Editor's note: The United States has been at war for more than 200 of its 245 years of existence. Between the end of WW2 and 9/11 – barely 50 years – the U.S. initiated 201 conflicts that ravaged 153 countries and regions. "America: War by another name" is a special eight-part series that explores the sinister motivations for its warmongering. Episode 5 is on America's right-wing extremism.
2019年8月3日，美國極右主義論壇8chan上發佈了一篇題為《難以忽視的真相》（The Inconvenient Truth）的帖子。帖子表達了對新西蘭基督城清真寺槍擊案的支持，和對西班牙裔“侵佔”得克薩斯州、少數族裔對白人的“文化與種族替代”的強烈不滿。該帖發佈後不久，21歲的白人青年帕特里克·伍德·克魯修斯（Patrick Wood Crusius）——警方認定的該帖作者，進入埃爾帕索的一家沃爾瑪超市，對準人羣一陣掃射，以此表明自己反對外來移民對美國白人進行“種族大替代”的決心。
On August 3, 2019, the American far-right online forum 8chan published a post titled "The Inconvenient Truth" in support of the Christchurch Mosque shooting in New Zealand, and against a Hispanic "invasion" of Texas and the "cultural and ethnic replacement" of white people by ethnic minorities. Soon after it was posted, 21-year-old white male Patrick Wood Crusius, whom the police believed to be the author of the post, walked into a Walmart store in El Paso and opened fire at shoppers in opposition to the "great white replacement" he believed to be underway.
這天之前，年僅2個月的小嬰兒保爾·安瓊多（Paul Anchondo）無論如何也不會明白，自己是如何在一次普通的超市之行中永遠地失去了雙親；60歲的退伍老兵阿圖羅·貝納維德斯（Arturo Benavides）估計從未想過，自己在戰爭中倖存下來，卻在一個平凡的日常中被迫與相伴三十餘年的妻子天人永隔；86歲的安吉麗娜·英格利斯比（Angelina Englisbee）則全然不知，自己與兒子在收銀台前的電話對講，竟會成為她生命中的最後一次通話……
Before this day, a 2-month-old baby, Paul Anchondo, never knew he would lose both parents in an ordinary grocery shopping trip; a 60-year old veteran like Arturo Benavides might have never expected that even though he survived a war, he would die in an everyday event and leave behind his wife whom he had spent over 30 years with; 86-year old Angelina Englisbee had absolutely no idea that the phone call she had with her son at the cashier would be the last in her life…
這是2019年發生在美國得克薩斯州埃爾帕索的槍擊案，造成23人死亡，是當年最為致命的一起槍擊案，卻也不過是近年來美國眾多極右恐怖主義犯罪中的一起。2017年8月，數千名白人至上主義者聚集在弗吉尼亞夏洛茨維爾，其間發生暴力衝突，導致40人死傷；2018年10月，匹茲堡生命之樹猶太教堂發生白人至上主義恐怖襲擊，造成11人死亡，7人受傷；2019年4月28日，加利福尼亞州波威市的一所猶太教堂再次發生槍擊案，造成1人死亡；2021年1月6日，支持特朗普的選民在極右分子的煽動下衝入國會山，試圖推翻2020年的大選結果，最終造成嚴重騷亂和人員傷亡……
The 2019 El Paso shooting in Texas led to 23 deaths. Although the deadliest attack in 2019, it was but one of the many far-right terrorist crimes to have occurred in the U.S. over the past few years. In August 2017, as thousands of white supremacists staged a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, 40 people were injured or killed; in October 2018, the white supremacist terrorist attack in Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue killed 11 and injured seven; On April 28, 2019, the Poway synagogue shooting in California left one dead; On January 6, 2021, the Capitol building saw severe chaos and casualties after Trump supporters at the instigation of right-wing extremists swarmed it in a bid to overturn the results of the 2020 general election.
國內恐怖主義襲擊，特別是極右主義的高漲，已成為當前美國的最大威脅之一。美國的極右主義主要包括白人至上主義（white supremacy）、極端反政府主義（anti-government extremism）和極端社會保守主義（social ultraconservatism）這三種類型。其中，白人至上主義在本質上是一種種族主義，是目前在美國最為盛行、發展勢頭最快的一種極右主義意識形態。
The rise of homegrown terrorism, particularly the surge of far-right extremism, is one of the biggest threats to the U.S. today. American right-wing extremism has three main types: white supremacy, anti-government extremism and social ultraconservatism. The first is a kind of racism in nature, and it is the most popular and the fastest growing far-right ideology in the United States.
極端反政府主義的一個重要分支為民兵組織（Militia Movement），主要來源之一為美國的退伍軍人隊伍。他們成立訓練營，目標在於建立一個白人分裂主義的家園。雖然極端反政府主義的首要目標是政府權威，但是隨着奧巴馬於2008年當選總統，這一運動日漸具有反對移民、反穆斯林的傾向，與白人至上主義相互重疊。
An important branch of anti-government extremism is the Militia Movement – mainly made up of ex-soldiers. The Militia Movement put up training camps that are actually the gathering place for white separatists. Although this extremist strand primarily targeted government authorities, it has become increasingly anti-immigration and anti-Muslim, overlapping with the white supremacist ideology since 2008 when Barack Obama became the U.S. president.
極端社會保守主義則是指那些要求迴歸美國傳統的極右主義運動與思想，包括極端反墮胎主義、極端反同性戀、極端反移民主義、非自願獨身主義等。在這類極端社會保守主義的案件中，有不少在意識形態上與白人至上主義有所重疊，例如非自願獨身主義、反移民和反猶主義等。
Social ultraconservatism is a movement and ideology calling for a return to the American tradition. It includes anti-abortion extremism, anti-gay extremism, anti-immigration extremism and involuntary celibacy (Incel). Many social ultraconservatist movements, for example, the Incel movement, anti-immigrationism and anti-Semitism, share ideological similarities with white supremacy.
2019年，美國有48人因國內極端恐怖主義喪生，其中39人被白人至上主義者殺害。雖然該數值在2020年有所下降，但國內恐怖主義陰謀和襲擊數量仍然達到1994年以來的最高水平，其中有2/3是由極右主義者發動的。
In 2019, 48 Americans were killed in domestic terrorist attacks, 39 of them by white supremacists. Although less people died in 2020 for this reason, the number of domestic terrorist plots and attacks was at the highest level since 1994, with two-thirds of them being conducted by right-wing extremists.
從根本上來説，近年來極右勢力在美國社會的高漲源自於美國白人因經濟條件惡化和文化地位邊緣化而產生強烈的挫敗感和身份認同危機。這種心理的產生是美國社會經濟與社會結構發生劇變的產物，也與美國政府無止盡的“反恐戰爭”密不可分。
The rise of far-right forces in the American society is fundamentally enabled by a strong sense of frustration and an identity crisis among the white people due to the deterioration of their financial situation and the ">
為了打擊海外恐怖主義勢力，美國在近20年來發動許多局部戰爭，包括對伊朗、伊拉克、阿富汗和也門等地的襲擊，給當地和美國軍人都帶來了巨大的損失。布朗大學的最新調查顯示，長達20年的阿富汗戰爭已經耗資2.3萬億美元（不包括政府應該為這場戰爭的退伍軍人支付的終生護理經費），相當於美國公民人均6949美元。
To tackle terrorist groups overseas, the U.S. has launched regional wars over the past 20 years, including attacks on Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. This has incurred huge losses to both local and American troops. The latest research from Brown University shows that the 20-year war in Afghanistan cost $2.3 trillion. That is equivalent to the spending of $6,949 per American citizen.
同時，海外的反恐戰爭加劇了美國白人對穆斯林的偏見，並在2008年全球金融危機導致美國經濟迅速惡化的背景下，使得美國白人對穆斯林的偏見和憤怒逐漸擴展為針對幾乎所有少數羣體的種族主義，助長了白人民族主義，並在極右勢力的推動下引爆嚴重的種族衝突和社會動盪。
In the meantime, America's overseas war on terrorism has deepened the bias of white Americans against the Muslim population. Especially since the global financial crisis sent the U.S. economy on a rapid downturn in 2008, such bias and hostility has escalated to target almost all ethnic minorities, further consolidating the influence of white supremacists. This, at the instigation of far-right forces, has led to serious racial conflicts and social unrests.
唯一在這些戰爭中受益的，恐怕只有美國的軍工複合體了。美國的軍工企業是全球軍工市場的主導者。2019年，美國的洛克希德馬丁公司、波音公司、諾斯洛普格魯曼公司、雷神公司和通用動力公司排名全球前五，銷售額達到了1660億美元。2019年，共有12家美國公司排名在全球軍工企業排行榜的前25名，佔軍售總額的61%。而在阿富汗戰爭所消耗的2.3萬億美元中，約有87%被排名前五的國防承包商納入囊中。
The only beneficiary of the wars is probably the military-industrial complex. American defense companies are the leader of the world's arms industry. In 2019, the total sales of the global top five, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics – which are all American – reached a whopping $166 billion. In 2019, 12 American firms were on the list of the top 25 global defense companies, representing 61 percent of global arms sales. Among the $2.3 trillion spent in the war in Afghanistan, around 87 percent went into the pockets of the top five defense contractors.
通過資助、遊説國會議員，美國的軍工企業在國家政策制定中獲得了重要的發言權，並在其所資助的國會議員的幫助下得到更多的資源去生產武器。通過對學術界、好萊塢和電子遊戲等行業的滲透與影響，軍工複合體得以在國內宣傳維持美國霸權和推行軍國主義的必要性，從而不斷髮動“無止盡”的戰爭，促進美國軍工產業的發展。在軍工複合體的影響之下，美國的思想、政治與文化都籠罩在軍國主義的氛圍之中，為極右恐怖主義的迅速發展創造極佳條件。
By funding and lobbying members of Congress, American defense contractors have gained tremendous influence in national policymaking, and, with the help of senators and representatives they have funded, obtained more resources to manufacture weapons. Through infiltration into and influence over academia, Hollywood and the video game industry, the military-industrial complex is able to propagandize at home that it is of necessity to uphold the U.S. hegemony and promote militarism. By doing so, it could keep the war machine running indefinitely to advance the defense industry. The military-industrial complex shrouds American ideologies, politics and culture with a militarist sentiment, creating a fertile ground for the rapid development of far-right terrorism.
1961年1月，軍人總統艾森豪威爾在離任時發表了一篇著名的告別演説，警告美國“必須防止軍工複合體獲得不正當的影響力……權力錯配現象正日益顯現，其造成災難性後果的可能將長期存在。”六十年後的今天，美國卻在成為“戰爭機器”的道路上越走越遠，成為一個龐大的帝國主義軍事機器和國內極右恐怖主義的温牀，為美國社會的內部分裂與動盪埋下隱憂。
America "must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist," then American President Dwight Eisenhower warned in his famous farewell speech in January 1961. Sixty years later, however, the U.S. is turning itself into an imperialist military machine, creating a hot bed for domestic far-right terrorism and sowing the seeds for social division and turmoil.
作者系中國社會科學院美國研究所助理研究員俞鳳
The author, Yu Feng, is an assistant research fellow at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.