Our society adores and worships smart people. When a person is accepted into an elite high school, our great educators award them with uniforms; moreover, some uniforms even have colors so strong that you can recognize those excellent students by merely the color of the uniform they wear. Wherever they go, their uniforms are telling people they are elite students. The great educators created the uniform system to help students develop the sense of superiority, because they are elite, they deserve to be praised wherever they go. If it is correct to value elite students more than other mediocre students, then isn’t it more important to help elite students develop good personality? But our society has been doing the opposite things.
我們的社會崇拜聰明人。當一個人考進所謂的菁英高中時，偉大的教育者用制服獎賞他們；更有甚之，有些制服的顏色甚至顯眼到光看顏色就知道他們是超級優秀的學生。不管他們走到哪裡，身上的制服都在告訴大家他們是菁英學校的學生。偉大的教育者創造出制服系統，幫助學生培養出優越感，因為他們是菁英，他們走到哪裡都應該被讚美。如果說，菁英學生的價值高於資質平庸的學生這件事是正確的，那麼，培養菁英學生良好的人格，豈不是更加重要。但是，我們的社會一直在做的是相反的事。
And how much do we adore elite high school uniforms? For example, when some elite high school students helped their blind classmate in some school activity, their act of kindness appeared on the newspaper. They were not only elite but also very kind. Bravo. But, when I helped a blind person across the roads, I have, several times, actually, I never made it to the news. Because the person I helped was not my classmate, just a mere stranger, and certainly I wasn’t wearing green uniform, consequently I didn’t deserve any praise.
而我們又是如何的崇拜菁英學校的制服？例如，當某些菁英學校的學生，在校內活動幫助盲人同學時，他們的善舉立刻登上報紙。他們不但是菁英，而且心地善良。Bravo、 Bravo、 Bravo。但是，當我幫助盲人過馬路時，而且我還雞婆了好幾次，我從來沒有登上報紙。因為我幫助的不是我同學，只是一個陌生人，而且我當然沒有綠制服可以穿，結果當然是不值得表揚。
Let’s picture something like this. In a very crowded bus, two high school students stood side by side, so close they could almost feel each other’s breath. These two students were both wearing uniforms, so we could see that one of them was an elite student, while the other one was not, just a mediocre student who studied in the evening department of a high school. It was morning, the elite student was of course on the way to school, while the mediocre one was on the way to work, then go to school after work.
想像一個畫面。在一台擁擠的公車上，兩個高中生站在一起，距離近到幾乎可以感覺到彼此的呼吸。這兩個學生都穿制服，所以我們可以很清楚的看到一個是菁英高中的學生，另一個只是資質平庸的學生，讀夜校。那天是早上，菁英高中生搭公車當然是要去上學，資質平庸的學生是要去上班，下班後才能去上學。
If you were the parent of the above-mentioned elite student, maybe you would feel very proud. But has it ever occurred to you the feeling of the other mediocre student? Or it is not necessary to consider their feelings at all because mediocre students aren’t worth of any attention; they are doomed in the bottom of the society, anyway.
如果你是以上這個菁英高中的學生家長，想必心中甚是驕傲。但是，你可曾想過這個資質平庸的學生是什麼心情？或者說，我們根本不需要去考慮資質平庸學生的心情，因為他們根本不值得獲得任何關注；而且，反正他們注定要待在社會底層。
But with or without uniform, the society helps and allows students from elite school to build up a strong sense of superiority, which nurtures pride, prejudice, arrogance, even class consciousness. So, when they do something nasty out of pride, prejudice, arrogance, and class consciousness, they didn’t even realize what they had done. They thought they were just having fun. What kind of people would make fun of people by insulting them without knowing it? They are elite students, certainly they are not too dumb to understand it is not right to insult people. Then what made them did it without knowing it? Because they did it out of their strong sense of superiority, so that they were too proud, prejudiced, arrogant, even class conscious to understand what they had done.
但是，不管有沒有穿制服，社會都幫助並且允許菁英學生培養出一股強烈的優越感，衍生而出的是傲慢、偏見、自大，甚至階級意識的人格。所以，當他們因為出於自身的傲慢、偏見、自大，甚至階級意識，而做出不好的事情時，他們完全不明白自己做了什麼。他們以為自己只是單純的在開玩笑而已。哪種人會把污辱他人這種事當成樂趣？他們是菁英學生耶，當然不會蠢到不知道污辱他人是不對的。那麼他們為什麼會做了這種蠢事而不自知？因為促使他們做出這件蠢事是他們強烈的優越感，以至於他們傲慢、偏見、自大，甚至階級意識如此巨大到不明白自己做了什麼。
The society helps build up the character of these excellent students, don’t they? The society planted bad seeds in these young people and now the society is tasting the bitter fruits. The society simply deserved it. I don’t know what the society is whining about. Just suck it up.
是這個社會幫助菁英學生建立出如此的人格的，不是嗎？社會在這些年輕學生身上種下不好的種籽，結果現在自食惡果。這個社會根本就是活該。不知道社會在靠腰什麼。吞下去吧！
Since we are all a part of the society, we are all accomplices.
既然我們都是社會的一份子，我們都是共犯。
照片是謝小丸子
這篇文章無關貓生食，是我為我的帕比樂英文小教公寓寫的。
我經營的帕樂英文小公寓是小班制英文教學，上課讀沒什麼用的英文小說和有一點用的英文會話，教室在台北市重慶北路二段附近，對課程有興趣的人請留言，有專貓服務。
本文作者謝凱特，譯有「你的貓」一書。東吳大學英文系畢業。２００８年開始經營帕比樂英文小公寓至今。
非比樂事 