先跑老师范美忠接受媒体采访。本报记者 张沫 摄（京华时报图）
在网上见到过关于对范美忠“事迹”的评论，但少见他本人的反应。今天，美国国家广播电台报导了国内对此事的反应，并对范美忠做了专访，听了倒觉得确有值得思索的地方。他的做法，究竟是受言论自由保护的对自己出于本能的反应的记录，还是如教育部负责人指责的无耻行为，抑或是可以原谅的，或是over-expressed 言论自由。他敢于指责教育部对地震中倒塌的学校不承担责任的行为实属无耻的勇气，倒是有点不符合有些人给他的中国“biggest coward”的称号。
ＮＰＲ录音:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92517549
摘自人民网，2008-06-07 02:30:04，(北京)（详见下文）
范美忠：最基本的想法是记录历史事件，这也是我生命中经历的大事。附加的想法有很多，我以极端个人主义对抗集体主义，挑战国民对自己不认可的价值的容忍度。
ＮＰＲAll Things Considered, July 14, 2008
Chinese teacher Fan Meizhong woke upone morning to discover he had become the most hated man in China.
The Sichuan native had written a blog postdescribing his cowardly behavior during the massive earthquake that left nearly90,000 people dead and missing.
While his actions during the quakedidn't result in any deaths, his post kicked off a chain of events that hasleft this antihero looking almost heroic.
The man labeled China's biggest coward is a slight manwith thick black glasses. He looks so unassuming, it's hard to imagine oneperson could have unleashed such vitriol and such a bitter nationwide debate.
But almost everybody agrees on onething: His downfall was his honesty.
Fan Meizhong was teaching aChinese-language class in a school when the earthquake happened. This summaryfrom his blog, written 10 days after the quake, describes what he did next.
"I ran as fast as I could, almost on all fours, to the soccerfield. Then I realized I was the first person to make it there. I'm not braveenough to sacrifice myself for others. I care only about my own life. I canonly imagine sacrificing myself for my baby daughter. I wouldn't think about itfor anyone else, not even my mother."
"I just wanted to leave a trueaccount of what happened during this extraordinary experience in my life,"he says about why he wrote the post. "I was very dissatisfied with thenarrative of sacrifice and emotional upheaval in the mass media. I felt thiswas a false construct, which obscured what really happened."
Runner Fan
To many, this seemed like an excuse.The blogosphere went wild, christening him "Runner Fan," or "FanPao Pao" in Chinese.
"Runner Fan runs and runs andruns" is part of a verse from a satirical song. "He's a strange man;he pretends he loves doing whatever he wants. But he doesn't even love hismother or father. When he runs, he runs faster than a rabbit."
"When I saw my mother, shedidn't mind what I said," Fan says. "She thinks I've always been goodto her. And she said if such a thing did happen, it would be right to save mydaughter."
As the satirical songs blossomed, sotoo did the criticism. Many felt Fan had violated a Chinese code of ethics ùboth as a teacher who abandoned his students, and as a son who openly said hewould not sacrifice himself for his mother.
Fired For 'Speaking Improperly'
A widely watched live televisiondebate followed. This quickly descended into farce with Fan and his opponentaccusing each other of idiocy.
Then Fan was fired, not for runningout on his students, but for "speaking improperly." He says thisdidn't surprise him.
"I expected this result, but Istill had to write this essay," Fan says. "I couldn't give up myfreedom of speech and expression because of the possible consequences of myactions."
One reason he was not surprised wasthat he had already been fired three times for talking about taboo politicaltopics in class. This time, he is preparing to launch a lawsuit.
But the saga still wasn't over.
The next twist came when theeducation ministry changed its code of ethics, requiring teachers to beresponsible for the safety of their students.
Upon releasing this, an educationministry official criticized Fan as shameless, which made him feel like ascapegoat.
"I think the education ministryare really the shameless ones," Fan says. "Twenty thousand studentsdied in the earthquake. That wasn't because teachers didn't save people, butbecause the buildings were disgracefully weak. Why don't they blame themselvesas shameless, instead of blaming a teacher whose actions didn't cost anylives?"
'An Honest And Brave Man'
At his former school, Guangya IBschool near Dujiangyan, two enormous red stone doves flank the gates. Engravedon them are the values prized by the school: honesty, universal love, diligenceand bravery. There's much sympathy for him here.
Long Yushan, 10, says sheunderstands Fan's behavior. Her teacher at another school also fled. But herclass forgave him, she says, because everyone is human.
English teacher Li Min says the mobmentality reminded her of darker periods of Chinese history, like the CulturalRevolution.
"Fan Pao Pao just saidsomething not quite proper, but he was telling the truth. So he didn't commit somecrime," Li says.
And so it seems the tide of publicopinion is turning. Almost 60 percent of people in one survey found Fan to bean honest and brave man.
One of the most perceptive, andperhaps saddest, comments on the saga came ù as so much else does ù from theInternet.
One blogger summed it up, saying,"He overexercised his freedom of speech."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92517549
教师地震时率先逃命续："范跑跑"公开亮相道歉
2008-06-07 02:30:04 来源: 人民网(北京) 网友评论 12679 条 点击查看
* 核心提示：都江堰一名教师在网上发帖详述自己在地震中弃学生而逃的经历，得名“范跑跑”，并被众多网友斥责。昨日，“范跑跑”在北京向情感上受到伤害的网友公开道歉，但他同时声明这并不代表他向他的观点道歉，他仍然坚持自己的言论并无不妥。
先跑老师范美忠接受媒体采访。本报记者 张沫 摄（京华时报图）
节目录制现场，范跑跑（右）与嘉宾（左）激烈交锋。
节目录制现场，范跑跑(右)与嘉宾(左)激烈交锋。
人民网6月7日报道 昨天，因发表博客文章讲述自己在地震时不顾学生逃生的四川省都江堰光亚学校教师范美忠，在来京参加一期电视节目时，字斟句酌地向学生、校长和公众道歉。此前，范美忠在网络上遭遇公众的口诛笔伐，被网友戏称为“范跑跑”。此次他虽然表示了歉意，但仍然坚持自己的言论并无不妥，逃生的行为也属于本能，不应受到公众的批判。
遭嘉宾激烈抨击“双重无耻”
节目现场
昨天下午，范美忠来到位于石景山的一档节目的演播厅，就自己的言论与行为与嘉宾及观众激烈交锋。
在主持人的询问下，范美忠认为教师职业并不神圣，但自己是一名称职的老师，而且应该是中国最优秀的文科老师之一。
范美忠说，地震发生前，他正在给IB班(相当于高二)的学生上语文课，讲的是《红楼梦》。刚开始发生了两次轻微的震动，他告诉学生“不要慌，是地震”。但紧接着就是一阵猛烈的晃动，范美忠意识到是大地震，立即头也不回地跑出了教室，以最快的速度跑到了操场上。他发现，自己竟是第一个跑出教学楼的人。对于自己的行为，范美忠解释是一种本能反应，“地震的时候已经失去理智，不知道自己在做什么。”
但是范美忠的说法立即遭到现场一位嘉宾的强烈反对，嘉宾言辞激烈地抨击范美忠，“教师在危险时刻不顾学生率先逃跑是一种无耻，不以为耻反以为荣是一种无耻，一种无耻加一种无耻是双重无耻，一种无耻乘以无耻就是无耻的平方!”范美忠随即也强烈回应，表示嘉宾不应人身攻击，双方随即争执起来。
称道歉与自己教师职业无关
有限道歉
昨天，范美忠所在的光亚学校的校长卿光亚在电话连线时表示，范美忠的行为无过错，但他的言论有问题。
范美忠最终第一次就自己的言论字斟句酌地公开道歉。但同时，他强调道歉跟自己的教师职业无关。范美忠首先向自己的学生道歉，“我比他们大，虽然我并不强大，但在学生的眼里是有安全感的，但我辜负了他们的信任。”范美忠同时对给光亚学校的校长带来压力表示歉意。范美忠最后表示，他对言论客观上伤害了一些公众的情感致歉，但始终认为自己的言论并无不妥。
是否当老师将尊重学生意见
展望未来
范美忠告诉记者，现在光亚学校因为教学楼需要加固提前放假了。对于今后的前途，范美忠表示他还想继续做教师。光亚学校的卿校长表态，他并未做出开除范美忠的决定。范美忠说，重新复课后的第一节课，他会和学生好好交流这件事，由学生做出自己的判断他是否留任，“如果多数学生不同意我继续做老师，我会主动辞职!”
对话范美忠
“我对学生的爱不够”
在节目录制结束后，在下榻的宾馆里，范美忠接受了记者的采访(见左图)。
记者(以下简称“记”)：为何要发表这篇博客文章?
范美忠(以下简称“范”)：最基本的想法是记录历史事件，这也是我生命中经历的大事。附加的想法有很多，我以极端个人主义对抗集体主义，挑战国民对自己不认可的价值的容忍度。
记：写自己逃跑，是想让大家都学习吗?
范：不是，每个人都可以有自己的做法和想法。我逃生是因为我认为教室不够安全，而且平时也没有演习，并没有规定我作为教师不可以跑。
记：在文章中，您说“在这种生死抉择的瞬间，只有为了我的女儿我才可能考虑牺牲自我，其他的人，哪怕是我的母亲，在这种情况下我也不会管的。”这种说法违背了起码的孝道。
范：首先我想说明这段话并不是我和学生的真实对话，而是我后来写的。我想刺激传统的孝道观，我主张生命权是平等的。如果在我也面临死亡的危险时，母亲也是可以不救的，我和母亲的生命是等价的。救是爱，不救也无可指责。
记：您对自己的行为没有反思吗?
范：有，但因为公众对我的人身攻击，让我没有心情去写反思了。我反思，如果自己能更加镇静，组织同学逃生就更好，可是我当时失控了。而且我对学生的爱不够，以后要加强。
http://news.163.com/08/0607/02/4DQ6LCA600011229.html
