Notes from a speech written after the Taroko accident last year

On the first anniversary of the Taroko accident, I remembered a speech I gave to teenagers in Pingtung last year (2021) and mentioned this incident, and then I wrote this note on Facebook. It was a very quiet but intense experience.

2021.04.11

This afternoon, I went to the Youth Center in Pingtung to do a sharing.

When the social worker came to invite me, I was quite hesitant, because the big hats were questions of justice, participatory democracy, and so on. Generally speaking, I would not accept such uncertain invitations, but I could feel that the social workers I approached had done a lot of homework and had unique observations on the needs of their youth. I think it's a good thing to take this opportunity to review the "Death Replacement" project from Pingtung for the first time a few years ago.

Originally, I heard that "representatives of children and young people" would come to participate, and there were "people in the series who only signed up for this event". A youthful person who can make people a little aggressive.

But not. I just haven't been out of the north, out of middle age, for too long.

When I sat down in front of the projection screen wearing a black cap, I realized that it was not what I originally thought. Since it is a free space with high light and high lighting, surrounded by the ecology and leisure people of the sports park, I chose a relaxed form with the table removed and everyone sitting on the ground. Even so, I arrived 20 minutes early and when seated, they were quiet.

Even if I pretended to be a staff member who was working on adapters, power supplies, etc., and pretended not to see them, I couldn't relieve my "teacher" feeling like a stressed existence. I didn't want to force them to get in early, so I went out and chatted with the social worker again.

In the face of such children, we need to be more focused, not just talking. I thought so to myself. However, there is no way to instantly think about how to adjust the content of the speech as a whole. I put out a photo of the goggles, and it took a long time for the kids to guess that it was taken in Hong Kong.

The social worker started softly. The quiet, shyness under the mask, the twisting of small movements, and the warm eyes. The briefings prepared in the morning, the refined words, were left behind.

In the speech, I put the basic facts to be explained, at a rhythm that was twice as slow as originally expected, confirming the breath and interspersed with the film medium. Then I finally came to a new page of the presentation that was only added this time: I originally wanted to use my past experience, as if I was a young-faced speaker. Obedient to those restless young people, that kind of content.

Well, this briefing page can't say, "What I want to say is," so I stood up to block the slide and leaned forward like a tossed, "Maybe it's not the right time to talk about the death penalty, right?" There was no reaction to our movements outside the masks. When he mentioned Zheng Jie, he nodded slightly, but I thought maybe it wasn't close enough.

"I'll try another example, if now, let's talk," and I paused.

I know that this stagnation is an extravagant cry in the speech process, because once the stagnation is repeated many times, the audience will have sensory fatigue, like a wolf coming, and no longer pay attention to your emphasis. I stared into the eyes of my classmates for three seconds, and at the same time buffered my own thoughts, between words.

"Now, if we talk about, for example, the reform of the Taiwan Railway," the tension is that if anyone has a close wound, how to say it so as not to cause harm, and how to communicate it My gist, works in such a short time. Everyone was quiet, maybe nervous about me or something.

"Is it possible that we can't do anything about it, so let's just start the discussion right now?" I saw some classmates' eyes a little shocked, "We can try to think about the experience of taking the train, for example, how did we get to Hualien Taitung? Yes, let’s talk about it in this way, instead of talking about the accident first, right?” Some students nodded.

Later, more students seemed to focus their eyes more.

I don't know how these teenagers, who are shackled on campus, "with an inexplicable inferiority" in the words of a social worker, will feel at this moment.

But the concentration of those nods and eyes clearly healed me at the moment. Throwing away, bumping softly. It's been a long time since I've met such a quiet and shy audience, and I'm not as anxious as I used to be about my performance and the feedback it gives me.

No one uttered moving words, and no one expressed emotion generously. That kind of recognition, but so powerful.