Body & Soul

Having been in America for more than 2 years, I finally finished an English book. Ironically, it was not even written by an English native speaker. The topic of this book, however, is undoubtedly American- Boxing in American black ghetto.

Back in 1988, Louie Wacquant, a now well-regarded French sociologist, registered to a boxing gym located in 63rd street of Chicago. He immersed himself inboxing and the gym so much that he even wanted to quit his academic career to turn into a professional boxer. From his field notes in the Woodlawn Boys Club, we have the opportunity to peep into the world of boxing and boxers from the rough neighborhood.

In the midst of ghetto, the gym was dominated by mostly young black males. The people came here to work out and learn the pugilistic art in hope of escaping their unwilling destiny on the streets. The gym keeps them busy and away from the streets where many of their fellows end up in drugs or victims of homicides. The gym is like a social agent. The guys from the rough neighborhood came to burn their energy and identify themselves as members of a big family under the paternal figure, the chief coach, DeeDee, in contrast to the prevailing insecurity feeling of the ghetto. Majority of the gym members had been the veterans of street fights since they were kids. In the world of ghetto, you need to be tough to survive. The gym also served as a shelter where the young black males can take refuge from the unfairness outside of the gym. Here, if you train hard and you get to the ring when it is your time, you would be fully accepted among your peers. Unlike outside, the judgment goes with your class and skin color.

This book interests me a lot. First, the neighborhood Louie lived in is very much similar to where I am- The border between a very prestigious university and the black ghetto. In such a place, you can see tremendous contradictions and contrasts between white and black, or more specifically rich and poor. Just going one block more, you will be alerted and confused as if you were in another world- As poor as some third world countries, and more depressing since it is right next to one of best universities that some of the richest kids in the world go. In winter, you will see homeless people sleeping on the streets and trembling, and you will also see rich drunk college students fooling around and laying on the ground just for fun! In a society, which seems to blame the underclass for their own fate, it takes me a long time to understand things are actually more complicated than the first glance.

Second, I was really surprised to see those pictures taken in late 1980s. Those decayed buildings resemble exactly the same to those today in west Philadelphia. Of course, they do, since many buildings in the ghetto have stayed the same since 1970s when the rich started to move out of the inner city to the suburbia.

Last, Louie applied an Anthropological approach in Sociology. He became a fully accepted member of the gym, which in return became an integrated part of his life. Through his words, I began to recognize as human beings, each of them have different personality and emotion like me. However, sympathy and ostensible understanding are always easier and cheaper than real recognition. In Science and Academia, we tend to dehumanize our subjects so being able to be objective. When scholars observe and discuss the poverty in endless academia seminars, they do not seem to really understand it. Anyway, it is not in my neighborhood, not in my backyard. As observers and outsiders, we will hardly do anything good but let the situation deteriorate.
*Data from CIA website.
Population below poverty line:
Taiwan: 1% (2001 est.)......Can you believe it?
China: 10% (2001 est.)…….So called communist country?
United States: 12%( 2004 est)................Viva America!!!
France: 6.5% (2000 est)

Population below poverty line
Definition: National estimates of the percentage of the population falling below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group. Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations.

費城

偶爾會發現費城的好，
就是在這樣一個晴空萬裡的午後，
坐在這個有雅痞味道的咖啡廳裡，
聽聽免費的音樂演奏，
喝著價錢和糖分都只有Starbucks咖啡一半的咖啡。
我想這整福畫面裡最不協調的大概就是→我，穿著亮黃色的2000生科營 T-shirt

Cinemania

在美國，
對於喜歡看電影，
又不喜歡被限制在好萊屋片的人，
我想最好的就是，選擇性超多紀錄片，
這些紀錄片可以是支持特定意識型態→ The Corporation;
或甚至是打擊特定政治人物→ Fahrenheit 911;
講解美國文化來由→ Dogtown and Z-boys;

很多片看完後，你很有可能會有比美國人了解美國的感覺，很有趣！
許多人可能不知道，現在極限運動裡的滑板運動所使用的U行板，這個概念可是來自於LA後院裡的乾掉游泳池。
Rap的起頭是對於civil right的不平之鳴。

昨天在Hooky的推薦下，
我一早就去把Cinemania租回來。
影片內容大抵是講述幾個分別住在紐約的人，
雖然有種種的生活問題，卻把看電影當成身活中最重要的事，
一年看超過1000部電影。
在鏡頭下，我們看到了生活困頓，孤單的幾個個體，
把自己埋身在黑暗的電影院裡。
把電影裡面的故事，當成自己的故事；
把電影裡面的喜怒哀樂，當成自己的喜怒哀樂。
影片的開始到最後，
我的心情由一開始的恐怖到後來的傷心，最後變成悵然。
恐怖：這些人已經完全活在自己和電影的世界中。
傷心：導演到最後讓這幾個人看這部紀錄片。我想，這些人最後的夢土：電影院，也被攻陷了。
再不願意，也得在電影中面對自己。
悵然：其實大多數的人都過著類似的生活，每天敲鐘打卡，又得催眠自己，現在在作的事，
是再了不得的事！

照面：Cinemania

前陣子在離開LA前開始讀卡謬的「瘟疫」，
故事大抵是說：
北非靠地中海的某個法屬小城爆發瘟疫，
並實行封城隔離政策，避免瘟疫蔓延出去。
被大多數被強迫留在城裡的人，不管是原本就住在此地的人，
或是為了某種原因而來到這個小城作短暫停留過客，
都被迫和在城外的：愛人、家人、或朋友分開。
時間一天天的過去，
沒有一個人可以確定，
這場因瘟疫而引起的流放感覺何時會結束？
大家只能無限期的等待再等待！
在那個沒有網路的年代，
千言萬語，都只能用電報的幾個樣本代替，
再強的情感聯繫，
也隨著無止盡的流放感而逐漸模糊。

這本書的描述，
讓我在國外這種失根的感覺，
有了強烈的認同。
看不到流放日子 結束的一天，
卻又無意識的開始將對遠方的親友的想念包上一層層的糖衣，
想念和被放逐感如此的強烈，
以致於這種感覺的本身大過了想念對象的面容。

聽起來很詭異，
但這半年來，搬了六次家，
兩次橫跨美國東西岸，
只能說，
搬家更助長了這種失根的感覺，
既傷神也傷身。

照片：文章這麼憂鬱，來點喜氣洋洋的感覺吧 ！！

來到美國將近兩年，
到底對美國的什麼最印象深刻？
噁心的食物、滿街的胖子、還是各種陳列在賣場裡的荒謬商品？
都不是，而是在每個城市都有的幾條街，或甚至一整個社區。
這幾條街，可不是一般的街，
你可以用各種英文形容：rough neighborhood, ghetto, slum, or how about fucked-up area?
總而言之，就是「生人勿近」。
街上各處堆滿了垃圾，破敗的房子比我在祕魯壞區裡看到的房子還要破敗。
在晴空萬里的日子裡，你卻感覺的到連陽光都射不近來。
難道這就是老祖宗所說的：至陰之地？
或者是日本漫畫裡的「結界」？
都不是，只不過是所謂的貧民區。

照片：這是我在往上找了好一毀才找到的照片，並不好找哩。因為大家都到這個問題視而不見，避而不談。
接下來的文章大家大概會常常看到有關的討論吧！