver's license for more than one year.Otherwise, in the event of a car accident causing casualties, the offender must face murder charges.But why murder?Murder is a legal definition here, which is somewhat different from our common understanding.According to the law of the United States, if you know that a certain action of yours may endanger the lives of others, but you still do it illegally, then once an accident occurs, the consequences you will bear are within the legal scope of "murder".By the same token, if you drive while intoxicated and cause casualties, you are also facing the crime of murder. The reason why I mentioned these "digressions" to you is mainly to let you have some understanding of the concept of "severely speeding after drinking alcohol".However, the case of Lodney King is more than just this dangerous driving violation. At that time, after the police used the speedometer to detect a speeding of 100 miles, of course they didn't know that he was driving under the influence of alcohol. They just turned on the police lights as usual and followed him.Here, anyone who sees lights flashing behind them knows they have to change lanes in the direction of the slow lane to give way to the police cars.If you find that the police car is changing lanes with you and continues to flash its lights, it means that it is coming towards you and you must give way to the side of the road to stop immediately.This is the common sense of life in the "doing" part of American life.Stopping is also a problem of dealing with traffic violations.He kept trying to escape and resist arrest, and if he was caught, he would be charged with a serious crime.Besides, police cars are good cars, and they have the speeding right to catch fugitives given by the law. In fact, it is very difficult to escape.Therefore, under normal circumstances, most people would never make the choice of "escape". So is there anyone else escaping?There are still.The vast majority of these cases are people who cannot "face to face" with the police.For example, if he is a wanted criminal, or if he has a case, it is uncertain whether the police have already grasped his situation.Because there are computers in the police cars, after the police stop the illegal vehicle, they first ask for a driver's license, enter the license number into the computer system, and check the case history.However, even some people who are afraid of investigating the case do not all choose to "escape".Because my mind is a little clearer, I know there is still a problem that cannot be escaped. "Escape" and "can't escape", wouldn't it be a crime in vain.Therefore, those who really made up their minds to escape were usually desperadoes with serious crimes, or reckless guys with a clear mind. What's more, if you are chasing by the police and fleeing on the road, whether you are escaping, chasing, or other vehicles on the same road section, there is a great danger to your life.It is conceivable that at this time, it is not just a matter of speed, any traffic rules will be ignored.Our friend Karin once encountered a speed chase by police and robbers against the direction of traffic on the road leading to the airport.Afterwards, when I mentioned it, I was always terrified, and always felt that I had chosen my life. But at that midnight, I don't know if the alcohol was at work, so Lodney King chose to escape.He was already traveling at a speed of one hundred miles, but when he escaped again, it was even more difficult to catch up, and his speed once reached one hundred and fifteen miles per hour.It was this escape that not only changed the nature of illegal driving, but also strongly stimulated the nerves of the four policemen, putting them in a state of first-level combat readiness.From experience, they know they may be in a very dangerous situation.This danger, in addition to the car accident that may be encountered by speeding chase, also includes the possibility of a desperado with a gun in front.However, those who escape can have the consideration of "fleeing" or "not fleeing", but the job duties of the police make them have no choice of "chasing" or "not chasing".They went from being unprepared to level one combat readiness, and suddenly sounded the alarm with high nervousness and chased after them at high speed. The blaring alarm didn't seem to have any effect either.This chase, the whole chase went out for several miles.After that, Lodney King was forced to stop because he couldn't beat the speed of the police car.The initial stage after parking is the most tense.In the United States, when the police are in confrontation with someone, the law requires civilians to first obey the police's instructions, so that the very dangerous and highly tense confrontation between the two parties can be eased as soon as possible.Police orders in this case are also standardized.For example, ask to turn your back to the police, put your hands on the roof of the car or the back of your head, or even ask to get down. Here it is agreed that it is in the interest of both parties to require the civilian side to obey these instructions in such circumstances.Because the behavior of the police is regulated and predictable, but the reaction of the other party is difficult to predict.If the party being chased does not immediately follow the instructions of the police, but instead takes some actions of resistance, the police may make excessive judgments and reactions to the dangers they may encounter in a highly tense situation.In this way, even some incidents that should not have been dangerous can cause injury. Because, in such a situation, the police have the right to shoot.There was also a video collection of similar car chases in California, which was shown on TV.The whole thing was filmed from a helicopter.If the final outcome of these cases was resistance, most of them resulted in shootings.Those who resisted died because of this.No objection was raised.Because the behavior of the police is within the scope of the law. In Lodney King's case, after being forced to stop after several miles of high-speed car chase, he got out of the car, but did not obey any orders from the police, did not do any actions requested by the police, and continued to laugh at the several police officers. Police surrounded him with guns.Legally, he was resisting arrest.So the police rushed up and tried to subdue him with batons.As mentioned earlier, the situation of resisting arrest is extremely dangerous.Resisting arrest shows an attitude, and the psychological level of police prevention is also different.If he resisted more, if he showed some actions that may misunderstand the police, the police in the state of preparation may shoot for the purpose of self-defense.Moreover, it is difficult for the law to hold the police accountable if they resist arrest first.Fortunately, such a situation did not happen to Lodney King. After that, it was the baton beating that everyone had seen on TV.These stories happened above, Lodney.Kim himself didn't deny it either.In addition to the above-mentioned facts, the lawyers of the four police defendants also pointed out to the jury that if Lodney King did not resist arrest after getting out of the car, all this would not have happened, and he can suspend these police forces at any time at his own will. the act of arrest.If only he had obeyed the police's instructions according to the law, it would have been over long ago.The lawyer emphasized that the beatings that occurred were only the consequences of resisting arrest. When the police resisted arrest, they had no choice but to perform their duties.To prove that the four police defendants did not attack Lodney King with racial malice.The defendant's lawyer even presented such strong evidence to the jury that there were actually three people in the car fleeing at high speed in the dark at that time.The other two people were completely unharmed and did not suffer any blows because they followed the police's instructions as soon as they got out of the car, and the two arrested people were also black. So, is it legal for police officers to use batons if they resist arrest?Should say yes.As a very special law enforcer like the police, he has many privileges that others do not have.For example, when a dangerous suspect resists arrest or violently resists arrest, the police can use batons or even shoot.Because we all know that the work of the police is a high-risk job, and he also has the right to protect himself given by the law.Moreover, no one will deny that the use of force is sometimes the only effective way to subdue the opponent.However, the question was not resolved.In that 83-second video tape, we can clearly see that Lodney King has lost his ability to resist after being beaten.This raises the question of whether the use of force is excessive. However, you must not have imagined that this same video tape also became the defense evidence used by the lawyers of the four defendants to prove their innocence to the jury in court.How is this possible?Defendants' attorneys did just that.This 83-second video tape was cut and cut by the defense lawyer again and again.At the stop after a beating, the defense lawyer pointed out to the jury that on the stop frame, it was clear that Lodney King was standing up, or trying to stand up.At the same time, testimony from the defense proved that while trying to stand up, he even tried to fight back with his feet. In the middle of the footage, there is a frame stop that shows him fully lying on the ground, but at this point the officers on the screen are not moving, and one officer's hands are in his pockets, which he explained in court. When they thought the suspect had been subdued, they stopped hitting and he was about to take the handcuffs from his pockets.This shows that the purpose of their attack is only to try to subdue the suspect.However, a freeze frame in the next segment of the videotape showed the suspect trying to stand up again, which the lawyer argued was the cause of the police beatings again.Defense witnesses also testified that Lodney King, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds, is exceptionally strong. He was still unable to be subdued after two electric shocks with a 5,000-volt electric baton. However, the jurors were, after all, ordinary Americans.In America today, there is nothing more disgusting to the normal civilian than a bloody shot of violence against an innocent person.What's more, the perpetrator is a government employee who is an armed policeman, and the victim is an unarmed civilian.Therefore, with such a videotape in advance, it is very difficult for the defense to make the 12 jurors unanimously agree that such bloody violence is just a "working state". Therefore, a large part of the work of the defendant's lawyer is to introduce the police to the jury, especially the police officers on duty in a metropolis like Los Angeles, the dangers and peculiarities of their work. Speaking of the police in the United States, this is another very complicated topic.The face of the American police is very different.Apart from the factors of personal quality, this difference in appearance is often regional.I once told you that the vast majority of America is quiet and peaceful.Not to mention the countryside, the police in those small and medium-sized cities often give you the feeling of "Uncle Lei Feng".In these places, the police is actually divided into two parts.There are not many serious and authentic police officers, and more are local security police.They also wear police uniforms, which use a completely different word in English.These local security police are all voted by the local people, and they pay special attention to building a good relationship with the community residents. I once saw such a personal experience written by someone in the newspaper.It is said that when he first arrived in the United States, he traveled with an American friend.However, due to negligence, I didn't refuel in time, and when I drove to a place where there was no village or shop behind, the car ran out of gas and turned off.Just then, a policeman happened to pass by.When they went up to ask for help, the policeman said very sorry that he really had other duties and could not help, so he asked them to find another way, and his attitude was very sincere.He looked blameless.Unexpectedly, his American friends were furious when they heard about it.He told the police, how can you take taxpayers' money and not solve the difficulties for ordinary people.The cop apologized hastily, dropped his duties, managed to find the oil jug, got a jug of oil, and gave them directions so they could keep driving to the nearest gas station. In most parts of America, this master-servant relationship is fairly clear.We are also in various places in the United States, and for various reasons, we have had the experience of dealing with the police and receiving help from the police, and it feels good.Sometimes it even moves us quite a bit.In these places, a law-abiding citizen sees no reason why he must fear the police, or hate them.Especially for many new immigrants, when they first arrived here, they were even more impressed by the good relationship between the police and the people here. However, we soon learned that, in fact, the appearance of the police corresponds to the security situation in the area.The first time we talked to an American friend about our good impression of the American police, she immediately told us that it is completely different in some metropolises.She has lived in a big city, where she feels the police are quite "snobby".She herself is a standard white person. Although she is an immigrant, she is very fluent in English and has no foreign accent at all.Therefore, her accusation of police "snobbery" does not include the scope of "racial discrimination" and "immigrant discrimination". She refers to "poor discrimination".When she was living in the metropolis, she was at the bottom.So she said that she always felt that the police were full of vigilance against them and worried about whether they were criminals, which made her feel very uncomfortable. Indeed, after we have lived here for a long time and have been exposed to life in big cities, we have a deeper understanding of this completely different appearance of American police.Many Americans shake their heads at the metropolitan police, especially those in New York City and Los Angeles, which are the most notorious.At the same time, it is also admitted that these metropolitan policemen undertake the roughest work, which is very dangerous and difficult. We visited a small city recently and saw a local vigilante chatting peacefully with a woman.When the woman left, he tried to pick up a half-empty Coke can from the floor.Because he had a big beer belly, he bent down almost very hard, and barely reached the jar.We saw it, and couldn't help laughing: We can imagine how good the law and order in this place is.If law and order were poor, how could voters choose him as a policeman if he was so inconvenient! In the metropolis it is completely different and the situation can become very complicated.For example, I once told you that the huge floating immigrant population will always be a big background of the American story.Just in 1996, the US Immigration Service deported 110,000 illegal immigrants, including more than 50,000 criminals. (Remember that in the letter to you two years ago, I introduced the statistics for 1994, when the number of illegal immigrants deported was only 44,000).This does not include the 78,000 illegal immigrants who chose to leave the country automatically when facing deportation.According to USCIS estimates, in 1996, although 1.3 million people were successfully blocked at the border, 275,000 illegal immigrants entered the United States.There are about five million illegal immigrants still in the United States. Among the 110,000 deported illegal immigrants, California, where Los Angeles is located, accounted for 41% of the total, reaching 46,000.I believe that Los Angeles, as the largest city in the state, must account for a large part of this number.No matter how well-manned the Los Angeles Police Department is, it is no match for such a "mobile army" with such a high crime rate.What's more, these figures are only the deported illegal immigrants and the criminals among them, so, what about those who have not been deported?Who didn't get caught?What about criminals among legal immigrants?What about homegrown criminals? American metropolises are also very large geographically.The same city has different faces.What people are referring to are several well-known "problem areas".Most of the large numbers of criminals who are often on the move will be concentrated in these "problem areas".The police officers on duty there are dangerous, mentally stressed, and have a high rate of casualties on duty.Working in a state where "enemy situations" may appear all the time, what kind of appearance do you expect him to have?After the Los Angeles riots, the city's police chief published an article in which he said he believed the Los Angeles police were among the best in the world, but that they were "not perfect."In such a work environment, jurors or not will admit that they are almost impossible to be perfect. 在这种情况下，要向说服陪审员理解洛杉矶警察工作的艰难危险，可以提供的实例证据真是太多了。被告律师向陪审团举了大量实例，说明不仅一般来讲，洛杉矶警察是一个高伤亡率的危险工作，而且在完全类似于洛德尼.金的事件里，警察的处境也是危险的，是有可能被伤害，甚至送命的。这一点也很好理解。不要说截下来的罪犯有的是拔枪拔刀的，就是飞车截拦造成连环车祸也是常有的事。在追截中，当一辆辆警车象好莱坞电影中那样翻滚出去，难道你指望警察还能一个个利利索索地再从里面爬出来吗？ 被告律师进一步向陪审团指出，这种职业危险造成的结果是什么？首先，它造成了警察职业性的神经紧张。在这种紧张状态下，在常人看来已经完全解除了危险的一个嫌疑犯，警察依据他们的经验，从他们眼中看出去，完全可能仍然还是危险的。因此对于拒捕者，不到彻底制服，他们就不会放心。被告律师认为，这种职业危险更重要的一个后果就是，政府为了减少警察的伤亡，也为了有效地制服罪犯，对于警察都有一套使用暴力的职业训练。例如，如何使用枪支，如果用警棍对付非常危险的对手，如果在仅仅导致疼痛的攻击不起作用的时候，如何造成骨折，以达到彻底制服的目的。所以，在这些来自平民的陪审员眼里显得无法接受的暴力场面，对于警察，只是他们执行公务的常规作业的一部分。 对于警察的职业性精神紧张和特殊训练所造成的后果，我们的生活中也有一些体会。我们的朋友达尼拉的汽车后面，有一条粘贴的标语。这在美国非常普遍，有的人是用一条标语表达一种看法，有的人只是开一个玩笑。她的标语内容非常少见，是支持警察工作的。后来我们才知道，这是当地警察家属协会印制的。达尼拉是这个协会的成员，她的丈夫杰米是一个警察。后来，我们和杰米也成了好朋友，看上去和常人没什么两样。但是后来发生的一件事使我们意识到，他在心理上是和大家不一样的。 这里的人一般上门拜访之前都会打电话通知。但是，在传统安静的小城镇，也偶有非常熟悉的近邻直接上门借东西的，当然一般至少会敲门，直接开门闯入的很少。遇到这种情况，如果主人感觉被打搅了，至多是有些不高兴。但是，杰米在一次这样的邻居突然拜访时，门一开他差不多是条件反射般立即就拔枪对准了来访者。这几乎吓坏了所有的人。不仅是这位来访的邻居和达尼拉饱受惊吓，事后他自己也感到吓了一跳。要知道，杰米所生活和执勤的大学城，还是一个公认治安相当好的地方。但是，不论是在精神上，还是在现实生活里，他作为警察毕竟在面对一个与众不同的世界。他所受到的职业训练也已经成为他的本能的一部分。 还有一次，我们在夜半行车的时候被警察截下查问，当时需要打开车内的顶灯，可是开关坏了。我就自然地拉开一点车门，因为车门的开启可以带动顶灯的自动开关。这时，警察虽然对我们依然很礼貌，但他坚持要求我们把门关严。我们照办了他才敢接近。后来我们问了杰米才知道，在他们的训练指示中有这么一条，要防止攻击性的车门撞击。猛然打开的车门，是罪犯常用的“武器”。他还告诉我们，即使在公路上拦下一辆看上去很正常的车，警察实际上也是很紧张的，尤其是在夜间。从警察的眼里看出来，什么都可能发生。 我们再回到法庭上。我之所以给你介绍这些，是让你理解，在法庭上，陪审团所面对的证据不仅仅如那段83秒钟的录像带那么简单。同时，陪审团所经历的判断也比你所想象的要复杂难断得多。 陪审团在法庭上除了检方的证据之外，他们从辩方证据中得到的是什么事实和印象呢？第一，洛德尼.金在案发那天晚上的行为，使警察有充分的理由认为他可能是一个极其危险的犯罪份子。第二，他自始自终拒捕，因此警方有充分理由根据他们的专业训练，以武力制服他。所以，警察攻击行为中，至少前面的一部分是无可指摘的。第三，没有充分证据证明警察的攻击是蓄意出自种族歧视。唯一有争执的部分，是这场攻击的最后阶段是否必要，是否是滥用权力。 这最后一段是对辩方不利的。但是，你可以看到，这么一分析以后，一个原来看上去是铁证如山的大案件，已经面目全非。不仅案情的规模缩小，它的性质似乎也有所改变。至少，已经变得可以探讨，而且是技术性的细节探讨。 现在，摆在陪审团面前，最终剩下的问题就是，如何看待这段83秒录象的最后一段。根据检方的指控，这时洛德尼.金已经失去反抗能力，警察已经完全没有理由再度攻击。根据辩方律师的辩护，从录象最后一部分停格的画面看，洛德尼.金依然没有遵从警方指令去做就范的规定动作，仍在试图起来，所以警察有理由继续以武力将他“彻底制服”。 这个案子和我们以前介绍过的辛普森案一样，同样属于刑事诉讼。也就是说，它是由当地政府的检察官向四名被告起诉。我们在辛普森案中已经介绍过，在美国的刑事诉讼中，为了防止政府陷害平民，因此，依据美国的宪法修正案，必须充分保障被告的公民权利。要求陪审团对待检方证据的要求是非常严格的。这些证据必须是确凿的，完全超越合理的怀疑的。而辩方却不用提出铁证去证明被告肯定无罪，他们只需提供充分疑点，证明检方的证据是有疑问的。在刑事诉讼中，对于检辩双方的证据的要求是不一样的。 在刑事诉讼中对于证据这样的法律要求之下，只要是证据具有争议性，陪审团就已经有理由宣判被告“罪名不成立”了。 不知你是否注意到，这个案子是比较特别的。它的被告是四名执法的警察。法律倾向于保护被告权利的条文，这时看上去反而是帮了警察局这样的政府执法机构的忙。陪审员也一定感到十分困惑。于是，辩方律师还必须使陪审团走出这样的困惑。辩方律师尽量使得陪审员相信，这些警察并不是恶魔，他们也是平常人，只是他们找了一个危险的工作而已。他们冒着危险去做一些常人不愿意做的事情，最终是为了保护平民不受到犯罪分子的伤害，如果他们在高度紧张地制服罪犯的过程中，有了一些有争议的举动，就要因此被判有罪入狱失去自由的话，那么，他们的公正待遇又在哪里呢？ 最终，陪审团就这样被辩护律师提供的证据证词所说服了。他们至少认为这段83秒钟录像带所反映的四名警察的行为，并不能铁定就确认为是违法攻击。我已经说过，在刑事诉讼中，这样的结论已经足以使陪审团判定被告“罪名不成立”了。 必须说明的是，这并不代表我的看法。我只是想通过这些介绍，让你了解事情的复杂性。 就像其它的案件审理一样，结束之后陪审员就回家了。他们中的大部分人愿意出来谈论他们经历的审理，但是也会有一些人愿意接受记者的采访。我记得在这个案子之后，有一名陪审员回答了记者的这样一个问题：你在作出这个判定之后，你是否觉得自己可以在晚上良心安宁地睡着？他回答说：是的。我也相信，也许是全部，至少是绝大多数的陪审员，相信自己是依照证据，依照法律，同时也是凭着良心作出了这样的判断的。 但是，我想这些陪审员回家后的第一个晚上，就无法入睡了。宣判后只有几个小时，暴力行为就开始发生，而且迅速蔓延开来，到了夜晚已经是烽烟四起了。 暴乱主要发生在洛杉矶的中南区，这正是洛杉矶的一个“问题区”。大量的少数族裔在那里居住。没有人否认，这场暴乱的起因是这场审判的结果。但是，却几乎没有人简单地因此就推断，这是一场黑人反抗白人的暴动。甚至，事件至今已经整整五年过去了，人们觉得，还是很难给这场暴乱的性质下一个准确的结论。why?让我们再来看一看这场暴乱。 这场暴乱的激烈和混乱程度，使人们至今还觉得不堪回首。一开始，只是有一些黑人孩子向过路的汽车扔酒瓶。然后，就有人截下了两个白人的汽车，把他们拖出来殴打。然后，一架直升飞机的现场拍摄和电视直播，致使在全美国的众目睽睽之下，一个36岁名叫奥立佛.丹尼的司机，被拖出他所驾驶的集装箱卡车，五个人不仅围殴他，并且用灭火机砸他的头，企图致他于死地。最后，居然还不忘偷走了他的钱包。 泄愤的殴打，在不少地方发展成为由帮派少年参与的肆意谋杀。那天晚上，一名记者的车就被一群帮派的黑人少年拦下，他们不仅砸他的车，还试图把他拖下车去。当时他还系着安全带，一个少年拖了几把拖不下来，不耐烦了，掏出抢就给了他三枪。 而且，人们惊奇地看到，理应是愤怒的场景似乎很快变成了一场狂欢。有在大火前跳舞的，更普遍的却是人们发现了抢劫的乐趣。于是，记者所拍到的已经不再是愤怒的脸庞。镜头所拍摄到的那些提着大包小包从超级市场破损的大门里出来的人，一个个都是乐呵呵的。在整个暴乱造成的非正常死亡中，甚至还包括两男一女坐在一辆不知是偷来还是抢来的车里，然后当场享受超速飙车，造成翻车死亡。 说是“暴动”，但是没有任何组织，全是一些散民，里面还有大量的所谓帮派青少年。从愤怒地砸汽车，砸政府机构的玻璃开始，直至人身攻击，纵火，对各种商店全面抢劫，造成大规模的破坏和伤害。这场暴乱之后，有五千人被控各种刑事犯罪。此时，人们才发现，这被控罪的五千人中，有一半以上竟然是西班牙裔。当清理财产损失的时候，人们更是惊讶地发现，有近一半因烧掠而受到损失的，是与这场审判的种族纠葛毫不相干的朝鲜裔居民。然后，通过各方面的访问和调查，完全有理由相信，有相当一部分的黑人对亚裔的不满甚至敌意由来已久，这次受到攻击并不是偶然的“误伤”。 还有，这个中南区是黑人集聚的地区，当然有大量黑人住宅，也有相当数量黑人经营的企业店铺。大火一起，无法控制，也就有黑人住宅受到波及的情况。但是，在普遍的放火和抢掠中，尽管黑人经营的企业店铺纷纷挂出“黑人经营”的牌子，以期使自己可以区别于白人或亚裔，求得免于烧掠的下场。但是，根据调查，这样的标志，在大多数情况下，不起任何作用。他们肤色相同的同胞，并不因此“手下留情”。 面对这样的一团混乱，人们怎么能轻易就给这场暴乱贴一个“反抗”的标签，认定它就是“黑人争取种族平等的斗争”或者是“阶级斗争”呢？ 从这场暴乱开始，直至暴乱之后很久，无数黑人都为此感到沮丧。他们和许多其他族裔的人都看到，有一点是很清楚的，黑人在这场暴乱中被事件本身进一步公开分裂。黑人当然并不都是暴力的参与和支持者。刚才我们提到的那名集装箱卡车司机，生命处于极度危险的情况下。一名素不相识的宇航工程师在电视中看到后，冒着生命危险开着自己的车赶到现场。他是在三名黑人的帮助之下，才得以把重伤濒临死亡的司机救出，并且送往医院的。我们前面提到的那名被射了三枪的记者，也是在一个黑人家庭的电话求救和帮助下，才得以死里逃生。还有许多对审判结果不满的黑人，在审判之后聚集在他们的教堂里，举行和平的抗议集会。并且在暴力发生时祈祷和平。 这一案件比较特殊的地方还在于，四名警察虽然在地方检察官的控告中被判罪名不成立，但是，这次控告依据的是属于州法部分的刑责。与此同时，联邦政府的检察官，还认为有充分理由控告他们触犯了属于联邦法范围的民权法，就是他们作为政府执法人员，由于执法过度，侵犯了洛德尼.金的公民权利。所以，在联邦法庭立即又展开了另一场审理。 又经过将近整整一年的审理，联邦法庭的陪审团得出了四名警察中两名违反联邦民权法有罪，另外两名无罪的结论。这个结论似乎使大多数的人都感到满意。宣判之后，森严戒备的洛杉矶警察都松了一口气。历史的一页似乎就这样翻过去了。 然而，凡是支付了高昂代价的历史事件，都不应该只是一道一抬脚就能跨过去的历史门槛。如果人们至多是象被绊了一跤，掸掸尘土，头也不回地就奔向前去，连一点真正的教训都没有得到，那么人类所付出的生命，鲜血，尊严，不是太轻贱了吗？在这里，大家都认为，这么大的事件显然不应该简简单单地就被时间的河流冲刷干净。但是看来，迄今为止五年的不断反省，还不足以使人们完全找到答案。不论是亲历这场灾难的平民百姓，还是以这一事件为主题撰写论文的专家学者，都一次次地发现，各种因素纠葛太深。而当人们想去理出教训的时候，又很难完全脱开自身的局限性。我们看到，每一个人，都有自己所属的种族，阶层，经历，等等，每一个人，都有自己的局限性。 今天的洛杉矶中南区，依旧可以看到许多焦黑的五年前的废墟。尽管事件之后，联邦政府投入了九亿美元的资金，可是依然不能使这一地区在这五年内完全复元。因为这里的店铺和中小企业都是私营的。经历了这样一场风暴之后，许多业主对这个地区不再有安全感而选择离去。一名店主对记者说，“我是黑人，我以此自豪。我也爱我的黑人同胞。可我也是一名业主，我还必须养家。我永远不会再回到这里。”黑人业者尚且如此，其他人的疑惧更可想而知了。看着那些废墟，宛如一座座黑色的纪念碑，它们向人们在诉说些什么呢？ 好了，我似乎今天应该在这里打住了。在这封信里，我只希望你在开始了解美国种族问题的时候，对问题的复杂性和解决这个问题的艰巨性，有一个最初的概念。对于这个问题，最大的“杀手”莫过于“简单化”了。 对于我们来说，在看到美国这样一个种族纷杂的浓缩小世界的时候，也终于认识到，美国在长期的种族矛盾中所反映出来的问题，不仅是身置其中的我们无法彻底持一个袖手旁观的态度，就是对于你和所有美国之外的人们，也无法完全以隔岸观火的轻松好奇心情，对待这些看上去似乎是“毫不相干”的问题。因为，在这个世界上，各个族裔以及他们所携带的各种宗教文化习惯等等，甚至他们所寻求的自身利益，都在世界的每一个角落，在每一分钟发生着类似的矛盾和冲突。从波黑战争到非洲图图族胡图族之间空前野蛮的种族杀戳，几乎不胜枚举。从人类的许多战乱中，都有一颗种族矛盾和文化冲突的坚硬内核隐含其中。而这个世界的人们还在越走越近，叫人看着多少捏把汗。至今我们尚不知道，人类是否有足够的智慧，对付这样一个越来越小的地球和越来越近的距离。所以，美国民众现在先行一步所面对的种族问题，就无疑显得意味深长。 希望你喜欢这个话题。 I'm free to write. good luck! Linda