People would admit shameful secrets about themselves,

大家會招認有關自己丟臉的小祕密，

and other people would say, "Oh my God, I'm exactly the same."

而其他人會說「我的天！ 我完全一模一樣耶！」，

Voiceless people realized that they had a voice,

講話沒人在意者瞭解了 他們有個聲音能被聽到，

and it was powerful and eloquent.

而且這聲音力量十足又深得人心，

If a newspaper ran some racist or homophobic column,

如果有報紙刊登某些種族主義 或是憎惡同性戀的專欄，

we realized we could do something about it.

我們知道我們可以做點事情、

We could get them.

我們可以逮住他們、

We could hit them with a weapon that we understood but they didn't --

我們可以用我們比他們瞭解的武器來攻擊他們

a social media shaming.

－社群媒體霸凌。

Advertisers would withdraw their advertising.

廣告主會撤走廣告。

When powerful people misused their privilege,

當有力人士濫用其權勢 我們將會逮住他們，

we were going to get them.

這就像是民主式的正義，

This was like the democratization of justice.

階級被夷平了，

Hierarchies were being leveled out.

我們將會把事情做的更棒。

We were going to do things better.

沒多久，一名顏面盡失的流行科學寫手 喬納． 雷爾

Soon after that, a disgraced pop science writer called Jonah Lehrer --

他被抓到抄襲以及竄改引用資料，

he'd been caught plagiarizing and faking quotes,

他跟我說他滿腹羞愧與懊悔；

and he was drenched in shame and regret, he told me.

而他有機會， 在一個午餐大會上公開道歉，

And he had the opportunity

這將會是他這輩子最重要的發言，

to publicly apologize at a foundation lunch.

或許這會為他帶來一些救贖。

This was going to be the most important speech of his life.

早在他抵達前他已經知道

Maybe it would win him some salvation.

該大會打算線上直播他的道歉事件，

He knew before he arrived

不過直到他抵達前他所不知道的事，

that the foundation was going to be live-streaming his event,

是他們已經在他的頭旁邊豎立起 一個即時推特直播的大螢幕；

but what he didn't know until he turned up,

（笑聲）

was that they'd erected a giant screen Twitter feed right next to his head.

另一個螢幕就在他眼前。

(Laughter)

我不認為大會這麼做是因為它們邪惡，

Another one in a monitor screen in his eye line.

我認為他們純粹是搞不清楚狀況； 我認為那是一個特別的時刻，

I don't think the foundation did this because they were monstrous.

當推特美好的純真

I think they were clueless: I think this was a unique moment

正成為越來越恐怖的現實。

when the beautiful naivety of Twitter

當他想要道歉時，

was hitting the increasingly horrific reality.

這裡是湧入他眼簾的 某些推特推文 －

And here were some of the Tweets that were cascading into his eye line,

「喬納． 雷爾想煩我們 煩到饒過他呢。」

as he was trying to apologize:

（笑聲）

"Jonah Lehrer, boring us into forgiving him."

以及「喬納． 雷爾尚無法證明 他有羞恥心」，

(Laughter)

那則推文必定是至今以來最棒的 精神科醫師所寫的，

And, "Jonah Lehrer has not proven that he is capable of feeling shame."

才能看到人所不能見之事；

That one must have been written by the best psychiatrist ever,

還有「喬納． 雷爾不過就是個 該死的神經病！」，

to know that about such a tiny figure behind a lectern.

最後的用詞倒是非常人性， 人們往往先剝奪我們傷害對象的人性，

And, "Jonah Lehrer is just a frigging sociopath."

我們希望在摧毀他人的同時， 不要有什麼不好的感覺。

That last word is a very human thing to do, to dehumanize the people we hurt.

試想如果這是真實的法庭，

It's because we want to destroy people but not feel bad about it.

遭指控者非常惆悵、 冀求得到另一次機會，

Imagine if this was an actual court,

而法官喝斥出：「煩死了！ 神經病！」

and the accused was in the dark, begging for another chance,

（笑聲）

and the jury was yelling out,

你們也知道當我們在觀賞法庭劇時

"Bored! Sociopath!"

我們會認同好心腸的辯護律師，

(Laughter)

不過給我們權力之後 我們變得喜歡奪人性命的法官。

You know, when we watch courtroom dramas, we tend to identify

權力移轉良快，

with the kindhearted defense attorney,

我們逮到喬納是因為 他被察覺濫用他的權勢，

but give us the power, and we become like hanging judges.

不過後來他被整倒在地了 我們仍然不停攻擊，

Power shifts fast.

而且為了動手、出口而恭維自己。

We were getting Jonah because he was perceived to have misused his privilege,

當沒了我們可以逮住的 濫用權勢之有力人士，

but Jonah was on the floor then, and we were still kicking,

我們湧起一種怪異的空虛。

and congratulating ourselves for punching up.

一天沒有羞辱人開始覺得

And it began to feel weird and empty when there wasn't a powerful person

像是百般無聊的一天。

who had misused their privilege that we could get.

讓我來告訴你們一個故事，

A day without a shaming began to feel like a day

是有關於一位叫做 「賈絲汀．薩科」的女人，

picking fingernails and treading water.

她是位來自紐約的公關， 有 170 名推特追隨者，

Let me tell you a story.

她不時撰寫一些尖酸的短文給他們。

It's about a woman called Justine Sacco.

像是這個在要從紐約到倫敦的 飛機上所「推」出的玩笑：

She was a PR woman from New York with 170 Twitter followers,

［當吸到體臭味時 內心之獨白 － 怪異的德國佬，你就在頭等艙裡，

and she'd Tweet little acerbic jokes to them,

現在是 2014 年了，用點除臭劑吧！ 感謝上帝給了我們製藥廠！］

like this one on a plane from New York to London:

所以賈絲汀暗自竊笑並且按下送出， 但都沒有收到回應，

[Weird German Dude: You're in first class. It's 2014. Get some deodorant."

而感受到當網路上沒有 恭維我們表現風趣時

-Inner monologue as inhale BO. Thank god for pharmaceuticals.]

我們都會感受到的那種難過的感覺，

So Justine chuckled to herself, and pressed send, and got no replies,

（笑聲）

and felt that sad feeling that we all feel

當網路上沒有人回話就是 毫無希望的靜寂。

when the Internet doesn't congratulate us for being funny.

後來她到了希斯洛機場， 在她最後一段飛航行程前

(Laughter)

她有些許時間可以空出來，所以她想出 另一個好笑、有點尖酸的玩笑話：

Black silence when the Internet doesn't talk back.

［要去非洲了，希望我不會得愛滋病！ 耍你的啦，我是白人！］。

And then she got to Heathrow, and she had a little time to spare

然後她暗自竊笑、按下送出， 沒有人回覆，上了飛機，

before her final leg, so she thought up another funny little acerbic joke:

關掉手機睡著了；

[Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!]

十一個鐘頭後醒過來了，

And she chuckled to herself, pressed send, got on the plane, got no replies,

當飛機正要停在跑道上時打開了手機，

turned off her phone, fell asleep,

隨即有個來自她從高中後

woke up 11 hours later,

就沒再說過話的某人所送出的訊息，

turned on her phone while the plane was taxiing on the runway,

寫道：「我是如此遺憾的看到 正發生在妳身上的事情」，

and straightaway there was a message from somebody

之後另一個來自最要好的朋友的訊息：

that she hadn't spoken to since high school,

「你馬上得打個電話給我！

that said, "I am so sorry to see what's happening to you."

妳是推特上頭全世界 第一名的熱門話題」。

And then another message from a best friend,

（笑聲）

"You need to call me right now.

所發生之事就是她 170 位追隨者中的 一位送出該推文給 Gawker 的記者，

You are the worldwide number one trending topic on Twitter."

而他再「推」給他一萬五千名的追隨者

(Laughter)

［一個來自 ICA 公關總監 不得體的節慶笑話］，

What had happened is that one of her 170 followers had sent the Tweet

之後就像一道閃電般迅速蔓延開了。

to a Gawker journalist, and he retweeted it to his 15,000 followers:

幾個星期之後我跟該名記者談過，

[And now, a funny holiday joke from IAC's PR boss]

我寄電子郵件給他詢問他有什麼感覺， 他說：「這感覺太愉悅了！」，

And then it was like a bolt of lightning.

接著又說：「不過我肯定她好好的」；

A few weeks later, I talked to the Gawker journalist.

但是她並不好過， 因為在她睡著時

I emailed him and asked him how it felt, and he said, "It felt delicious."

推特掌控了她的生活、 將其粉碎瓦解。

And then he said, "But I'm sure she's fine."

起先是善心人士 －

But she wasn't fine, because while she slept,

［如果賈絲汀不當的發文讓你擔心－

Twitter took control of her life and dismantled it piece by piece.

和我一起來援助 CARE 在非洲的工作］、

First there were the philanthropists:

［因為令人做噁、種族主義的推文， 我今天將要捐錢給CARE］。

[If @JustineSacco's unfortunate words ... bother you,

接著變成感到震驚不已 －

join me in supporting @CARE's work in Africa.]

［對來自賈絲汀極度令人做噁之 種族主義者的下賤推文我無言以對，

[In light of ... disgusting, racist tweet, I'm donating to @care today]

我感到震驚不已］。

Then came the beyond horrified:

有誰那晚在推特上嗎？ 只有一些人呀！

[... no words for that horribly disgusting racist as fuck tweet from Justine Sacco.

賈絲汀的玩笑話有沒有像我的 那樣淹沒掉你的推特時間軸呢？

I am beyond horrified.]

它就這樣淹沒了我的時間軸； 我想的跟那晚每個人想的一樣，

Was anybody on Twitter that night? A few of you.

就是 －「 哇！有人完蛋了、 有人的日子不好過了」。

Did Justine's joke overwhelm your Twitter feed the way it did mine?

我在我的床上坐了起來，

It did mine, and I thought what everybody thought that night,

把枕頭放到腦後，

which was, "Wow, somebody's screwed!

我接著在想 － 我不全然肯定那個 玩笑就是想表現出種族優越感，

Somebody's life is about to get terrible!"

也許炫燿權勢，

And I sat up in my bed,

反而是在嘲弄炫燿權勢，

and I put the pillow behind my head,

這是一種喜劇傳統 －

and then I thought, I'm not entirely sure that joke was intended to be racist.

像是「南方四賤客」、 「荷伯報告」、蘭迪．紐曼。

Maybe instead of gleefully flaunting her privilege,

也許賈絲汀的罪過就是沒有表現得 像蘭迪．紐曼一樣好，

she was mocking the gleeful flaunting of privilege.

事實上當我幾個禮拜後與賈絲汀 在一間酒吧會面時她就是很受傷的，

There's a comedy tradition of this,

我請她為那個笑話做出解釋，

like South Park or Colbert or Randy Newman.

她說道：「當提到正發生在 第三世界的事情時，

Maybe Justine Sacco's crime was not being as good at it as Randy Newman.

活在美國讓我們置身於 些微榮景的泡沫之中，

In fact, when I met Justine a couple of weeks later in a bar,

我只是取笑那個泡沫罷了。」

she was just crushed,

知道嗎？那晚另一個在推特上的女人 － 「新政治家」的撰稿人海倫．路易斯，

and I asked her to explain the joke,

她校對了我在公開羞辱議題上的書， 寫到她那晚的推文：

and she said, "Living in America puts us in a bit of a bubble

「我不確定她的玩笑話 是想表現出種族主義」，

when it comes to what is going on in the Third World.

她說馬上她就收到盛怒的推文寫道：

I was making of fun of that bubble."

「很好！妳也不過是個 享有權勢的賤人罷了！」，

You know, another woman on Twitter that night, a New Statesman writer Helen Lewis,

她羞愧地回應，

she reviewed my book on public shaming and wrote that she Tweeted that night,

她封口了、看著賈絲汀的人生被摧毀掉。

"I'm not sure that her joke was intended to be racist,"

開始變得更威脅式的 －

and she said straightaway she got a fury of Tweets saying,

「大家來舉發賈絲汀這個討厭鬼吧！」，

"Well, you're just a privileged bitch, too."

後來變成訴求她被解職 －

And so to her shame, she wrote,

「祝新的一年找工作順利 ＃被人開除吧！」

she shut up and watched as Justine's life got torn apart.

全世界各地好幾千人打定主意 讓她被開除是他們的職責，

It started to get darker:

[賈絲汀為你的職涯最後推個文吧！ ＃很遺憾並不感到遺憾］

[Everyone go report this cunt @JustineSacco]

公司行號也來湊熱鬧了，

Then came the calls for her to be fired.

希望在對賈絲汀的抹殺 背後販售她們的產品 －

[Good luck with the job hunt in the new year. #GettingFired]

［下次在你打算在起飛前推很白痴的文，

Thousands of people around the world

確保好你是上了 Gogo 航空！］，

decided it was their duty to get her fired.

（笑聲）

[@JustineSacco last tweet of your career. #SorryNotSorry

許多公司在那晚持續賺進大把鈔票，

Corporations got involved, hoping to sell their products

知道嗎？賈絲汀的名字通常 一個月被人 Google 了 40 次，

on the back of Justine's annihilation:

那一個月從十二月二十幾號到月底之間

[Next time you plan to tweet something stupid before you take off,

她的名字被 Google 搜尋了122 萬次，

make sure you are getting on a @Gogo flight!]

而一位網路經濟專家告訴我 那代表了 Google

(Laughter)

從賈絲汀的抹殺中賺進了十二萬到 四十六萬八千美元之間的某個數額，

A lot of companies were making good money that night.

在這邊那些做出實際羞辱的我們 什麼東西也沒拿到，

You know, Justine's name was normally Googled 40 times a month.

（笑聲）

That month, between December the 20th and the end of December,

我們對 Google 而言就像是 免費的羞辱實習生。

her name was Googled 1,220,000 times.

（笑聲）

And one Internet economist told me that that meant that Google made

接著出現了惹人生氣的網路留言 －

somewhere between 120,000 dollars and 468,000 dollars

［我確實有點希望賈絲汀得愛滋病］，

from Justine's annihilation, whereas those of us doing the actual shaming --

另外的某人在那發言下面寫道：

we got nothing.

「帶有 HIV 病毒的人應該強姦這個婊子， 然後我們就會知道

(Laughter)

是否她的膚色能保護她不得愛滋病」，

We were like unpaid shaming interns for Google.

而那個人取得特許通行權，

(Laughter)

沒人去追查出那個人，

And then came the trolls:

我們都是如此興高采烈的 要毀掉賈絲汀，

[I'm actually kind of hoping Justine Sacco gets aids? lol]

以及我們可笑的腦袋是如此少根筋，

Somebody else on that wrote,

我們不能一併處理來摧毀過分地 摧毀賈絲汀的某人。

"Somebody HIV-positive should rape this bitch and then we'll find out

賈絲汀在那晚確實團結了 許許多多全然不同的團體 －

if her skin color protects her from AIDS."

從慈善家到「強姦這賤人」，

And that person got a free pass.

［賈絲汀我盼望你被革職！ 你這發狂的賤人，

Nobody went after that person.

就這麼讓世界知道你打算要去 非洲睡赤裸的黑人！］。

We were all so excited about destroying Justine,

女人總是有比男人更不堪的批評，

and our shaming brains are so simple-minded,

當一個男人被羞辱了， 那是「我會讓你被革職！」；

that we couldn't also handle destroying somebody

當一個女人被羞辱了，

who was inappropriately destroying Justine.

那是「我會讓你被革職、 被強姦、割掉你的子宮！」；

Justine was really uniting a lot of disparate groups that night,

然後賈絲汀的雇主也淌進這渾水中了 －

from philanthropists to "rape the bitch."

［ IAC 集團在賈絲汀的推特上推文： 這是個讓人火大、令人不快的言論，

[@JustineSacco I hope you get fired! You demented bitch...

有爭議的員工最近出航國外無法洽找］。

Just let the world know you're planning to ride bare back while in Africa.]

而這是當憤怒變得激憤 －

Women always have it worse than men.

［對聖誕節而言我所想要的一切 ， 就是看到當賈絲汀的飛機落地

When a man gets shamed, it's, "I'm going to get you fired."

她檢視收信匣、 語音留言時的表情＃被開除了］、

When a woman gets shamed, it's,

［哎！老兄，當飛機落地了 賈絲汀即將要有

"I'm going to get you fired and raped and cut out your uterus."

至今為止最痛苦的接電話時間］、

And then Justine's employers got involved:

［我們差不多要即時看到 賤人賈絲汀被開除了，

[IAC on @JustineSacco tweet: This is an outrageous, offensive comment.

早於甚至她清楚她正要被開除］。

Employee in question currently unreachable on an intl flight.]

我們有的是讓人開心的故事轉折，

And that's when the anger turned to excitement:

我們知道賈絲汀所不知道的一些事情，

[All I want for Christmas is to see @JustineSacco's face when her plane lands

你能想到任何比這個還不公平的事情嗎？

and she checks her inbox/voicemail. #fired]

賈絲汀在飛機上睡著了而且 沒有辦法為自己解釋，

[Oh man, @justinesacco is going to have the most painful

而且她的無能為力 是這場鬧劇很大的一部分，

phone-turning-on moment ever when her plane lands.]

那晚在推特上我們像是走路不穩的 小孩正往著槍枝爬過去。

[We are about to watch this @JustineSacco bitch get fired. In REAL time.

有人想出到底她是在哪一架飛機上頭，

Before she even KNOWS she's getting fired.]

所以他們連結上一個航班追蹤的網站，

What we had was a delightful narrative arc.

［英國航空 43 航班「準點」， 1 小時 34 分鐘內抵達］

We knew something that Justine didn't.

一個主題標籤開始橫掃全世界：

Can you think of anything less judicial than this?

＃賈絲汀落地了沒呀？

Justine was asleep on a plane and unable to explain herself,

［這有點瘋狂，看到某人自我毀滅，

and her inability was a huge part of the hilarity.

他們卻壓根不曉得這件事 ＃賈絲汀落地了沒呀？］、

On Twitter that night, we were like toddlers crawling towards a gun.

［不騙你我只是想回家、爬上床， 但是每個在酒吧的人是如此的投入在

Somebody worked out exactly which plane she was on, so they linked

＃賈絲汀落地了沒呀？ 沒辦法視若無睹、沒辦法脫身］、

to a flight tracker website.

［＃賈絲汀落地了沒呀？可能是我在 禮拜五晚上發生過最棒的事情吧！］、

[British Airways Flight 43 On-time - arrives in 1 hour 34 minutes]

［在開普敦沒人打算去機場 推文她的抵達嗎？

A hashtag began trending worldwide:

推特快點！我想要照片阿］。

# hasJustineLandedYet?

你猜怎麼著了，是的有人推文了！

[It is kinda wild to see someone self-destruct

［賈絲汀事實上已經降落在 開普敦國際機場了，」

without them even being aware of it. #hasJustineLandedYet]

如果你想知道那看起來怎樣 －

[Seriously. I just want to go home to go to bed, but everyone at the bar

發現你正因為被誤解了沒分寸的 笑話而受到強力抨擊，

is SO into #HasJustineLandedYet. Can't look away. Can't leave.]

那不是妖魔鬼怪所為， 而是像我們一樣的好人做的，

[#HasJustineLandedYet may be the best thing to happen to my Friday night.]

這就是看起來的樣子 － 「她決定用墨鏡來掩藏自己」

[Is no one in Cape Town going to the airport to tweet her arrival?

那麼為什麼我們要這麼做呢？

Come on, twitter! I'd like pictures]

我認為有些人真的非常生氣，

And guess what? Yes there was.

但是我想對其他人來說，

[@JustineSacco HAS in fact landed at Cape Town international.

因為推特基本上是一個 共同認可的機器，

And if you want to know what it looks like to discover

我們讓與我們感覺一致的 人圍繞著自己，

that you've just been torn to shreds because of a misconstrued liberal joke,

而我們認可了彼此，

not by trolls, but by nice people like us,

那確實是個很好的感覺；

this is what it looks like:

而要是有人礙事我們就汰除掉他們，

[... She's decided to wear sunnies as a disguise.]

你知道這是什麼東西的相反嗎？

So why did we do it?

那是民主的相反。

I think some people were genuinely upset,

我們希望表達我們關心 在非洲正因愛滋病死去的眾人，

but I think for other people,

我們想讓人當成是富有愛心的欲望 就是導致我們進行

it's because Twitter is basically a mutual approval machine.

這個極度一點愛心都沒有的行動。

We surround ourselves with people who feel the same way we do,

如同梅根．歐基布林在 「波士頓評論」裡寫道：

and we approve each other,

「這並不是社會公義， 這是宣洩情感的其他方式」。

and that's a really good feeling.

過去三年來我跑遍世界與 像賈絲汀遭遇的人碰面，

And if somebody gets in the way, we screen them out.

相信我有著極多人就像賈絲汀這樣，

And do you know what that's the opposite of?

每一天都有更多；

It's the opposite of democracy.

我們想認為他們沒事， 但是他們並非沒事，

We wanted to show that we cared about people dying of AIDS in Africa.

我遇見的人都被毀了，

Our desire to be seen to be compassionate is what led us to commit

他們跟我談了關於抑鬱、

this profoundly un-compassionate act.

焦慮、失眠以及自殺的念頭。

As Meghan O'Gieblyn wrote in the Boston Review,

有個和我說過話的女人 也講了個下場悽慘的笑話，

"This isn't social justice. It's a cathartic alternative."

一年半的時間她走不出家門外，

For the past three years,

在那之前她陪著 有學習障礙的成年人工作，

I've been going around the world meeting people like Justine Sacco --

而且似乎在工作上確實表現很好。

and believe me, there's a lot of people like Justine Sacco.

當然賈絲汀就被開除了， 因為是社交媒體強烈要求的，

There's more every day.

但是事情卻更糟了，