(感謝上天給我一段相當有意義的歷練過程.)
A response to a China-Mainlander who resided in Taiwan worked as an envoy to another country. As a Taiwanese Government official, paid by Taiwanese taxpayers' hard-earned money, this gentleman openly despised Taiwanese people as subhuman beings in 2009 (賤民. 賤, 貝戈戈, 在以下文章, 轉變為 - 被割割).
During the Nationalist Party defeated by the Chinese Communist Party, its leaders led millions of China-Mainlanders, most of them were soldiers, military staff, and governmental officials, retreating to Taiwan amid a power transition from the Japanese colonization of Formosa (1895-1945) to the Nationalist Party. As a ruling strategy, the Nationalist leaders promised these followers to return to China, by offering them business, industrial, educational and military jobs and resources left by the Japanese government. Taiwanese, except those who collaborated with the Nationalists, despairs, and suffering began.
他的名子叫 被割割 (2009)
他的名子叫 被割割。這個名子犯不著對范蘭欽有任何自由聯想或對他有畫蛇添足之 "閒"。
被割割很認命與守舊。深信書中自有外交屋，書中自有謙忠恕。中學作文得數獎，大學聯考歷史考了個一百分。算是個左腦 (右腦是在媒國啓蒙的) 有開發的人。被割割一心一意想拼個謙忠恕外交官以報家國養育之恩 (真是顽固迂腐到極點!)。首度赴特考戰戰兢兢, 然而慘遭敗北 - 這科國際公法雖非本行, 也不該考個如此無能的分數。捲土重來信心十足。不料晴天闢靂以最高分落選。
回想三十年前時的被割割並非輸不起那一分，而是被割割 那不識字的母親滿懷疑問 "那ㄝ安內生? 歷哪目賙放ㄎㄨㄟ ㄎㄨㄟ去考，歷史也不會考二十五分!!!" 一輩子沒機會上一天學的老母卻苦苦巴望她十個苦命兒 中能有一兩個有出脫當個 ”官”，一如歌仔戲 (忠孝節義封建承控機制) 中那十年寒窗一舉揚眉顯親的莘莘學子鬆口氣 地說， ”此後不再受虐於猛逾虎的苛政”。 然而複查成績的結果是白紙四大黑字- "查無錯誤"。
被割割只好安慰老母: “媽，您的每日清晨夜晚虔誠欽天敬祖，燒好香做好待， 祖宗神明會原諒我的失誤。” 然後被割割嬉皮笑臉地對媽說 “可能是真的， 想當官要燒三代的好香做好事呢! 媽， 一定是前兩代阿公阿祖香沒燒夠!” 私底下，被割割卻無奈地想著那報考的履歷表上的確是要你提及祖宗三代。不過不是有關燒好香做好事，而是祖宗們的學經歷背景。被割割的兄妹們倒是黃家頭一代出產的識字人。在台灣，這是一件很值得誇耀的事。
言歸正傳，這 “ 二十五分的歷史教訓 ” 從此深深烙印在這個社會學没讀透的狂狷青年心頭。
話說山不轉路轉、當不了駐外人，被割割 倒也扛轎周旋於幾個小型官場，看了幾齣現形記 (時當解嚴天蠶劇變之際，於國府殿堂)。厚黑與薄白戲碼趁機上演，看得眼花撩亂，做得澎湃洶湧 。 說得遲那時快，一個有份量的獎學金使被割割覺悟一切有為法，如夢幻泡影。專心投入百年樹 (媒國)人的工作 (不夠格樹本國人，只好退而求其次)。 所以, 從一個當了七年親愛精誠的丘八官與抬轎人如今成了個 “住” 外的樹人。
如此一來，被割割時而仰天長嘯壯懷激烈一番, 時而自我調侃自我阿Q，自封個背 "彩虹旗" 的人 (有綠， 有藍， 有紅，有黑，更有白)。如果你要為被割割駐個名 (不論是加罪或加封)- 這嗎 騎牆騎得太離譜??
不過看官要是知曉這荒唐辛酸個中味， 說真的，這種旗也真重得難扛。 試想被割割對著大鼻混眼的媒國學生唱著 望你早歸，梅花，雨夜花，易水寒, 與 高山青以解說社會階層和族群理論時，卻無法用那美麗的母語的精神分裂折騰?! 被割 割的自 我流放，也"被得"太無奈了?
有臉書朋友又很好奇地問她, “妳在美國到底是教什麼的呀, 那科是妳的專長啊?” 她的確教了很多不同的的課程, 談不上什麼特殊專長．很多是因為人在江湖, 身不由己的狀況下砍伐出來的 (尤其是最大的絆腳石：當時, 她的博士課程還處於進行式當中. 她在前所大學當非全職教員時, 就是因為不具有博士學位. 到二專當全職教員, 只要碩士學位即可, 但是繼續工作, 擁有收入, 來支付生活所需和完成博士課程費用的目標, 一直沒有改變.）
她教的這個兩年制科技學院 (類似以前臺灣的二專,) 並非常春藤之類高大上性的學術研究機構. 它的基本的功能就是, 幫助學生學得專業技能, 以便廣開就業, 服務社會機會之門, 也協助家境背景困難而無法去讀四年制大學的學生, 來這裡修人文社會學科等等基本共同課程/general education. 而跨越所有共同課程的教學目標, 綜合起來有四項: Think critically, Value Diversity, Model Integrity, and Communicate effectively. (兩年制學院州政府聯邦政府有提供各項學費補助). 學生學得的學分, 可以帶著, 以便轉到四年制的大學).
基本上很多學生,
對社會學科是不太感興趣的,
因為一般中下階層和勞工階級的學生,
大多是非傳統的
(除了那些準備轉到四年制的傳統學生之外,
很多是已有家庭,
承擔重任; 有些是因為快速工商社會轉型而被迫離職自動離職,
重修課程, 補修學分, 再修學位, 或為了績效升等的種種理由,
) 每天為了家庭工作累得不成人形,
再拖個半條命來上課
(尤其是晚上的課程,
最具挑戰性), 很難有那個雅興,
來上這些看不著摸不見,
時時要做一些 “高談闊論” 的東西, 而且很多是必修的,
選修的只是點綴點綴.
而學生最基本上的共識是,
“學這些不切實際的課程,
到底能夠幫助我就業嗎?”
這是一個過度強調個人存在與愛自由的國家,
學生高興要不要學,
愛學不學的決定本事,
是很大的. 教育商業化，已經是絕大多數學校,
心照不宣的經營法則,
而顧客永遠是對的,
是教師們默認於心的金科玉律.
為了符合手腦並用的教育原則
(科技專業科系結合社會人文課程),
她們身任社會科學的教授團,
往往必須另闢蹊徑,
讓教學活潑生動化,
引發學生學習的動機,
願意來教室或網路上課.
這也就是為什麼科技學院,
是非常重視教育理論中的實踐部分,
或教育方法論/andragogy
(教員在做學術研究的部分,
不怎麼要求, 而是把重點放在如何把書教好這個層面上)
學習活動的設計,
增強學生學習的興趣,
學習效果的評估,
以達到教學的目標,
是非常重要的一環.
經過一番申請工作,
面試, 試教, 與種種程序之後,
她在接受聘書之時,
按契約規定要教三種不同的學科
(three preps), 那是根據受聘者的主修輔修以及相關的領域
(很不巧她剛好有 四個主修和四 個輔修)
以及工作的經驗而定.
所以她剛開始教第一學期的科目是:
社會學, 心理學, 和美國當代社會,
一共是六堂課，因為両堂社會學之一是用
ITV 電視遠距教學, 又是新任教員, 所以抵掉一堂,
不用教七堂課. 即一學年要教
36 到 42 個學分, 因此待遇是相對稱的·
可想而知, 這全然是個教書匠的工作環境, 學術研究是不特別要求的.
又那時學校開始推廣網上教學,
所以, 她就把還在隔壁州明州尼蘇達的研究所就讀的博士課程轉到科技教育,
以增強她在這個龍蟠虎踞的學校存活下來的機會.
(因為她自己的學費,
貴得像墳仔坡打鼓-
驚死人! 若保不住這個工作,
她是無法完成學業,
更無顏見江東父老!)
俗話說
“新師上任 三把火…
不輸人不輸陣，輸人輸陣歹看面,”
又是在一片白茫茫的場景中,
撐著唯一的一張貼著臺灣標誌的黃臉孔,
做好的是看不到,
一旦言行稍微不合尺度,
可能要面對各式各樣的放大鏡來觀照,
再加上新任教師前 三 年緊迫盯人的教學評鑑,
為了增加教學的光點,
她也就把一些老神在在的資深教員,
不太喜歡教的課程,
授課方式, 或活動 (比如美國當代社會,
幾乎是每位教師都不愛教的課,
為什麼呢? 因為這一堂課 是綜合社會學,
心理學, 經濟學, 和國際政治等, 類似總匯的課程,
必須花更多的時間做教材準備,
並且牽涉到日常社會的現況與變化,
教學資料必須時時修正更改和翻新論點,
所以是非常具有挑戰性的科目,
還有那多元化社會與種族族群理論和實際這門課,
因為涉及到批判理論/Critical
Theory, 保守的人們相當抗拒這種課程內容,
而這也會影響到學生對老師的教學評鑑.
至於透過視訊的遠距教學
- ITV /Interactive TV, and Teleconference Delivery, 師生皆不喜歡 ) 就像個拼命三娘一般的招攬過來做, 校方與同事, 也樂此不疲樂觀其成. 後來通過了 三 年的教學評鑑,
工作是穩定了下來,
也開始對一些相關的課程,
真正感到興趣, 比如社會問題, 人際關係心理學,
發展心理學, 美國政府, 和她最喜歡的藝術概論,
這些與她自己的主修與輔系有相關的課程,
一個個地設計出來,
嘗試去把它們教好,
並且積極參與這些有趣課程的線上以及面對面等等教學與活動.
總之,
如前所言, 這個科技學院, 並非什麼高深的研究學術研究機構.
而她所教的, 往往是一些入門基礎課程
(Introductory Courses). 對很多中下階層的學生而言,
這可能是唯一的機會來學習社會人文學科.
這當師父的, 能把他們適度地引進門,
播下有興趣的種子,
也許將來, 在他們工作與生活穩定了之後,
可能還有其他機會想要繼續深入學習,
了解這些她所喜愛的,
卻是被一般人認為是
“不切實際的人文社會學科”
的知識與奧妙.
她深切地認為,
人文社會學科的基本要義,
就是使得人類能夠從自古以來,
種種幽冥桎梏意識形態的假象中解放出來,
這尤其是要依靠獨立思考能力與判斷 (Think Critically – the first core value) 的涵養, 這也是各個學校所強調的. 人文社會學科學習的重要性, 是維護健全的國民與社會, 對抗不公不正, 剝削壓榨, 違反人性的虛假錯誤意識 (false consciousness) 寶器. 這也就是為什麼她賣心賣力地,
一定要把這些入門課,
教得生動有趣. 因為這個過程本身,
就是一種深具心靈解放,
充滿著期待, 又是舒坦快樂的分享.
任教於科技學院,
其實, 那是一個千載難逢自我教育的機會!
也確實感受到莊子為什麼要慨嘆生有涯知無涯的心態.
那時天天教書教得天昏地暗何似在人間,
更重要的是這種二專,
特別熱衷於種種校內校際之間的教學活動,
時時有機會到處廣結善緣.
她曾在一篇雜文中提到,
雖然教的不是名校,
不像那些著作等身的教授學者,
桃李滿天下, 而她呢, 論質而言, 是比不上孔子教出的學生,
而這些來向孔子求教的人兒,
大多也絕非是等閒之輩.
在成就方面, 眾所周知在德行一項出眾的有：颜回/子淵, 閔损/子騫, 冉耕/伯牛, 冉雍/仲弓; 在言语方面有宰予/子我、子貢/端木赐; 在文学方面有言偃/子游,卜商/子夏等等. 而她呢, 可沒有如此天大的成就!
但是就量而言, 的確是比孔子教出來的多了很多.
雖然她的學生無法各個成德達材, 倒也是番薯花牽牛花處處開花.
很多時候, 她到一些公私立機構辦事,
都會遇到以前她教過的學生,
被禮遇的機會常常發生.
後來她一面教書,
一面繼續跨州求學,
終於把學位完成了,
卻也打消了想到 四年制學校的折騰.
(小插曲一斷: 以前曾經在一個
4年制的大學, 教了 三 年非全職的工作,
薪俸有限, 而且能教的課程只有社會學,
想想看, 連續 三年都在教同一個課程,
那是一個什麼樣的世界呀!
碰巧那時候多元化社會理論課程需求方興未艾,
她向學校表示願意嘗試教這個課,
但是因為沒有博士學位,
資格不合而作罷).
說實在話, 她只有在當一個教育工作者之後,
才開始真正地深入了解社會學,
以及其他相關的美妙有趣的知識
(以前在臺灣和美國學的,
老實說, 一片霧煞煞地),
而且對社會的的實相,
有了多種層度與面向的了解.
本來以為只要寫幾行字,
想不到卻拉拉雜雜寫的一大段.
簡而言之, 就算是一個經驗分享吧.
3. 截錄一段敘事: 梅蘭平生的第一支手錶
她記得很清楚 - 栗籽父親從批發市場買回來一大袋的乾魷魚. 他把一片一片的乾魷魚的頭摘下來, 尾部的兩片的鰭也拔下來. 然後把兩隻對拍，把一些雜絮打掉之後, 稍微清理一下再加烤乾．烤乾之後, 用鐵刷子刷下手動壓烤魷魚機兩長條滾動齒輪上的雜質. 然後把魷魚身子塞入兩個滾輪之間. 用手搖把子滾動齒輪壓過魷魚. 如此來回滾壓, 魷魚肉就越壓越長越薄, 然後對折起來繼續滾壓, 直到魷魚肉非常的鬆散像個網子一樣. 然後把魷魚網肉, 一疊一疊折整齊, 放在塑膠袋. 要賣的時候要生炭火, 上架鐵絲網, 煮醬油糖膏, 然後把要壓薄的魷魚肉放在鐵絲網上, 一面烤, 一面用刷子把醬油糖膏, 刷在肉片上. 那瀰漫出來的烤燒香味, 可傳到好幾公尺外.
這一套本事, 歷歷在目. 招子決定如法炮製一番. 就這樣這一對小夫妻, 帶著一個剛生的女兒在永瑙河的對岸一家小戲院前, 擺起燒烤魷魚的攤子.
那時候梅蘭也上了小學. 第一學期. 她完全聽不懂課堂上的老師在講什麼. 他們是外省人, 或是講國語的台灣人. 在家裡大家是講台語, 大概只有有錢人家的小孩, 能夠上幼稚園, 可以聽到國語的機會. 所以梅蘭萌渣渣, 糊里糊塗的, 考試都不及格. 有一次, 她把考不到50分的考卷折成小小的紙塊, 塞在床上黑櫃子的底下, 被阿玉母親無意中發現, 反正她也看不懂考卷上寫的是什麼, 只覺得這個小孩, 上學是有困難的, 大概只能乖乖的做家事.
梅蘭小時候很像招子, 她嫁人以後, 梅蘭小小的年紀也跟著學做家事, 跟著阿進公, 在廚房裡, 燒燒洗洗的. 那時候家裡有個麵攤, 大人買回來的雞與豬頭, 需要清理. 豬頭皮上的毛要拔, 雞毛花枝內臟要處理清洗. 梅蘭三四歲的時候, 蹲在廚房外小巷子的水龍頭 下, 乖乖靜靜的專注於清理的工作. 她會用小剪刀, 剪開雞腸子, 洗掉雞腸子內的汙穢, 然後又明礬抓揉一下, 把腸內外黏稠雜質清除. 然後切開雞的砂囊, 剝掉囊上的皮, 分開雞心臟與脾臟, 清洗好好的放入大碗中. 這些都是可以賣錢的. 梅蘭五六歲的時候, 就乖乖靜靜蹲在廚房的水槽邊, 洗家裡的衣服. 這些日常的工作, 讓一個醜丫頭, 變成一個很得人緣的好女孩子.
招子平常要背著小孩, 推著魷魚攤, 到戲院前做生意. 越做越力不從心, 就回來跟阿玉子商量, 需要個幫手, 尤其是農曆年節的時候, 真的是忙不過來. 就這樣子從小學開始, 每年寒假梅蘭就會就去招子處幫忙. 直到春季班開學前才回來. 暑假則看生意的狀況, 隨時待命.
第一次梅蘭坐公車, 經過永瑙河到招子的租處. 在車上過河的時候, 老是擔心的橋會斷掉, 一直要到過了橋, 心才放了下來. 走到招子的住處, 那是一間黑黑舊舊的小屋, 很像是隨便搭架的違建. 房子內部黑暗潮濕, (為了省電, 招子就是連五燭光的小燈泡, 都要隨時關掉. ) 底邊靠牆的是一張木床, 床的前頭是一張桌子擺了各式各樣的小家庭用品, 靠近門口的左側就是一個水龍頭, 下面有水桶, 濕滑的地上, 長滿了青黑苔, 然後一個黑黑髒髒的木架子, 裝了一些燒烤的用具. 小房子外面有一個簡陋的公用廁所. 梅蘭發現這裡的廁所, 比家裡的更恐怖, 一直很害怕上廁所; 蹲在床邊吃飯, 也是很難受. 過了兩三天, 小小的梅蘭子就想家哭了. 賺錢的確很不容易, 公車費也是錢啊! 招子不得已, 偶而非常捨不得地給梅蘭公車費, 讓她也回回家, 再回到魷魚攤子幫忙.
招子背著小孩, 招呼客人, 收錢找錢. 梅蘭就把已經壓鬆散開來的魷魚肉放在烤架上, 用小刷子來回前後地塗抹醬油糖膏, 反覆翻動. 稍有空閒的時候, 梅蘭就折裝魷魚的袋子, 那有大中小三型. 每個紙袋子外面, 印著紅色張牙舞爪活生活跳的魷魚的模樣, 梅蘭就會用一隻筷子, 伸進扁平的袋子, 撐鼓成立體, 這樣子放進去的魷魚頭, 魷魚尾鰭, 或魷魚身, 就感覺多, 比較大包澎湃.
每天從中午或下午, 一直站在攤子旁, 幫忙做生意, 直到晚上八九點, 才清洗打理收工. 正郎有時候會來看看攤子, 但大部分時間, 一溜煙就不見了人影.
這樣的年復一年, 考上北一女中的梅蘭, 家裡感到無比的榮耀. 她是新仁街一帶, 唯一穿著綠色校服的女孩. 正郎與招子給梅蘭買了平生的第一支手錶, 也是她這一輩子得到第一樣最珍貴的禮物. 梅蘭高興的好幾天睡不著覺, 一直擔心正郎與招子會不會把手錶要回去, 憂慮自己是不是值得擁有這個手錶...
4. Dedication - found!
06-15-26 (M)
While cleaning out some old digital files recently, I stumbled upon a piece of my own history: the dedication page of my dissertation, completed back in 2015. Re-reading these words a decade later brought back a flood of memories about my academic journey and, more importantly, a respectful person who motivated me. I have excerpted the dedication below, alongside a translation, to share a personal story about how my mother's struggle with illiteracy became an important motivation to learn, teach, and grow. (最近在清理一些舊數位檔案時，偶然發現了一段小歷史, 寫在2015年完成的論文獻詞頁。十年後重讀這些話，喚起了對學術旅程的幾段回憶，尤其是支撐我完成這段學習的幾個小故事. 以下是我摘錄了論文中的獻詞及簡譯，分享一個關於我母親不識字的掙扎如何成為我的學習、教學與成長的主要動力).
Dedication (in my dissertation, 2015)
If writing about "words don’t recognize people" or so-called "illiteracy" has any positive effect, I would say it was one of the main motivations that drove me to complete my degree in a challenging environment. What most people understand as illiteracy is often associated with poverty, ignorance, having many children, and negative conditions like soft and hard violence. For my early self and others in similar environments of my generation, this was quite common. But the magic thing is, this "illiterateness" forms an important link between my pursuit of so-called worldly degrees and knowledge. This driving force started with my mother (Her name is Yu-bay Tsai Huang). Like her generation and generations before her, who were at the bottom of social stratum, being illiterate was a normal phenomenon. Yes, my mother, accepting her fate, ('Going with the flow'?), never attended school to learn how to read and write.
Like many women of her generation, my mother experienced firsthand the profound geopolitical upheavals and socioeconomic hardships that defined 20th-century Taiwanese history. These challenges originated under Japanese colonial rule and intensified during the social instability and conflict resulting from the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalists (KMT) and Communists (CCP). In 1947, prior to the retreat of the Kuomintang (KMT) to Taiwan, the 228 Massacre occurred (a topic of another thesis of mine archived in 1993 at the UW-Madison general library, and published recently), initiating the repressive era known as the White Terror. Subsequent martial law was maintained over the Taiwanese population until 1987, rendering it one of the longest continuous periods of military rule in modern history. Amid these severe economic and social deprivations, my mother managed to provide the essential needs for her ten children—an unbelievable feat - from my understanding!
A couple of episodes illustrate how her life inspired my own educational journey. I vividly remember one day during my teenage years when my mother asked me to mail a package to one of my brothers living far away, who was not in good shape. Preoccupied with my school homework and house chores, I failed to write the address carefully, and the package was returned. My mother had been anxious to learn about my brother’s condition, yet I had not completed the task properly. Sobbing and speaking in anger and frustration, she said to me: “If I knew how to read and write, why would I need to bother you? If I could read the route legends of stop-signs at the bus stations, why would I have to walk miles and miles every day to deliver food?” Those words weighed heavily on my heart and left me filled with guilt and regret. (Note: I have always been regarded by family members as mother’s obedient and diligent daughter. ).
Like moar of my elder brothers and sisters, I developed a strong interest in learning and eventually built a career in military, politics, and journalism. One day, in a casual chatting, my mother jokingly remarked, “How wonderful it would be if I had a daughter with a doctorate.” I was surprised to hear such a statement from a woman who had never had the opportunity to attend an elementary school. Lightheartedly, I replied, “Well, perhaps, sometime in the future, I can earn one for you.”
Luckily, after winning a national competition that awarded me a two-year scholarship to study in the United States, I was given the opportunity to turn those words into reality, thought it took 12 years to complete through being an instructor and part-time student.
Throughout my long journey in military education, journalism, congressional /official services, and during more than two decades of teaching at universities and a technical college, I have continually reminded myself that most of my passion for learning and for education was motiva by a woman who could neither read nor write, yet who wanted her child to become someone capable of serving humanity.
Therefore, I dedicate this research project to my mother who passed away in 2005 (After completing the program, I brought my diploma back to the place where she stays. Although it was quite late, I imagined my mother would be happy to see it). I hope that, wherever she may be, she can see me striving each day to become a better person.
獻詞 (2015)
如果寫說 “字不識人,” 或所謂的 ”文盲” 有任何正面功能的話，我會說它是驅策我在一個充滿挑戰的環境下, 去完成學位的主要動力之一。 一般人理解的文盲, 常與貧窮, 無知, 孩子眾多, 與軟硬暴力等的負面狀況掛鉤, 這對早期的我, 與同時代處於類似環境下的人而言, 是相當平常的事. 但奇妙的是這個 “不識字,” 卻在於我追求世俗所謂的學位文憑與知識之間的做了一個重要的連結. 這個驅動力要從我的母親 (名字是黃蔡玉杯) 說起。她像她那一代, 以及更早之前的許多底層社會階級裡面的女性一樣，不識字, 是一種很正常的現象。 是的, 我的母親, 沒有那個機會, 也很認命地 ( “順天應人”?), 從未進過一天學校去讀書認字.
一如她那一代的許多女性，我母親, 親身經歷了20世紀台灣歷史的深刻地緣政治動盪與社會經濟困境。這些挑戰起源於日本殖民統治時期，並在國共內戰引發的社會動盪與衝突中加劇。1947年，在國民黨撤退到台灣之前，發生了228大屠殺 (也是我另一個碩士論文的主題, 完成於1993年, 存於威斯康辛大學麥迪遜校區的總圖書館, 最近已出版)，開啟了被稱為白色恐怖的壓制時代。隨後台灣民眾持續被戒嚴管控, 直到1987年，成為現代史上最長的連續軍事統治時期之一。在這樣精神與物質極端匱乏的環境之下，她努力不懈地養育十個孩子存活下來, 我覺得是一件相當了不起的事。
在做完這項教育的研究, 要寫下致意之詞, 就想起一兩件與母親之間的小故事. 它把母親的人生, 與我自己的教育旅程連結起來。我清楚記得青少年時期, 有一天，母親要我寄個包裹給遠方情況不是很好的哥哥。我由於忙於自己功課與家中雜事，一時疏忽, 沒能仔細寫好地址，結果包裹被退回。母親一直很擔心哥哥的處境，但我卻沒有好好完這項託付, 她是多麼信任我地啊, 而我卻是如此地不小心! 包裹沒有寄達, 對她而言, 是一件多麼難熬的擔憂與揪心的失望。她既憤怒又沮喪地對我說：「如果我會讀寫，為什麼要叫你做？如果我能在公車站看得懂車牌標誌，那還需要每天得走上面好幾里路去送飯？」這些話, 沉重地壓在我心頭，讓我充滿愧疚與難安。(註: 我一直是被親戚家人認定是母親心中聽話勤快的女兒. 母親極少對我有過如此氣急敗壞地質問, 如此疾言厲色地宣洩內心的焦慮…).
像我幾位兄姊們一樣，我對學習也產生了興趣. 最終在軍事教育、政治, 和新聞領域有所涉獵。有一天在閒聊中，母親開玩笑說：「如果我有一個拿到博士學位的女兒該多好啊。」我很驚訝聽到一位從來沒有讀過一天書, 更不曾了解學術領域或知識生活的母親說出這樣的話。我輕鬆地回答：「嗯，也許, 有一天, 我可以幫你爭取一個。」
幸運的是在1990年全國競試, 贏得兩年獎學金前往美國就讀後，有了機會把那個原本輕鬆的話題, 兌現為事實的機會, 然而卻是歷經12年, 在一面教書, 一面支持上學的費用情況下, 才逐漸完成了這個標的. 此後在漫長的學習生涯以及二十多年來在大學和科技學院任教的過程中，我不斷提醒自己，我對學習和教育的熱情，絕大部份是來自一位既不會讀寫，卻希望自己的孩子能成為能為人類服務的人。
因此，我將這個研究計畫的成果, 獻給我於2005年過世的母親 (2015年, 我帶回畢業證書, 在母親墳前, 雖然是晚了, 還是讓她看一下)。我希望無論她在何處，都能看到我每天努力成為更好的人。
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Looking back on these words today, I realize once again that the pursuit of knowledge has never been just a personal endeavor. Every book I have read, every lecture I have given in the classroom, every speech I have provided, and every milestone I have crossed is built upon the contributions of those who came before me, as well as the hopes or sacrifices of those around me. My mother never even had the chance to attend elementary school, but she understood the practical power of knowledge better than anyone I had met in my lifetime.
I think—sincere gratitude is probably the highest respect we can express to the giant who quietly helps us soar.
今天回頭看這些話，我再次意識到，求知從來不只是個人的奮鬥歷程。我讀過的每一本書、每上過的一堂課, 做過的一場演講、每一個跨過的里程碑，是建立在前人們的貢獻, 以及周遭親人的期盼或者是犧牲之上。我母親連上小學的機會都沒有, 但她比我在生活中所遇過的任何人, 都更懂得實際生活中知識的力量.
我想 - 真誠的感恩, 大概是對默默幫助我們飛翔的巨人, 所能表達的最高敬意。
片遍意憶, 之一 (A slice of her life - a hindsight 2020 about 2020)
https://ci8395.blogspot.com/2022/02/feb-1-t-2022-slice-of-life-storytelling.html
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寄居蟹 - Posted on Facbook, 01-20-22 (Th).
個人在臺灣的時候, 有一項目標準的從眾行為 – 那就是跟著大家, 加入無殼蝸牛族的行列.
當了軍人, 也為政府打雜 (行政院與立法院) 數年, 在那種框框架架的工作環境, 大腦僵化了, 腸胃也只能欣賞溫飽. 由於對錢財的觀念很顏回, 類似悶聲發大財迂迴側背熱門脈, 相當地孟子. 也花不上心思. 所以想擁有一個小小的鳥窩, 追尋有巢氏, 只能把它當成一種世俗的夢想或奢望.
每次回臺的時候, 還得還身充當數天的寄居蟹, 造訪我姐姐的住處. 而她保家衛國勤奮工作25年, 現已經年過七旬, 依舊與房貸緊緊的相依偎, 而我的小妹, 為了我的母親晚年的住處問題, 也跟著大家學貸款弄房子, 有個2K工作的待遇, 結果而把身體給累壞了 (那時候我還在他國求學並教書. 後來在2016年, 52歲的小妹因癌症去世, 使我痛不欲生, 而得抑鬱症, 後經治療與歲月的沉澱, 而逐漸健康復).
大概95%以上的人口, 有類似這這些暫居蟹, 租借蟹, 無殼蝸牛, 和嚮往有巢氏的經驗. 至於我, 頂個無三小路用的頭銜, 只得流浪異國他鄉討生活.
住是民生六大需求之一, 經濟學家把土地列為四大生產要素之首: 土地, 勞力, 資本, 經營. 有些國家把住的問題調理得當, 可以說是住者有其屋, 或由貸款, 或購買, 或者租借, 以及不願意擁有房子種種事宜來安居樂業, 比如在斯堪地那維亞國家社會政策, 致力於實踐禮運大同篇的主旨. 對人民居住問題的種種照顧, 達到不憂富而患不均的境界. 荷蘭做到想住就有房子的成就.有些國家則限制個人以及法人在房屋土地的擁有量. 然而有些國家卻坐視土豪劣紳, 官商勾結, 官官相護, 壟斷土地財源, 直慾普天之下莫非個人的王土, 極度影響廣大弱勢群體成家立業的機會與權益. 這些戲碼在中二補選, 以及現在正在進行的幾個大家族的土地炒做侵占等等糾紛, 大多數人已耳熟能詳. 不再贅述. 只是曾經無殼無巢滄海, 感觸也特別深, 在這兒寫點不成熟的看法, 若有不當不妥之處, 敬請不吝賜教!
這大概就是共產黨所有策反的計謀中, 最聰明的亮點吧: “打土豪, 分田地”! 這個口號不就是那麼地迷人, 那麼驚天駭地有號召力, 引爆無數無產工農兵的革命運動, 因為土地是天地自然共生, 不像荷蘭人能夠造陸而成的. 而土革比土改更為簡單有效率, 哪怕是無辜生命血流成河, 伏屍遍野!!
用土地當釣餌, 莫非就是直指人心內部很基本的渴望: 有土斯有財, 有財斯有人, 有人斯有政, 有政斯有權, 然後還原, 有權斯有更多財. 中共國今天能夠把巨賈富翁名流投機份子把玩在掌中心, 可收可放, 運用自如. 這黨中央掌控了土地這個金箍咒, 大概是主因之一. 而當今許多堅強的反共人士與鬥士們, 不乏因為被抄家, 抄財,抄產, 抄地位,抄名譽, (當然也有或被剝奪思想言論的自由等等) 而堅決反對中共國.
目前中共國正在覬覦香港寸土是金的土地, 欲收歸黨 (高幹領導)有, 以打倒資本主義所造成的貧富不均, 伸展張土地正義 的冠冕堂皇在動腦筋, 因為香港土地掌控在以四大家族為首的富豪手里: 李兆基家族，持有農地面積4500万平方英尺；郭得勝勝家族，持有農地面積3000万平方英尺；鄭裕彤家族，持有農地面積1700万平方英尺；李嘉真誠家族，持有農地面積900万平方英尺，總共持有10100万平米英尺。加上做房地產的大家: 劉鑾雄的華人置業，吳光正的九龍創業集團，英國太古集團等等，握有大量的土地.
中共國正努力在這曾經是東方之珠, 指出土地壟斷貧富懸殊的現象, 維尼熊不也就說了一句人話嗎 - 房子是用來住, 的不是用來壟斷霸佔炒作的… 不也就鼓舞撫慰了很多天真無辜無殼蝸牛寄居蟹的深處心靈?
而臺灣呢…自家事, 很多人是心知肚明的, 不再細談. 這也可能美國民主派人士, 關於臺灣對資本主義的過度擁抱, 有所保留.
過去根深蒂固的階級封建制度, 教育職業機會的種種不平等, 造成富者良田連綿萬畝, 廣廈豪宅千萬間, 朱門酒肉臭野有凍死骨要歷史悲情, 不斷重複上演. 社會詩人杜甫的 “茅屋為秋風所破’ 中的 “安得廣廈千萬間, 大庇天下寒士俱歡颜”成為永恆的夢想/魘. 這個理念多少它違背了資本主義, 尤其是保障私有財產的基本原則. 然而無限制的累積田地財富, 尤其是透過袖裡乾坤, 或得之於父祖遺產庇蔭不勞而獲者, 除非富不過三代是一個可能的事實, 否則貧富不均的惡化, 就是人類最大的夢魘之一.
美國這個超級資本主義的擁護者, 也是社會貧富不均的大本營, 把共產主義, 甚至是社會主義視為洪水猛獸般地撲抓打壓. 早期移民與政府, 從印地安人原住民巧取豪奪來的土地 (加上由1846-48美墨戰爭, 向墨西哥人得來的南部廣大六州土地, 以及運好, 於1803向法國廉價購買的路易斯安納, 和1867俄國的阿拉斯加等等), 他們哪能不知有土斯有財啊, 所以既得利益權貴們, 無論如何一定得立法保障財產”私”有的合法性與永恆性! 目前共和黨以及傳播媒介, 鎮日洗腦廣播良性社會主義的可怖, 力主維持與擴展歷來優勢團體既得利階級的最大權益, 來與民主黨抗衡. 所以這是類似於有與沒有, 少有與無有的權力鬥爭. 而民意的覺醒, 是最後終極的裁判者, 然而由於教育與宗教的受制於某些特殊利益團體與意識型態的掌控, 難得有功. (我自不勞而獲者己是社會學科的教育者, 也常常感到窒息與不易以伸展之處.)
如上提及, 最近臺灣炒得沸沸揚揚有關幾個大家族的官商勾結, 皆擺脫不了土地的魔咒. 俗話說水可以載舟也可以覆舟, 土地不就也能如此一番嗎? 大眾社會還得感謝 3Q 即時的無心植柳效應, 和幾個媒體的願意, 或者是敢於說良心話, 才把臺灣盤根錯節, 隱藏多時的惡瘤, 尋找療方, 否則任其惡化, 不只是民安問題, 國安也岌岌可危 !
我深信有許多正直清廉的官府公僕, 不求名不求利, 默默地為民眾社會國家服務, 然而難免也有鼠屎壞了湯粥的弊端. 一些在做隱匿, 官官相護的人兒們, 也警覺了起來, 開始在動員了. 趕快謝謝 3Q 吧.
話多必失, 就用一句最簡單的話做結語: 想穿了, 土地最大的功能, 還不就是讓骨灰還原 - 來自於微塵, 中歸於淨土<3!?
Krystal LC Huang
無古不成今.
司法行政制度調整更改,
是春蠶到死絲未盡的…
天網恢恢疏而不漏, 一步是一腳印的呦!
https://ci8395.blogspot.com/search?q=%E7%84%A1%E6%AE%BC%E8%9D%B8%E7%89%9B
Krystal LC Huang
Just found an old writing of 2016 about Housing Movements in Taiwan related to the the last piece posted above: https://www.facebook.com/notes/2491655747794064/
Feb. 26 (F), 2016 How to have a tiny home...
02/26/16 (F) 追尋有巢氏...How to Earn The Identity of Landownership: This is your land – the reality of “有土斯有財” vs. the myth of “住者有其屋"
Krystal LC Huang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s
YOUTUBE.COM
Woody Guthrie- This Land Is Your LandWoody Guthrie- This Land Is Your Land
Krystal LC Huang
Just browsed Andy Tung's post. Thanks https://www.facebook.com/ct176/posts/10153360448721366
Krystal LC Huang
他山之石: http://www.oranjeexpress.com/2014/10/06/p2919/
Krystal LC Huang
http://www.wisland.cc/Main.php?stat=a_nmxnsev&mid=98 他山之石:
WISLAND.CC
荷蘭：只要想住，就有地方住荷蘭：只要想住，就有地方住
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A Speech at the AAUW Conference in Cedar Rapid City, South Dakota - 24 years ago.
Dear Friends of AAUW,
First of all, I would like to thank you for the fantastic job you have done in opening my eyes as a brand-new member. Then, I want to thank Kathleen, who introduced and encouraged me to join this big family, giving me this opportunity to learn from you. Peg picked us up from the airport on our way to the conference, which made me feel so welcome. Cheryl and Rusty, thanks for the email connection and your sincere help in making this trip possible.
Finally, I want to express my appreciation to your Mayor, who sang a wonderful song for us. I won’t forget his wonderful voice. Please promise to say thank you to him.
I was amazed to learn that AAUW was 121 years young. One hundred and twenty-one years is equivalent to my grandma’s generation, my mother’s generation, my generation, and my nieces’ generation together. During that century, while AAUW had accomplished so many great things to encourage and help girls and women reach their potential, what did my grandma and mother do? And what about my generation and my nieces—what are we doing?
So, I decided to tell three women’s stories from Taiwan.
Once upon a time, a little girl was born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 19xx. Her name is Amei-a. When she was a young girl, she told her mom that she would like to be an artist, a ballerina, a poet, and a diplomat.(A sidebar sharing a quite relevant story: an anecdote about how to be nice and encouraging :)! — An elementary school teacher, Mr. 呂芳德, kindly flattered Amei-a’s teacher, Ms. 吳隆香, when they were at 螢橋國小, Yin-Chiao Elementary School. He was talking about a 小時了了 entertaining message, and said that this girl, Amei-a, would be the President of Taiwan in the future!!! Haha, how wonderful and kind of him! Both the teacher and Amei-a were quite happy to hear that because the future Vice President, the future Secretaries of various Departments, and the rest of the important rank and file could also be found among the students who entered the school that year :)! ! :)!
This is the first story of the three.
So, you can see, most of her interests seemed to relate to feminine fields. But think about it: such a young girl was hardly qualified to have been enlightened as a young “feminist” during the 19xxs in Taiwan. The possibility of being a female computer scientist or engineer was about as likely as the cats in Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own wanting to go to heaven.
Since we are talking about cats, as the bishop commented in Virginia Woolf’s article, Amei-a needed to confess that she had not read it when she was young. If she had known that she needed a room of her own—with CASH—to be herself, she would have been afraid to tell her mom about her ridiculously daydreaming wannabe dreams.
Furthermore, if she had learned earlier about John Adams’s famous remarks, she would have been afraid to make such “Enormously Unrealistic” wishes within her own social stratum (yes, plainly speaking—a very “challenging social class”).
Adams once said something like, “Because of my father’s hard work, I could study military science and politics; therefore, my sons could learn law and engineering, and my grandsons could become artists or poets.” Something like that….
You see, what an interesting statement! It truly stimulated her brain to tick!
First of all, it is all about men- the father, himself, the sons, and the grandsons. Where were the great grandma, grandma and the mother, the daughters and daughters-in-law, and the “Shakespeare’s sisters”? Secondly, it lets her think, how wonderful or how lucky it could be if she had had a father similar to Adams!Finally, darn it, she is not a son, but another potential “Shakespeare’s sister”!
Since she has mentioned “father,” let her quickly and briefly introduce her father (though we are talking about women, without men, women’s stories would have been very different, wouldn’t they?). She needs to be objective and neutral toward her father, who passed away several years ago.
Her father was born in 1910, during the Japanese occupation. Putting it this way, let us recall a movie—perhaps you have seen it—The Last Emperor. The last Sino-Japanese war brought the end of the Qing dynasty. The Qing Empire was defeated and ceded Taiwan to Japan. From 1895 to 1945, Taiwanese people were like orphans suddenly tossed into the hands of a foreign regime that strategically ruled them through both repressive and conciliatory tactics for half a century.
Amei-a’s father was required to receive four years of Japanese elementary education, which was all the formal education he could attend. Such a “privilege” was perhaps given to him because he had been born with the desirable gender.
To save time for the key stories, let us skip her father’s story and go directly to the second one. It is about Amei-a’s mother.
Born during the Japanese colonization, like many poor women of her generation, she was encouraged to have as many children as possible. The “reproductive machines” were highly demanded to produce more workers and soldiers for Japan’s military expansion.
Her mother did have ten children.
According to the prevailing thinking about women’s “comparative advantage,” and based on the popular theory advocated by Edward Clarke in 1873 that education could damage a woman’s womb, her mother and women of her generation were deprived of opportunities for education. As a result, she could neither read nor write.
Although she was a so-called “illiterate,” she insisted that children should have an education.
“Children should have education” is equivalent to “people need to breathe, to eat, and to drink” in today’s society.
So, what’s new about it?
Now, again, the story needs to be situated in its historical context. (For a detailed discussion of the conditions of that time, please refer to my thesis, A Multi-Level Analysis of the 228 Social Movement (A Massacre) of 1947 in Taiwan, deposited in the General Library of UW-Madison in 1993.)
Among her peers, the idea of educating girls was like a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle. Just by looking at how her contemporaries dealt with their daughters, you can imagine how noble an idea Amei-a’s mother had!
Among Taiwanese women of her age group, approximately 95 percent were poor and illiterate. One of their major anxieties was being unable to afford their daughters’ future dowries. Under an old form of “social exchange theory,” a bride’s value could be evaluated according to the size of the dowry her family was expected to provide to the bridegroom’s family in exchange for “obtaining” her.
As a result, giving away or exchanging daughters as future child brides (童養媳)—girls who were brought into a family as prospective daughters-in-law and were often brutally mistreated by their future mothers-in-law—was a common practice among families in the lower social stratum.
Many young girls were even sold to wealthy families as child laborers or domestic servants; some were effectively treated as household slaves. Others eventually ended up in another highly demanded “business”: brothels.
Amei-a’s mother loved her children very much. Those young girls’ horrifying nightmares never happened to Amei-a’s female siblings. However, her eldest sister, Akiko (秋子—a name carrying the “legacy” of Imperial Japan’s occupation of Taiwan), had to sacrifice herself to help support the family.
Right after graduating from elementary school, at that very young age, she went to work in textile factories as a weaver—a very popular and booming industry at that time, during the Second Wave of Globalization making its way through Taiwan. She worked until the day she had to marry, according to the social norm, with a chronic occupational lung disease. (I guess that was the result of the horrible working conditions she had endured.)
As for Amei-a, she realized how important money was to her family. She always had a strong desire to please her mom and soothe her mother’s constant anxiety over the family’s financial stress. She worked at many little jobs starting in elementary school.
Two of the bigger and more significant jobs she had were at branches of multinational corporations in Taipei. One was Max Factor Cosmetic Inc. (This was where she got her watery-pinky eyes from the powder particles that flew into them when she hand-made cosmetic compacts as an elementary school kid.) The other was an international traveling-bag manufacturing company.
She recalled taking her younger sister, Li-chun, with her to work under those difficult conditions, earning 3–8 cents per hour. No such term as “child labor” existed at that time, not to mention that anyone had ever heard of child-labor laws, because children were assets, not liabilities, at a time when a carefree childhood was an unimaginable luxury!
Kathleen just mentioned the positive and negative sides of Globalization (not Internationalization). I think her female siblings are good witnesses to the sweet bitterness of those days!
Definitely, Amei-a’s female siblings contributed their efforts to the stage of the for-better-and-for-worse Globalization processes (yes, the Rampant Free Trade in love with the Dominated Free Markets :)! And they were those little Free Souls with the ABSOLUTE FREE CHOICE UNDER THE FREE WILL to enjoy the tiny $ents they happily earned to lift up the global big boats !) in Taiwan. They were also part of the legend of establishing the famous MIT Kingdom (Made in Taiwan—yup, still remember that???—the buzzword of 亞洲四小龍, the Four Asian Tigers, the four Far-Eastern burgeoning dragons???) with unimaginable joy (tiny yet significant money) and sacrifice (terrible working conditions).
Male siblings, even when born into a humble background, could still receive enough attention and protection from their mother and nurturing from their sisters. For example, Amei-a reminisced that she received many kinds of what might nowadays be called TV “Survivor” training, or perhaps an early gender boot camp (油麻菜籽), unconsciously: doing all the family laundry by hand, working in the factory, bringing money home, keeping her brothers’ rooms tidy, being a hard-working and obedient good girl, and so on and so forth. She was a very little girl who had been culturally, ideologically, and gender-socialized to stay put (認命). She and her sisters took turns cooking and cleaning.
But the most terrible nightmare of hers at that time came when she was in high school, which was a very competitive one, Taipei Municipal First Girls’ Senior High School. Every day, she anxiously watched her classmates (indeed, some of them were her strong competitors :)), going to expensive cram schools after class for another two or three hours of extra homework drills and preparation, so they could do well on the next day’s quizzes and exams and remain competitive in class.
Meanwhile, she had to go to families who hired her to tutor their children so that she could bring some money home. You can imagine: after family chores, tutoring jobs, and schoolwork, there was not much time left to prepare for the next day’s challenges at school.
But fortunately, thanks to God, Buddhas, Allah, and all sorts of almighty powers’ blessings, through all those experiences, she got the chance to keep her head above water :)! Who says that “Things that cannot break you make you stronger”? Indeed!
WHO could deny the fact that Amei-a is A Luckily CHOSEN ONE—to have survived pretty well—so far !
Now, recalling those particular challenges that Amei-a had, she realizes how fortunate she has been and how many blessings and privileges she had compared with her eldest siblings—merely because of the randomness of birth order. Her eldest brother and sister had to bear much of the family responsibility and take care of their younger siblings. She could hardly imagine what her life would have been like had she been born into the same situation as her eldest brother and sister.How lucky she was to have escaped that birth-order-Ascribed-trap! She had witnessed some of her female classmates in elementary school who were forced to drop out to help support their families.
(Note—some sociology jargon: an ascribed status is a social position obtained by birth, such as race, sex, birth order, family background/social class, cultural capital endowed at birth, and so on—or a status involuntarily acquired later in life. Mainly, these are statuses without choice, compared with achieved status, which is based on one's later efforts and choices. Both can work in positive and negative ways.)
Now I had better quickly jump to the third woman’s story. I am running out of time.
She was a wet nurse.
A wet nurse was usually a woman living in poverty who used her breast milk to nurture another family’s baby when the mother could not or did not want to nurse the child herself. The wet nurse would be called in to breast-feed and care for the baby and would earn a small fee for her service.
The third story also relates to Amei-a’s mother. Her biological grandmother died shortly after giving birth to her mother. You know, at that time, a woman giving birth was almost like putting one of her legs into the casket. (Just recall the horrifying ordeal Mary Wollstonecraft went through in such a tragedy!) Childbirth could threaten the lives of both baby and mother. We often focus on how high the infant mortality rate was—but what about the life-risking mothers??
Amei-a’s grandfather had to marry a widow who already had four children of her own. After witnessing the stepmother’s abusive behavior toward the little baby—Amei-a’s mother—he decided to save his daughter’s life by sending her to a wet nurse’s home and paying the woman a meager fee to care for her.
In the long run, Amei-a’s mother decided not to return to her stepmother’s home and stayed with the wet nurse’s family.
The nanny (whom Amei-a’s mother called Grandma at that time) had seven surviving children: three boys and four girls. Each time she gave birth, if the baby was a boy, she kept him; if it was a girl, she would arrange to sell or give her away. The girls were often given names carrying gender derogation, such as 罔腰, 招弟, 一招, and 再招—names frequently seen at that time. (For more details, please refer to my thesis, Social Ideology and Gender Roles—Contemporary Women’s Issues in Taiwan [社會意識型態與性別角色—論臺灣社會變遷中婦女問題], 1986, deposited in the Graduate Library of National Taiwan University.)
Thus, her breast milk could be used to nurture other families’ babies. She kept only one daughter to help with family chores and take care of other family members.
Two of her daughters were sold, and one of them almost ended up in a brothel. Amei-a’s mother—who had become the eldest daughter in the nanny’s family, and whom the nanny herself dared not mistreat—used every possible means to rescue her from that misery.
As for the money the nanny earned, she used it to support the whole family.
Remember, during Japanese imperial rule, Taiwanese men were oppressed too, although in a different fashion from women—and no better off than under the Nationalist government that later retreated to Taiwan after World War II. But that is another tragically long story.
Now, I hope you won’t be misled by my anecdotal stories about the true face of women in Taiwan during the early 20th century. I wish I could have presented more accurate data about the social conditions of those days. But now, the misery of women has been replaced by a new vitality through tremendous socioeconomic transformation, brought about by the availability of educational and occupational opportunities for most female citizens. Just comparing my current academic and career opportunities with those of my mother would be evidence enough.
So, regarding the generation next to mine, are you curious about it?
Yes, let me tell you: each time I go back to Taiwan, I just cannot tell whether my nieces are American girls or Japanese young ladies (via global media penetration and hegemonic hierarchy??)! They enjoy the tremendous economic affluence in Taiwan. They dye or highlight their hair, change the colors of their contact lenses, and dress up like postmodern girls or Westerners, with all sorts of fancy stuff and electronic gadgets that make their Auntie Crystal look like a modern pumpkin.
They just want everything that affluent societies have and enjoy! They are experiencing the fourth stage of Rostow’s economic development model—the “high consumption era.”
The trajectory of women’s development in many societies has striking similarities, reflecting their specific socioeconomic conditions and cultural ideologies. That is why it is important for women from different cultures, nations, races, and classes to get together and share our experiences as women.
Taiwan presents a wonderful case study of women’s striving for justice in a developing society during the 20th and 21st centuries. The history of women’s development in Taiwan was relatively young, but impressive. Grassroots women’s movements generated more than 50 NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) advocating women’s rights.
Through 30 years of educational empowerment, women’s movements led by well-educated middle-class women and their associated organizations had accomplished a number of major successes legislatively, economically, and politically by the time of this speech:Taiwan had elected its first female Vice President in 2000, and, in January 2012, had its first female presidential candidate running against two male candidates, narrowly losing the election;
passed legislation establishing equal rights and equal pay;
amended several family laws to protect single parents and divorced women; and
passed legislation allowing same-sex couples to marry and protecting their legal rights.
In conclusion, could you believe that, if you give a man a thriving opportunity, he might save and build a country; but if you give a woman a proper opportunity to develop her potential, she might keep a nation healthy and bring up future generations that are kind, compassionate, and productive?
This might be one of the main reasons we say that a civilization should not be measured by the amount of its GDP or GNP, but by how it treats its children, its women—and, yes, its animals?????
Due to time constraints, the statistical data relating to the changing socioeconomic status of women in Taiwan will be shown through the slides/PowerPoint presentation.
Thank you for all your attention and patience.
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A Speech at the Annual Spring Awards and Recognition
April 23, 2003 Wednesday
Mary, Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening!
I am honored that Mary invited me to share some experiences inside and outside of my intro sociology course with you.
First of all, I would like to congratulate all the recipients for your tremendous efforts and talents to receive such honorable awards.
Second, I would like to share some of my mainstream and non-mainstream cultural experience with you.
For the mainstream cultural part, I learn a lot of with great joy, especially from Steve’s family, such as Easter celebration, Thanksgiving Turkey dinner, and Christmas night showed with gifts from with Steve’s family members. I also appreciate the American style of parental love that my parents-in-law give to me. I learn and appreciate American people’s hardworking, self-reflecting, freedom and sense of humor. I am so amazed by American’s democratization of educational system, and I am also glad being baptized with “the sky is the limit” technology.
In addition to abovementioned joyful journey, tonight, I want to point out another different non-mainstream journey that I have walked through with some of my students. Having served at Stout for four and half years, I collect some anecdotes and stories that might interest you. Many of them are derived from the commonality, similarity in terms of cultural experiences of acculturation and assimilation process, and socio-economic backgrounds that share between my students and me especially students from Hmong, Native American, African-American, and Hispanic cultures. Due to limited time, I would like to mention a couple of them.
The first story is about learning. Some of my students know that storytelling and self-disclosure are parts my “Courage to Teach” and part of my teaching strategies.
I enjoy learning, and I am a typical life-long learner. One of an excellent but dramatic or “traumatic” ways to learn is submerge yourself into different culture. In 1990, a full-scholarship brought me to UW-Madison when I was 35 years old. I started to relearn everything, like a new born child, except that I have some English learning experience when I was in the Junior and senior High school in Taipei. Being in the transition from single culture to cross-culture, there are a lot of gain and loss, joy and loneliness, succeed and frustration. Evidently, there are tons of barriers lie in front of you – language is the first one, and the whole set of different value and belief systems is another. They are prices you have to pay, and subtle joys you will receive.
One student told me that her mom and dad could not speak English very well, because they were the first generation immigrants due to political persecution happening in their native country. She revealed her own struggles to conquer the obstacle in learning English. She also proudly told me that and she has as many as siblings as I have, and she worked several jobs too. Most importantly,
she was one of the top students in that class even though she had to face so many barriers. The other student said she could understand what I had been through just by looking at her parents and her own generation’s acculturation process. You see, students come to understand you, and comfort you, and even help you grow. Their self-disclosures were right after our coverage of social stratification. In those classes I did a story tellings, using anecdotal episodes in regard to the global village, social class and social mobility, gate-keeping and glass ceiling, and meritocracy and so on those buzzwords. One of those stories went this way (with a tiny shack picture projected on screen-need a simple projector.) This is the home right before Crystal was born in early 1950s. You know, I dare not to show this picture to anybody when I was young in Taiwan. I know if I did it, I would invite lots of distain and suspicion. Now, due to Courage to Teach, I know my students will not show despise on me as an individual coming from poor family.
O.K. turning to this heirloom, in side this shack there lived 3 generations of 24 extended family members. There were grandpa, grandma uncles and aunts. The central figure was the mother who has never been allowed to go to any level of schools. She is so-called “illiterate”-she can not read, nor write, but she is very intelligent and beautiful. She gave birth 10 children. Her husband, fortunately or unfortunately received 4 years Japanese elementary education due to Japan’s occupation in Taiwan. He seemed not interested in family stuff. So, the mother and kids have to learn to help one another for surviving (40-50 years ago, Taiwan did not have any social security or welfare systems.) Now she is always try to shy away people’s curiosity about “how do you raise kids with PhD, with maters maters’ or at lease college degree under that kind of unbelievable circumstances?”
The other episode was when we were talking about global stratification and we learned to debate the benefit and cost of globalization. And I think what the best example can be to tell you my story of being a female child labor working for the International corporate Max factor cosmetics’ company in Taiwan, working 5 cents per hour with the pink eyes story. Actually, for 95-99% I could have ended up as a little worker in the factory for the rest of my life. And my older sister worked for another multinational textile company, she earned 10 cents per hours. Yes, all my female siblings participated in and witness both the positive and negative effects of the first wave of globalization marching through Taiwan 30-to to 40 years ago. How could I be stingy not to tell these sociological stories to my students?
I realize, most of students not only could tie my socio-cultural disclosures, or anecdotal style of story telling to the concepts of sociology, but also they want to disclose their inner concerns to me too by their reaction paper writing and email. For example, this semester, when we covered Culture and Society, one of student talked about his parents really missed their native country in South-ease Asia, there, although people might think them backward, and poor, but lots of genuine human connections and cultural richness that they suppose to enjoy. He commented on monoculture not a positive social phenomena from his perspective. As a minority student with all kind disadvantages he is the top student in that class.
The next story was about Tony Queen. I have been teaching 22 class sections within 7 semesters. Among the half of these class sessions, I was the only “minority” in terms of age, gender, race, religion, and nationality inside those classrooms. Before talking about Tony, I have another small episode, which gave me a head-start to pay lots attentions to the American racial issues from the very first day I came to U.S.
Back to 1990, I came to America to study Sociology. My brother was working on his Post-Doctoral degree at the Auburn University. He gave me a tour. Around Washington D.C., I asked my brother why the living environment, and the people inside and surrounding D.C. were like heaven and hell? My brother did not say much. Perhaps, he just wanted me to learn the answer on my own. But he did respond to me, “Outside D.C. area reminded me of so much similarity of the way we grew up.” So, from that time on, I paid great attention to the racial and ethnic issues in the U.S., and tried very hard to act out my concerns regarding social inequality based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical condition, religion.
Now turning back to Tony. In one occasion, I was the only minority inside the classroom. Several students challenged me that we didn’t have racial or ethnic problems or gender discrimination issues, and suggested whether we could skip Racial and gender inequality chapter. That issue really challenged me. How did I handle that kind of situation? It’s really tough. That’s why Tony Queen from Multicultural Center came to rescue me a couple of times. Especially, last time, Tony was attending an out-of-state meeting. And he had to catch morning six o’clock flight to come to my 8 am sociology class. Tony’s stories always touch my student’s and my hearts. I saw so many similarities of growing up between his and my families. The difference is that his circumstances were much more difficult, much more dangerous, and much more adverse than mine, even though he was in his own country.
I know you understand what I am saying- being a minority is no FUN, but, fortunately, it gives you lots of room to think and to grow, and help others to do so!!
Yes, there are barriers, but with persistence and efforts, you will make it. If you want to know more about Tony’s heartstring-touching story, please make an appointment with him. There are still a lot of stories that I really want to share with you. Due to time concern, I will stop here.
Finally, congratulations for all of your efforts to be recognized and obtain such honorable awards. I fully understand that journey! I have a few words for you- Make better best, and keep best excellent. You are doing it and will be constantly doing so.
