Madison, Wisconsin｜Let's not say RSVP 自由平等博愛的以前以後

Madison, The Prelude to the Utopia

麥迪遜是個與東西兩岸截然不同的地方，來到這裡的第四個月，感覺和先前美國的印象天差地遠。在威斯康辛，麥迪遜可以說是美國烏托邦的前奏曲，安靜，單一，祥和，好像一切就是與紐約和洛杉磯的紛紛擾擾恍如隔世。麥迪遜什麼都有，生活所需的一切不需要開車超過半小時就唾手可得，春天的陽光剛剛好的曬著睫毛、夏天的門多塔湖畔波光粼粼、秋天風大好像是來到了歐洲的小城、冬季的大雪冷得不行，正好是窩在家圍著暖爐休息的日子。有自產的冰淇淋、有自產的起司、有草地森林、有懸崖山丘。剛來到這裡被麥迪遜的雪融化了心，愛上了這裡不同於台北的寧靜，日復一日的做著同樣的事情，這裏的人在同樣的日子開派對，在同樣的日子幾在圖書館讀書，在同樣的日子走在不偏不倚的那條街道上，在同樣的日子喝著一樣的爛醉。

久了我也習慣了這種在固定時間得到固定刺激的班表，只是存在著，有段日子還真的麻痺了，覺得這裏無聊透頂。幾天前在咖啡廳坐了一下午，觀察來來往往的人群，從我坐下的那個剎那到我離開，我看到的非白種人，五隻手指頭能數得出來。我知道光是這樣不能代表什麼，也沒什麼好指控任何事。但當我看到這些人在課堂上大大討論難民問題、討論種族尊重與多元化、撻伐歧視的邪惡時，我不得不在腦中升起一堆問號，在這裏的每個呼吸似乎都無法真正感受到所謂的種族多元，儘管亞洲留學生算非常多，但絕對不能說是會遇到文化刺激的城市。

Madison is a completely different place on both sides of the East and West. In the fourth month here, I feel drastically different compared with the previous impression of the United States. In Wisconsin, Madison can be described as a prelude to the Utopia of the United States. Quiet, simple and peaceful, it seems everything is in a different world comparing with the disturbance of New York and Los Angeles. Madison has everything that no needs to drive more than half an hour you can get everything you need for life. In spring, sunshine basking eyelashes; lake water sparkling on the Lake Mendota in summer; autumn wind seems to people have come to a small town in Europe, and the winter snow is extremely cold, which are exactly the best days to stay at home sitting around the fireplace, cuddling and idling. There are homemade ice cream, homemade cheese, grassland forest, and cliff hills. When I first came here, I was touched by the snow in Madison. I fell in love with the quietness here different from Taipei. The same thing is done day after day, people here having parties on the same days, reading at the library on the same days, walking on the same street on the same day, and same drunk on the same day. I have got used to the time table getting fixed stimulation at fixed times for a long time. Just existed and some days really paralyzed. I felt boring here. A few days ago I sat in the cafe for an afternoon, watching the coming and going crowd. From the moment I sat down to the time I left, the number of non-white people I saw was few, which could be counted by five fingers. I know it just cannot mean anything, nor to charge anything. But as I saw these people in class heavily discussing the issue of refugees, the racial respect and diversity, and lambasting the evil of discrimination, I had to raise a bunch of question marks in my mind. Every breath here does not seem to really feel the so-called multi-ethnic diversity; despite the number of Asian students is very large, it is a city absolutely cannot be said to encounter cultural stimulus.

USA = Freedom? 來到這裡的第一個月，一開始冷到魂飛魄散，後來習慣了一出門就得被溫度凍的腦袋無法運轉的驚喜。一開始覺得作業太多，但每天寫每天讀也就習慣了。但只有不著痕跡的被區隔被無視無法習慣，也不想習慣。來到這裡之前，有些朋友提醒我可能會遇到被欺負或是被排擠的事件。「不會吧！都二十一世紀了。」那時候我聽到覺得非常好笑，都什麼年代了，還在搞這些無聊的事情嗎？世界地球村沒聽過嗎？但很抱歉，這種事情就是確實存在著的。例如說上課，前排跟後排明明就已經擠得要死了，就沒人要來坐我旁邊，空了一大圈，完全沒人，有時候跟我的巴西朋友一起上課也是一樣的情況。在夜店或酒吧跟哥倫比亞朋友只要一靠近那些白人女孩他們就散開中間空一個圈，分隔清晰可見。

In the first month of coming here, it was cold to wits, and then I was accustomed to a surprise that when I went out I had to be frozen in temperature and my head did not work. At first I felt too much homework, but after writing and reading every day, I got used it. Only being separated and ignored without trace I cannot and don’t want to get used to it. Before coming here, some of my friends reminded me that I might encounter being bullied or marginalized. At that time I heard it very ridiculous. What the ages have been already, you still engaged in these boring things? Did not ever hear the global earth village? However, it happens, and not for just once. For example, in class, the front row and the back row clearly have to be packed to death, but no one wants to sit next to me. A big circle was empty and no one at all. Sometimes with my Brazilian friends in class was the same situation. In nightclubs or bars with Colombian friends as soon as we are going to close to the white girls, they were scattered, forming an empty circle in the middle. The separation is clear.

Movie Reflection：from Clueless(1995) to what I felt in Madison, Wisconsin 第一個想法居然冒出1995年紅透半邊天的電影獨領風騷（CLUELESS），女主角雪兒（Cher）在辯論課上擔任正方的那段兩分鐘的胡言亂語。Clueless是根據Jane Austen的小說Emma改編的。

這段有關於難民的辯論是這樣的：老師Mr. Hall提出「Should all oppressed people be allowed refuge in America？」Amber will take the con and Cher（女主角） will take the pro。在此要先提一下當時95年的背景，兩場海地與古巴難民的官司正打得如火如荼。94年佛羅里達州聯邦地區法院審理了兩件由美國民間團體（古巴美國律師協會跟海地難民中心）控告美國政府（當時美國國務卿是Christopher）的案件，古巴美國律師協會不滿美國政府對古巴難民強迫遣返、而且不准古巴美國律師協會提供法律服務引起。另外，則是因為美國強迫遣返海地難民，海地難民避難中心才在地區法院起訴，控訴美國政府侵犯難民的人權，違反國際法。雖然變成Clueless一段簡短的辯論內容，但這想件起訴案在當時兩輪訴訟都被駁回了。

Cher的辯論：「So, OK, like right now, for example, the Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, "What about the strain on our resources?” But it's like when I had this garden party for my father's birthday, right? I said R.S.V.P. because it was a sit-down dinner. But people came that, like, did not R.S.V.P. So I was, like, totally buggin'. I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, squish in extra place settings; but by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier! And so, if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion, may I please remind you that it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty? Thank you very much.（好，所以舉例來說，海地人想要來美國。但大家就會開始緊張：「天啊那我們的資源短缺跟限制該怎麼辦呢？」但就像是我幫我爸辦他的生日趴一樣，對吧，我說RSVP（敬請回覆）因為我是希望大家都能夠有位子坐，但人就是不會準時的RSVP，他們總是想來就來的。我被搞得很煩。我必須要在廚房裡忙東忙西，擠出食物還小布拉嘰的位子給他們，但每次到了最後，我會發現人越多總是越好的。所以，如果我們的政府可以走進廚房，重新安排一下些事情，那我們絕對是可以跟海地人一起開趴的啊。我的結論是，容我提醒大家：在自由女神之下，我們能不能別說RSVP？謝謝大家。）

The first thought came unexpectedly was the two-minute nonsense in the debate class by the pro, Cher, the actress of CLUELESS, the very popular movie in 1995. Clueless was based on Jane Austen’s novel, Emma.

This debate on refugees is this: Teacher Mr. Hall proposed "Should all oppressed people be allowed refuge in America?" Amber will take the con, and Cher (actress) will take the pro. I would like to refer first to the background of the then 1995, in which two lawsuits between Haiti and Cuban refugees were in full swing. In 1994, the Florida Federal District Court held two cases in which the U.S. government (then Secretary of State of the United States was Christopher) was accused by two non-governmental organizations in the United States (Cuban American Bar Association and Haiti Refugee Center). The Cuban American Bar Association was dissatisfied with the U.S. government's forced repatriation of Cuban refugees and, moreover, the Cuban American Bar Association was not allowed to provide legal services. In addition, because the United States forced the repatriation of Haitian refugees, the Haitian Refugee Center only filed a suit in the district court against the U.S. government for violating the human rights of the refugees in violation of international law. Although these became brief contents of the debate in Clueless, this indictment was dismissed in both two litigations.

Cher’s debate: “So, OK, like right now, for example, the Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, "What about the strain on our resources?” But it's like when I had this garden party for my father's birthday, right? I said R.S.V.P. because it was a sit-down dinner. But people came that, like, did not R.S.V.P. So I was, like, totally buggin'. I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, squish in extra place settings; but by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier! And so, if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion, may I please remind you that it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty? Thank you very much.

"What does he/she do?" is more important than "Who he/she is" 這句「RSVP isn’t on the Statue of Liberty」在自由女神矗立的美國，千萬別以自由之名，污辱自由，自由的目中無人，自由的忘記英文只是個語言、他並不是什麼開啟高人一等人生的金鑰。不管是不是美國，就算是在那個無人的荒野，哪個不知道有沒有人類的大星雲，或是就在我們的台灣，別總是握著表象的種族、或是先來後到的敏感緊追不放了吧。追求人解放自由、博愛平等的地方，為什麼要分得這麼清楚呢？距離這部電影1995年已經22年頭過去了，這句話依然以不凡的姿態教我們人與人之間最可貴的連結。這就是共享的感受，任何一個擁抱自由的人類，都要稍微的設身處地理解，除了膚色、除了口音、除了來自哪裡，把重點放在更值得的地方，真正的瞭解一個人的後天努力、他以自己的力量活得精彩的人生，而不是與生俱來的背景。

With this phrase “RSVP isn’t on the Statue of Liberty” in the United States, do not insult liberty in the name of liberty, nor being arrogant freely and forget English is just a language, not the key to a superior life. Whether it is not the United States, even in that uninhabited wilderness, a big nebula that does not know whether or not there is a human being, or just in our Taiwan, do not always hold the appearance of the race, or the sensitivity of the order of arrival first. Why should we distinguish so clearly in the pursuit of people's freedom of liberty and love of equality? It has been almost 22 years since the movie first existed in 1995, the phrase that still teaches us the most valuable links between people. This is the feeling of sharing. Any human beings embracing freedom should've pay attention to things other than colors, accents, where they come from, and try to emphasize on something more worthwhile. That is, to understand one's efforts, and how they pursue a dream on their own, not an innate background.

Photo By myself in Madison, Wisconsin in 2017

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