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Ep48. 天天荼毒我們的邪教

哈囉!最近都幾開心,因為我竟然可以喺一個weekend入面睇晒一本書!所以好想同大家分享。呢本書叫《Cultish》,副題為「The Language of Fanaticism」。我係喺Instagram上面嘅書友仔嘅account發現到呢本書嘅。其實第一眼係因為佢個封面有個幾突出嘅typeface,好膚淺呀呵?先唔講內容先, 最近DSE放榜,加上呢本書就勾起咗我細個嘅回憶⋯⋯

等我帶大家返返去當時仲係大學生嘅我。當時我啱啱搬屋,我嘅書枱好細,前面係一塊梳妝鏡,所以technically我張枱係梳妝台。枱面夾硬放咗個mon,然後上面好多一疊疊嘅notes。坐係枱前面,我抬頭望上鏡嘅右上角,上面有一張已經發黃嘅剪報。呢一張剪報應該係我喺舊屋帶過嚟嘅,經歷過夏天濕笠笠嘅空氣,又經歷過冬天乾燥嘅時光,所以我記得佢嘅質地軟硬都試過。剪報篇幅唔大,只係一個小專欄,而我依稀記得內容係話學生溫書唔好有「休息」呢個概念,「休息」即係等於「偷懶」,而你每次「休息」都係其他同學追趕上你嘅機會。其實我係一個好懶惰嘅人,我嘅夢想就係好似小丸子咁生活,但係當時嘅我覺得休息係弱者嘅行為,更加覺得食嘢、沖涼、瞓覺等等係浪費時間!我會因為自己唔係每一分鐘都做緊嘢而覺得落後其他人。而家諗返起,除咗覺得「少年,你太年輕了」之外,驚覺呢個真係一個邪教,係一個大家都經歷過嘅邪教。

呢本書嘅作者係Amanda Montell,題目係《Cult》,中文嘅翻譯就比較直白--「邪教」。我哋一諗起邪教就會諗起CCTVB嗰啲好ridiculous好白痴嗰啲「嘩世界末日?點會有人信呀」嘅神棍,但係呢本書講嘅邪教比我哋腦海中幻想中嘅精密好多。書中嘅例子都係信眾眾多嘅cult,例如Heaven’s Gate、Scientology、The Peoples Temple等等。Scientology咪係Tom Cruise信嗰個教,The Peoples Temple甚至喺1978年導致900幾個信徒飲山埃水而死。呢本書嘅副題為「The Language of Fanaticism」,作者想argue嘅係the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. 製造、組織呢啲諗法、思想、敵我概念嘅唯一媒體就係語言。「From the crafty redefinition of existing words to powerful euphemism, secret code, renaming, etc.. language is the key means by which all degrees of cult-like influence occur」將已有嘅字詞重新定義、將既有嘅事物用其他字代替、婉轉地講同一件事,慢慢形成一套外人難以明瞭嘅密碼。

我對呢本書有興趣嘅原因係因為同語言有關。我大學時專注嘅係一啲比較scientific啲嘅範疇例如係Phonetics,但係呢本書嘅切入點就從語言作為思想嘅載體,「Language is a leader's charisma. It is what empowers them to create a mini universe - a system of values and truths」。一個領袖嘅魅力來自於語言,語言幫助佢哋創造一個專屬嘅宇宙:一套完整價值觀、自己嘅「真實」嘅宇宙。「Language provides a culture of shared understanding」語言塑造共同嘅文化。而促成呢啲cult嘅語言作者稱之為「cultish」,即係好似English、Spanish咁(雖然好多語言都唔係叫乜乜乜-ish,不過算啦聽故唔好駁故)。呢啲cult裡面嘅人唔係講另一種語言,而係可能大家都係講英文,但係佢哋會用好多圍內人先聽得明嘅字詞,搞到好似講緊另一種語言咁。乜嘢先叫Cultish呢?作者話有幾個特點:

1)令講呢套語言嘅人覺得特別、神聖,淨係對方先明白自己,又或者特登講到好神秘咁,等你想知道多啲。例如Heaven's Gate係比較sci-fi嘅,廚房就叫「nutra-lab」、嘢食就叫「laboratory experiments」、laundry房叫「fibre-lab」;

2)一啲字眼上condition到令你覺得個leader係你嘅依靠,例如「teacher」、「dad」、「coach」等等,然後信徒叫「recipient of the gift of recognition」、「student of the Kingdom of Heaven」;

3)用語言製造敵我分野(us-versus-them dichotomy),例如其他教嘅神就叫「counterfeit God」

4)Loaded language,即係用一啲有好多emotion嘅字詞

5)Euphemism去令一啲負面嘅嘢變成正面,簡單來講即係白事當紅事辦d friend啦,例如自殺叫「exit statement」、「exiting your vehicle」、「graduation」等等

6)Thought-terminating cliche,當遇到質疑時候用一啲cliche去停止理性討論,例如「Boys will be boys、it is what it is、everything happens for a reason」等等

7)Deception:一係就講啲唔講啲,一係就扭曲事實,再唔係就講大話。

大家係咪發現好似好多時候都遇過呢啲例子呢?

但係佢話人本性就係cultish嘅,我哋都好想相信in something。所以點先畫到條界呢?英文入面「Cult」未必係負面嘅意思,佢可以令人團結、相信同一種信念,例如有啲人唔介意俾人話係一個cult,好似講笑咁,但cult亦都可以指邪教,呢個就係我嘅中文翻譯有偏差嘅地方。作者就話其實有ethical同唔ethical嘅cult嘅。作者話宗教都可以係一種cult,但係佢會有一個好清晰嘅on-off ritual time,例如進入ritual time之前會做一個祈禱或者儀式,然後ritual完咗,就會做返某啲動作signal完結。你唔會平時同人講嘢都用返let's say祈禱嘅語言。但係冇約束嘅Cultish就唔俾你離開個ritual,佢會入侵你嘅每分每刻。如果你想離開,一個ethical cult可能會挽留你,但唔會阻攔你。但反之一個unethical嘅cult,會叫其他人狙擊你。負面嘅Cult通常有幾個特點,就係有一個充滿魅力、權力無約束嘅領袖,剝奪信眾,例如肉體、金錢、健康等等。

除咗前文講嘅Cultish特點之外,更重要嘅係,作者想提醒我哋「language does not simply describe or reflect who we are, it creates who we are. (The plainest examples of performative language would be making a promise, performing a wedding ceremony, or pronouncing a legal sentence.) When repeated over and over again, speech has meaningful, consequential power to construct and constrain our reality.」語言並不單止描繪、反映自我,更能創造自我。例如我哋發誓之後就會成為嗰個我哋想成為嘅自己,例如婚禮宣誓,或者文章無講但係而家好興嗰啲咩self-affirmation)。當不停重複,漫無意義嘅字詞變得有意義。語言可以容易擺佈思想嘅原因係,我哋用一種新嘅字詞、用字習慣好容易,但係要忘記好難。

我自小喺天主教學校長大,每日朝早、中午都會祈禱,每年一定有幾次彌撒要去。我唔係天主教徒,但係長年累月嘅浸淫底下,好多禱文、聖詩都入晒腦,即使我無actively地去process佢哋點解,只係每日都講幾次咁咪記得囉。但係畢咗業咁多年,我已經好耐好耐冇祈禱。我敢講畢咗業之後我係一次都冇諗過禱文嘅任何一句!前一排去咗一個生日會,食飯前對方祈禱,通常你都係等對方講完就起筷,點知佢哋一祈禱,我竟然背得出每一字一句,仲控制唔到自己咁劃十字架。個一刻我俾自己嚇親。記得我啱啱講嗎?作者話,我哋使用新嘅字詞好容易,但係要忘記好難。所以我哋要好好審視自己用嘅語言、字眼,好多字用咗就返唔到轉頭,好似其中一個邪教leader鑽研1984入面嘅newspeak,用咗個的字就默默地融入咗某一種意識形態⋯⋯同埋要小心唔好重複聽啲嘢太多次,唉唔講咁白啦,大家意會啦

作者好清楚自己嘅觀察係focus喺美國,但就算我哋身處香港,我覺得都有值得借鏡嘅地方。而佢嘅所謂cults包括邪教、商業社會、社交媒體、fitness cults等等。作者嘅警告係「... in this internet-ruled age... when the barrier to entry is as low as a double-tap, and when folks who hold alternative beliefs are able to find one another more easily than ever, it only makes sense that secular cults—from obsessed workout studios to start-ups that put the “cult” in “company culture would start sprouting like dandelions。」網絡世界上我哋加入一個cult-ish嘅圈子輕而易舉,所需嘅只係一個double-tap,而有alternative belief非主流思想嘅小眾搵到對方毫無難度,所以作者就話一啲secular cults即係未去到宗教比較貼地嘅一啲例如對某一種運動嘅狂熱、或者大家都瘋狂fantasize嘅初創企業世界,或對商業世界嘅迷戀等等,都容易興起。

最後簡短書評:我稍嫌佢嘅敘述冇好systematic地分析每個邪教嘅用字,只係呢度舉一兩隻字做例子,嗰度舉另外幾隻字做 例子。因為咁樣好難prove到語言就係嗰個邪教形成嘅原因,因為其實佢中段都有講過,好多美國人相信cults,係因為美國當時嘅社會環境令到市民覺得政府唔可以依靠、傳統宗教失勢,同埋後生一輩太多選擇,令到佢哋不知所措,所以就心靈混亂中不停搵一啲可以話俾佢哋聽應該點樣做嘅指示 。又例如佢開嘗試話商業世界入邊嘅用字、層壓式銷售,又或者係健身熱潮入邊經常用到嘅語言、甚至社交媒體上面Instagram嘅用詞叫readers做「followers」等等都係有「cult」嘅傾向。我就覺得有啲牽強,因為又係佢自己話「cult」要係有一個剝削他人利益、冇權力制衡嘅領袖,但係好多時健身熱潮入面,可能有人覺得係fanatical belief,但係到咗最尾所謂嘅「信眾」的確有改變自己健康嘅效果,亦都冇人從中得益非常之多。All in all,我覺得佢講宗教方面 嘅敘述,係比較嚴謹同埋有說服力好多。而其他例子就真係有啲牽強,但係我相信作者嘅用意只係想我哋更加多留意自己每一日嘅用字,係語言方面入手,擺脫某種意識形態嘅枷鎖,令我哋保持思想自主。

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