又中又英 | Swatting | 褚簡寧

　　It's summer, the season when insect activity increases. Insects are part of nature. I avoid killing them when they get into my apartment. I use various methods to safely put them back outdoors. There are only three types of insects I kill when they get into my home: cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes. Cockroaches that fly make my skin crawl, which means they disgust or frighten me. I use insect spray to kill them when they get into my apartment. I stayed for many months in my younger brother's Manhattan apartment a few years ago when he was living in another US state.

　　A huge fly came in through the window. I did not have insect spray or a fly swatter and rushed out to buy insect spray. A fly swatter is a flat object with a long handle to kill flies. Swatting a fly requires sudden and quick action because flies immediately sense danger and fly away. The word "swatting" has another, very different, meaning. It means a dangerous type of criminal harassment when someone makes a fake emergency call to trick the police to raid the home of an innocent person. Pete Buttigieg, the transport secretary when Joe Biden was president, was a victim of swatting two months ago.

　　Buttigieg is openly gay. He and his husband have twins aged four who they adopted when the twins were born. An anonymous caller falsely told the Child Protective Services that the twins were in danger because Buttigieg had committed crimes. Officials rushed to the gay couple's home, sent the twins to their grandparents, and began an investigation which showed Buttigieg was a victim of swatting.

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　　現在是夏天，昆蟲更為活躍的季節。昆蟲是大自然的一部分。牠們闖進我的單位時，我會避免殺滅牠們，而用各種的方法安全地將牠們放回室外。有三種昆蟲進我家時我會撲殺：蟑螂、蒼蠅和蚊。那些會飛的蟑螂make my skin crawl，即令我起雞皮疙瘩，感到噁心或恐懼。牠們闖進我的單位時，我會用滅蟲噴霧殺死牠們。幾年前，我住在我弟弟在曼哈頓的單位，那時他住在美國另一個州。

　　有一次，一隻巨型的蒼蠅從窗戶飛進來。我沒有任何滅蟲噴劑或fly swatter，惟有衝出去買滅蟲噴劑。A fly swatter是有長長手柄的蒼蠅拍，用來撲殺蒼蠅。拍打（swatting）蒼蠅需要突然而快速的動作，因為蒼蠅會立即感到危機而飛走。Swatting這個字亦有另一個截然不同的意思。它是指有人打緊急電話報假案，騙警方突襲一個無辜市民的家，屬於危險的刑事滋擾。在拜登任總統時期擔任運輸部長的彼得．布塔朱吉，兩個月前就成為了報假案（swatting）的受害者。

　　布塔朱吉是公開的同性戀者。他和丈夫有一對現年四歲的雙胞胎，是在雙胞胎出生的時候領養的。一個匿名人士致電美國兒童保護服務，謊稱雙胞胎有危險，因為布塔朱吉犯了罪。官員衝去這對同性伴侶的家，把雙胞胎帶到他們的祖父母處，再展開調查，最後證實布塔朱吉只是報假案（swatting）的受害者。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻