我的《信報》文章(2024年8月15日A14頁) 刊登後的改良加長版
《校園欺凌 與 國家安全、國際關係》
企圖暗殺特朗普但遭當場擊斃的20歲槍手克魯克斯被發現生前「在學校常遭欺凌……15歲時曾威脅要向學校開槍……曾在網上搜尋重度憂鬱症資料……調查人員判斷他符合孤獨者或被遺棄者的特徵，其生活特點是『孤立或拒絕』，有強迫症傾向，對槍械痴迷……」
[Note 1]
在美國，校園欺凌的常見後果是受害者(下稱「受欺者」)自我孤立、憂鬱、輟學等，而極端後果若非自殺，便是在學校開槍報復。2000至2021年，中小學槍擊事件致使108人亡、168人傷，大專院校槍擊事件則造成75人亡、82人傷。
[Note 2]
隸屬於美國特勤局的國家威脅評估中心(National Threat Assessment Center) 2019 年發表的研究指出，大多數校園槍擊案槍手在事發前，都經歷過持續數週、數月或數年的同學欺凌行為。
[Note 3]
教人驚訝的是，幾乎所有關於校園欺凌的研究都集中在受害者身上，關於「欺凌者」的卻很少。
這些罕見的研究之一是在今年3月發表的論文，三位英國學者指出「遊樂場欺凌者」(playground bullies)比不善社交的孩子賺得更多，既享有高飛的職業生涯，亦較他們的受害者能在中年更富裕(ISER 2024-01, Bono, Etheridge and Garcia) 。
[Note 4]
校園欺凌者在畢業後往哪裡去及在工作場所表現如何，過去無法得知，但在網上社交平台出現後逐漸曝光。較著名的近例有
2023年時任英國副首相藍韜文被指欺凌下屬，
2022年受欺者在 reddit 上抱怨兒時遇到的欺凌者當選為國會議員，
2017年出現的反性侵運動 (#MeToo movement) 等 。
[Note 5]
職場平台領英(Linkedin)也有文章稱「成人欺凌」(adult bullying)在辦公室很常見:「……可悲的是，在一些情況中，他們(欺凌者)被視為明星表演者，甚至英雄……他們的目標是那些對他們構成威脅的人。讓我感到難過的是，目標(受欺者)如何從一個自信、勤奮、踏實的人變成一個非常士氣低落的人……大多數欺凌者都曾經與學校欺凌相關……」。
[Note 6]
欺凌不僅僅是學校或職場問題。若那些
於護理院舍工作的，欺凌孤兒病老，虐待弱勢土著;
於公安系統工作的，刁難非其族類，濫捕有色人種;
於境外基地駐兵的，強暴當地少女，破壞當地環境;
於被佔領區作戰的，濫炸醫院學校，濫殺無辜平民;
均為社會穩定、外交談判帶來困難。
在國家安全層面，校園受欺者長大後倘若情緒不穩，在極端影響下可能會謀害他們所憎恨的政治人物。無論成功與否，均會加深社會分歧。
校園欺凌者長大後倘若成為慣性欺凌者。並在政治野心下加入政府成為高官，據其價值觀、視角點制定政策，可能加劇社會不公，民怨四起。上述兩者皆可引致社會暴亂一觸即發。
所以假如特朗普在7月13日被殺，政治暴力或會蔓延全國，甚至引發內戰。
[Note 7]
而為了盡快降低風險，拜登翌日發表講話，強調暴力不是解決分歧的方法、激烈的政治言論必須降溫。並在15日承認使用「靶心」描繪特朗普為攻擊目標不當。
[Note 8]
在國際關係層面，校園欺凌更是文明衝突、國際戰爭的種子之一。
普及、全民教育是現代的產物。在西方，開始聚集大量青少年的早期學校，繼承了修道院教育傳統，紀律嚴明、允許體罰，但校園欺凌仍無法避免。奧地利作家Robert Musil (1880-1942）的1906年名著《The Confusions of Young Törless》已經藉寄宿學校內的欺凌行為，探討欺凌者道德迷亂的問題。
[Note 9]
二戰後的歐美校園內，宗教影響衰退、道德教育萎縮、個人主義受讚、自由任意橫行;再加上互聯網出現，學校逐漸成為欺凌者上佳的訓練場，讓弱小的同學成為他們的實驗生物，欺凌技巧更多元、欺凌形式更多維。
校園欺凌在西方民主社會禁之不絕，反而愈演愈烈。究其原因，可參考兩位美國學者(Smith & Tatalovich)關於「交戰文化」(Warring culture)的研究。他們發現，雖然現代西方價值觀強調平等，但現實是人們用盡一切手段尋求「地位差別」，以標榜自己在某一方面比別人優越。
[Note 10]
較明顯的常見行為包括炫耀性消費、強調自我或個人的獨特性;較隱藏的行為則有語言暴力（侮辱、低貶）、霸凌欺壓。學者把這種現象稱為「西式民主的內在道德衝突」的後果，就是說:愈公開強調平等，人們愈隱含地採用各種方式來獲得及滿足自己的優越感。
這一切都始於自由的現代校園，讓資源(身體容貌、物質財富)較佳的學生用欺凌來享受優越的地位;且於畢業後，欺凌者把這種習慣和心態帶進了社會、政府、國會，最後也帶到了國際舞台。
美國一位目睹各種欺凌行為的母親在1996年出版了一本書，批評「統治世界的欺凌者」。
[Note 11]
1932年，愛因斯坦寫信詢問心理學創始人弗洛伊德「為什麼有戰爭(Why war)？」得到的回答是每個人都有兩種本能，一種是保存和團結，另一種是破壞和殺戮。不同社會的不同文化薰陶會在民眾之間加強一種本能，並削弱另一種，此中的差異是引發戰爭的原因之一(見聯合國教科文組織網頁) 。
[Note 12]
一些西方國家經歷百年學校教養的平民、官員、議員、統治者，已經進入一個惡性循環，既欠意願也缺辦法緩解校園欺凌，倒讓欺凌者以校園為訓練場磨練霸凌技巧，造成無休止的槍擊暴力案，培育霸凌型的從政執政者(美國PBS紀錄片指稱特朗普在學校時是欺凌者，知名度較低的從政者更不計其數) 。
[Note 13]
陸港澳台的教育部門必須留意那些採用西方教育課程的學校，關注他們的道德熏陶，是否採取有效措施減少（無法完全消除）欺凌行為，既輔導受欺者也務必輔導欺凌者，不要讓槍手克魯克斯及特朗普這兩類人在大中華社會之中出現，以確保實現中國和平崛起、與夥伴共同富裕的承諾。
Notes for Editor
[Note 1]
2024 0716 《星島日報》
std.stheadline.com/daily/article/2610517/日報-國際-行刺特朗普槍手-在校常遭欺凌
美國前總統特朗普上周六在造勢集會上遭槍擊，被當場擊斃的20歲槍手克魯克斯更多背景曝光。他是當地一間療養院的膳食助理，其中學同學受訪時透露，克魯克斯在學校常遭欺凌，為人安靜、內向、孤僻，
2024 0719 《星島日報》
std.stheadline.com/realtime/article/2011988/即時-國際-特朗普遇刺-傳槍手網上曾發犯案預告-數年前威脅向學校開槍
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Matthew_Crooks
Classmates and school officials characterized
him as quiet, with classmates claiming he was often bullied,[9][7][2] including
for his quiet demeanor, and for wearing camouflage hunting outfits and masks to school.[10][9] Crooks
enjoyed playing chess and video games, and was learning how to code.[11] He
received a $500 "star award" the same year from the National
Math and Science Initiative.[12][7]
[Note 2]
2024 07
National Center for Education Statistics
Violent Deaths at School and Away From
School, and Active Shooter Incidents
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a01/violent-deaths-and-shootings
…… From 2000 to 2021, there were 276 casualties
(108 killed and 168 wounded) in active shooter incidents at elementary and
secondary schools and 157 casualties (75 killed and 82 wounded) in active
shooter incidents at postsecondary institutions.
[Note 3]
2019 Nov
US Secret Services: National Threat Assessment Center
PROTECTING AMERICA’S SCHOOLS
A U.S. SECRET SERVICE ANALYSIS OF TARGETED
SCHOOL VIOLENCE
https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/Protecting_Americas_Schools.pdf
…… Most of the attackers were bullied by
their classmates, and for over half of the attackers the bullying appeared to
be of a persistent pattern which lasted for weeks, months, or years.
2019
University of Virginia Cooperative Agreement No. 2019-YSBX-K001 awarded
by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Role of Bullying in School Shootings
https://education.virginia.edu/documents/yvprole-bullying-school-shootingspdf
…… the NTAC study of 41 school shootings
found that the majority of the attackers had experienced a persistent pattern
of bullying by classmates that lasted for weeks, months, or years prior to the
attack (NTAC, 2019).
Published
online 2022 Nov 22 Cureus: doi: 10.7759/cureus.31785
“Bullying
Victimization as a Risk Factor for Gun Carrying among US Adolescents”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9776024/
[Note 4]
2024 0328
Psychology Today
School Bullies earn more money as adults
…… the aggressive, impulsive kids ended up
getting better jobs and earning more money than the others—including, of
course, their victims.
2024 0311
Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER)
The economic value of childhood
socio-emotional skills
https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/research/publications/working-papers/iser/2024-01
[Note 5]
《信報》 2023年5月9日A14頁
《藍韜文的欺凌與人工智能的聊天隱患》
https://www1.hkej.com/dailynews/article/id/3452062
http://contemporarychineselegalism.blogspot.com/2023/05/blog-post.html
2022
reddit
My childhood bully who made my life hell
is now a senior politician.
Hi Reddit,
…… In the mid-2000s, when I was a
teenager, I was severely bullied by a peer at school. He:
told me daily I needed to die due to my
homosexuality
threatened to kill me for my homosexuality
physically assaulted me
verbally assaulted me
openly boasted about being a Nazi and did
Hitler salutes
I was a vulnerable teenager and on the
autism spectrum.
Wiki,
MeToo movement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MeToo_movement
…… The phrase "Me Too" was
initially used in this context on social media in 2006, on Myspace, by sexual
assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke.[4] The hashtag #MeToo was used
starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem.
"Me Too" empowers those who have been sexually assaulted through
empathy, solidarity and strength in numbers, by visibly demonstrating how many
have experienced sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.
[Note 6]
2024 0117
Linked in
Adult bullying: the modern-day monster
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/adult-bullying-modern-day-monster-patrick-o-rakiro--oqmdc
…… Sadly, in some associations they are
viewed as star performers and even heroes. Bullies are masters in deception,
deflecting, manipulation to mask their own insecurities. And they target those
who are a threat to them. What saddens me is how the target can go from being a
confident, hard-working, solid individual to a very demoralized person.
[Note 7]
2024 0715
CNN, “July 13,
2024, coverage of the Trump assassination attempt”
https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/election-biden-trump-07-13-24/index.html
[Note 8]
2024 0714 NPR
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/14/g-s1-10305/trump-assassination-attempt-biden-unity
Biden calls for
unity following Trump assassination attempt
2024 0716 Tennessee Lookout
Biden says ‘bullseye’ remark about Trump was a mistake but defends
criticism
2024 0716
NBC Montana
Media must focus on dangers of violent
political rhetoric after rally shooting: expert
2024 0715
Reuters
After Trump shooting, Republicans seek to
pin political violence trend on Democrats
2024
0714 Politico.eu
“Trump
shooting: Nigel Farage blames liberals and mainstream media”
https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-shooting-fault-liberals-mainstream-media-nigel-farage/
[Note 9]
Wiki, “The Confusions of Young Törless”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Confusions_of_Young_T%C3%B6rless
…… The Confusions of Young Törless
(German: Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß), or Young Törless, is the
literary debut of the Austrian philosophical novelist and essayist Robert
Musil, first published in 1906.
[Note 10]
See Ch. 3 “Culture Theory and Warring
Cultures” in T. Alexander
Smith and Raymond Tatalovich (2003), “Cultures at War: Moral Conflicts in
Western Democracies”, New York: Broadview Press.
https://www.amazon.com/Cultures-War-Conflicts-Western-Democracies/dp/1551113341
[Note 11]
Carol Bly (1996), “Changing the Bully who
rules the world: reading and thinking about Ethics”
https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Bully-Who-Rules-World/dp/1571312056
[Note 12]
Last update: 2023 UNESCO
The UNESCO Courier, “Why war? A letter
from Freud to Einstein”
https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/why-war-letter-freud-einstein
[Note 13]
2020 0922
PBS
“Trump the ‘Bully’: How childhood &
military school shaped the future president”
…… In the above clip from FRONTLINE’s The
Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden, a documentary that premiered Sept. 22 and is now
streaming online, sources describe Trump’s time in military school as a
five-year lesson in bullying.
“Donald Trump yelled at his classmates,”
says Trump biographer Marc Fisher, co-author of Trump Revealed. “He pushed them
around. … He ruled dormitory life with an iron fist.”
“All of us were part of this culture of
you beat on kids when they didn’t do the right thing,” says Trump’s former
military school classmate Sandy McIntosh.
Echoes another classmate, Harry Falber:
“You got hit. You may have gotten slammed against the wall.”
Trump would emerge from military school
with a blueprint for leadership by force and ridicule.
