如何看待特朗普的口无遮拦 An appetite for aggression

Five years ago, I was part of a discussion panel on the popular Morning Joe talk show in the US when the issue of Donald Trump came up. A rowdy debate erupted and I cheerfully joked that Trump was a great businessman “barring a few bankruptcies” — and blessed with charisma even “with that hairpiece”. A few minutes later, Trump telephoned the show and demanded an on-air apology. Apparently, he was not just upset about the bankruptcy quip (he wanted to clarify that he has never personally gone bankrupt but “only” seen some of his companies go bust); he was also angry about the hair joke.

5年前，我参加了美国高人气脱口秀《Morning Joe》的一场小组讨论，话题之一是唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)。激烈的辩论随即爆发，我乐呵呵地开玩笑称，特朗普是一位伟大的商人，“除了几次破产”，并且具有与生俱来的领袖风采，即使是“戴着假发”。几分钟后，特朗普给节目组打来电话，要求我们在节目中公开道歉。显然，他不仅是对破产的段子不满（他希望澄清他个人从未破产，“只是”经历了几次公司破产）；他还对假发的玩笑满腔怒火。

So, as we sat around the table on the TV set, one of the show’s hosts read a straight-faced legal apology to camera. “He might sue,” a reporter later explained to me, as I squirmed with embarrassment and wondered whether to laugh or cry.

因此，我们在节目中围坐在桌旁，一名主持人对着摄像机板着脸宣读了法律道歉。“他可能会起诉，”一名记者后来跟我解释称，而我尴尬地扭来扭去，不知道该笑还是该哭。

Until recently, I viewed this episode as just an example of how thin-skinned some tycoons can be (and a sign that I need to take more care with early-morning hair jokes — for which I apologise, Mr Trump). But, these days, that little exchange is assuming more sinister undertones. For as the Trump bandwagon continues to gather pace, one of the most notable features of his campaign is the extraordinary level of aggression he displays towards his critics. And that raises big questions, not only about Trump’s temperament but also over the nature of political discourse in the age of social media.

直到不久以前，我只把这段插曲当成一个表明某些大亨的脸皮有多薄的例子，（以及我在一大清早说有关头发的笑话时应该多加小心的教训——我谨此道歉，特朗普先生）。但是，这些天来，那次小交锋传递出一些更为恶劣的意味。因为，随着特朗普的人气日益高涨，他在竞选时最显著的一个特点就是他对批评者表现出的攻击性。这引发了一些大问题，不仅关乎特朗普的性情，还关乎社交媒体时代政治话语的性质。

One big issue — as I discovered — is that Trump is a notoriously litigious person who inspires fear by threatening to sue. When the journalist Timothy O’Brien wrote his book TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald a decade ago, Trump embarked on a $5bn lawsuit. Despite losing that, he shows no sign of losing his taste for legal threats: last Friday, he declared that America needed to “open up” (that is, tighten) its libel laws, and warned that news organisations such as The New York Times and Washington Post will “have problems” if he wins.

如我所见，其中一个问题是，特朗普出名地爱打官司，他通过威胁起诉让别人心生恐惧。10年前，当记者蒂莫西•奥布莱恩(Timothy O’Brien)写《特朗普国度：成为特朗普的艺术》(TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald)一书时，特朗普发起了一宗50亿美元的诉讼案。尽管他败诉了，但是他并未表现出放弃法律威胁手段的迹象：不久前，他宣称美国需要“放开”（意思是收紧）诽谤法律，并警告称，如果他入主白宫，《纽约时报》(New York Times)和《华盛顿邮报》(Washington Post)等新闻机构将会“有麻烦”。

However, another issue — which is ironic given his views on libel — is that Trump hurls insults at others with unusual venom. Last week, The New York Times assembled a list of the “People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter” in recent months — it ran to 199 subjects, including numerous prominent journalists, politicians and world leaders, many of whom were derided as “dummies”, “dopes” or “dishonest”.

然而，另一个问题——考虑到他对诽谤的看法，这颇具讽刺性——是特朗普热衷于以异常恶毒的方式攻击他人。不久前，《纽约时报》汇集了一个包含最近数月“唐纳德•特朗普在Twitter上攻击的人、地和事”的列表——199个被攻击对象，包括众多知名记者、政界人士和世界领袖，其中很多人被特朗普嘲笑为“傻瓜”、“笨蛋”或“不老实”。

That is unpleasant in itself. But what makes it doubly pernicious is the presence of a cyber echo chamber: whenever Trump hurls an insult, it is amplified in cyberspace by his 6.5 million Twitter followers, creating a social-media storm. A couple of weeks ago, Trump criticised Cheri Jacobus, a Republican strategist who spoke negatively about him on TV; the comment was then retweeted in more extreme forms, creating a phenomenon akin to the type of cyber bullying more normally seen in school — you might call it a cyber flash mob.

他的这个特点本身就令人不爽。但是，更加可恶的是特朗普的网络应声虫：无论特朗普何时开口辱骂，他的650万Twitter粉丝都会在网络上放大那些恶言恶语的火力，在社交媒体上掀起一场风暴。数周前，特朗普向在电视上负面评价他的共和党策略顾问谢里•雅各布斯(Cheri Jacobus)发难；他的言论随后以更极端的形式被转发，制造了一场通常在校园比较常见的那种网络欺凌——你或许可以称之为“网络快闪族”。

Of course, this is not unique to @realDonaldTrump. Cyber flash mobs have erupted around other political campaigns too. And, in practical terms, it seems that while Trump’s verbal abuse has attracted some supporters (it makes him seem “strong”), many other voters are simply screening this language out or assuming that it is a short-term marketing tactic that will fade over time.

当然，这并非@realDonaldTrump的独有现象。网络快闪族也会出现在其他政治阵营中。此外，就实际而言，尽管特朗普的语言暴力吸引了一些支持者（让他看起来“很强悍”），但是其他很多选民只是自动屏蔽了那些辱骂，或是认为这只是短期的营销手段，会随着时间流逝而淡出。

Even if Trump tones down his speech in the future — and it’s a big “if” — the pattern of aggression has at least four implications. First, the litigation threats may help to explain why there has not been a more thorough media analysis of Trump’s complex business past — at least, not until now. Second, his aggression also helps to explain why Republican donors and party leaders have been relatively slow to criticise him in public.

即使特朗普未来收敛其言语风格——这只是可能性很低的假设而已——其咄咄逼人的姿态至少还有4层潜在影响。第一，诉讼威胁或许有助于解释为何媒体还没有对特朗普在商场的复杂历史进行更深入的分析——至少之前没有。第二，他的好斗也可以解释共和党的“金主”以及该党领袖为何迟迟不愿公开批评他。

Third, Trump’s scathing attacks on the media also make it harder for journalists to empathise with citizens who do support him; that is yet another factor why the media have underestimated his potential rise.

第三，特朗普对媒体的猛烈攻击也使得记者很难与那些支持他的公民产生共鸣；这也是媒体此前低估他领跑潜力的另一个因素。

But the fourth, and biggest, matter centres not on Trump — but on the issue of cyberspace. The limits of free speech in print and television have long been established. But what is still unclear is what is acceptable in cyberspace. Should a political leader try to control a cyber flash mob? Or must they stoke it up to win? In other words, in today’s world, is it inevitable that cyber and real speech reinforce and amplify each other, creating a spiral of vitriol?

不过，第四层（也是最重要的）潜在影响并不关乎特朗普，而在于网络问题。纸媒和电视节目言论自由的尺度存在已久。但是网络言论自由的可接受限度尚不明确。政治领袖应该试图控制网络快闪族吗？抑或他们必须煽动起网络快闪族才能赢得选举？换句话说，在当今世界，网络言论和现实言论相互强化并放大、造成语言暴力不断升级，这是否不可避免？

I hope the answer to that last question is “no”. But we live in very angry — and uneasy — times. Which is precisely why it is so important to uphold the principles of a free press and civilised speech, even in the face of political attack. And celebrate the value of free laughter; about Trump’s (real) hair — or anything else.

我希望最后一个问题的答案是“不”。但是我们正生活在一个充满戾气和不安的时代。这正是坚持新闻自由和文明言论（即使是在面对政治攻击的情况下）如此重要的原因。同时，庆祝玩笑自由——比如拿特朗普的（真）头发或其他事取笑——也很重要。