移民公寓博物館(The Tenement Museum)位于紐約下東區(qū),,這座大樓已經有150多年歷史,。1900年前后,曾經有來自20多個國家的7000個新移民住在這里,。舊日的擺設和詳細的講解令人身臨其境地體驗20世紀初移民艱辛,。所以,這里已成為了歷史的鑒證,。
冠狀病毒大流行病持續(xù)顛覆著人們的正常生活,,文化中心和博物館的命運仍然未明。3月13日晚,和其它機構一樣,,移民公寓博物館也被迫關閉,,目前還不清楚何時才會重新開放。
從2008年至2017年,,莫里斯·沃格爾(Morris Vogel)一直擔任該博物館館長一職,,2019年11月,已退休的沃格爾返聘回原職,。沃格爾早年為歷史學家,,在天普大學(Temple)教授了30年的醫(yī)學和公共衛(wèi)生史,他也曾在威斯康星大學醫(yī)學院和賓夕法尼亞大學擔任過客座教授,。
莫里斯·沃格爾,,公共衛(wèi)生歷史學家及曼哈頓移民公寓博物館館長。圖片來源:COURTESY OF MORRIS VOGEL
我們采訪了沃格爾,。他講述了新型冠狀病毒如何影響了其工作和未來計劃,,以及他在情緒和經濟方面如何應對。以下是經過編輯的對話內容,。
《財富》:請解釋一下“公共衛(wèi)生”是什么意思。
沃格爾:公共衛(wèi)生具有真正的種族,、階級和性別多重特征,。它并不是“生病了,就去治病”這么簡單,。公共衛(wèi)生關注的是群體,,如群體如何被看待、群體如何行動等,。
在曼哈頓下東區(qū),,就發(fā)生了一些美國歷史上最有代表性的公共衛(wèi)生事件。比如,,19世紀早期和中期,,在黑幫聚集的五點區(qū),如今的唐人街以及曼哈頓下城,,爆發(fā)了霍亂疫情,。再往后,1892年,,傳染病威脅美國時,,曼哈頓下東區(qū)的猶太人被隔離。
發(fā)生這樣的事件,,社會應該如何應對,,這里面存在很多的深層次的問題。最容易受波及的往往是那些弱勢群體,他們被視為局外人,,只能服從,。在當下發(fā)生的這場大流行病中,情況還沒有發(fā)展到這一步,,但我們目前在唐人街看到的現象就足以表明,,一切都只是時間問題。
《財富》:從歷史角度,,你怎么看現在發(fā)生的新型病毒疫情,?
沃格爾:那我就談談1793年由蚊子傳播的黃熱病。費城是那次疫情的中心,,當時還是美國的首都,。有些人認為這個國家很健康,所有疾病都是從外面?zhèn)鱽淼?,所以要隔離,,讓外國人離開這個國家。持這樣觀點的,,是當時執(zhí)政的聯邦黨,。
但當時的共和黨卻不這么認為,共和黨認為,,真正的問題在于對國內機構和人民的投資不足,,用他們當時的話說,就是街道很骯臟,。住房條件很差,。因為政府對社區(qū)沒有足夠的關注,所以導致空氣中彌漫著瘴氣和真菌,,必須要想辦法將其清除,。
當然,后來事實證明,,這兩種觀點從某種意義上都是對的:蚊子叮咬了病毒感染者,,使黃熱病傳播開來。1793年時,,海地正處于激進革命中,,很多感染者逃到了費城。在費城的夏季,,蚊子隨處可見,,它們在沼澤、死水塘和無人角落里不停地繁殖,,通常窮人區(qū)才有這樣的環(huán)境,。
1793年黃熱病對今天我們最大的啟發(fā)就是:政黨會想利用疫情獲得支持。今天,還是有人只會指責外人,,而不采取有效行動,,有政治領導人會指責一個群體是導致問題的罪魁禍首,哪怕他們是和我們生活在一起的公民,,這種危險的做法會加劇仇外情緒,。

《財富》:自從3月13日閉館以來,,博物館的狀況如何,?
沃格爾:我們是非營利組織,大概75%的運營資金來自門票等收入,,在紐約,,像我們這樣的博物館只有911博物館和無畏號航母博物館。平時,,人們會覺得我們自負盈虧,,很厲害。但是,,當3月13日周五下午,,我們收入額徹底歸零時,突然間,,這75%的份額就成了極為困難的挑戰(zhàn),。
我們的董事會很厲害,通過捐贈形式幫我們覆蓋了20%至25%的運營費用,。他們很積極,,全力支持我們,,但是依然力量有限,。慈善業(yè)跟股市高低掛鉤,股市脆弱的時候,,慈善業(yè)也舉步維艱,,我們也沒有資助基金,多年來,,籌集到的資金都用在項目上了,。所以現在,收入和募捐都雙雙受到沖擊,,我們也得考慮接下來該怎么走,。
桑迪颶風和911事件時,我們也閉館過,,每次都需要做一份應對預算方案,。這次,我們可以先關門一個月,看看能否渡過難關,。我們正在重新安排預算,,好讓博物館能撐到6月30日。至于再往后會發(fā)生些什么,,我們完全沒法確定,。
《財富》:博物館關閉后,你的工作日常發(fā)生了什么變化,?
沃格爾:我在家全職辦公,。兩年半前我就已經退休了,所以我在家里做了很多咨詢類的工作,,只有必須的時候,,才會去出差。我習慣了待在安靜的空間里,,坐在筆記本電腦前工作,,通常還會放一些古典音樂??蓜e忘了,,我曾經當過30多年的大學教授,一個大學教授一周可能就上兩天課,,剩下的時間都是在做研究和寫作,。
所以,我習慣于在自己的地方獨自思索?,F在,,人們都是在線辦公,所以就算你在家里工作,,屏幕上各類訊息也會來找你,,所以其實沒有那么孤獨。
《財富》:基于過去的經驗,,人們現在能做些什么呢,?
沃格爾:不要忽略最好的醫(yī)學建議:洗手、避開人群,、去做檢測,。做這些不光是為了自己,也是為了公共衛(wèi)生,。要做一個好公民,,就要盡可能避免前往公眾場合。
我們大家是在共同面對傳染病,。如果讓一個群體對抗另一個群體,,這就會導致災難,,不光是流行病的災難,也是制度的災難,,我們無論是個人還是集體,,都依賴于一個社會政治制度,維系它的健康,,就像我們要洗手一樣重要,。
我們的博物館講述的故事,很多是關于那些能夠勇敢面對未知境遇的人,。他們不知道未來會怎樣,,但堅信自己應該冒險一試。眼下,,我們無法選擇要不要冒險,,因為災禍已經降臨,但我們應該像故事中的那些人一樣,,勇敢地找尋渡過難關的方法,。(財富中文網)
譯者:殷圓圓
責編:雨晨
移民公寓博物館(The Tenement Museum)位于紐約下東區(qū),這座大樓已經有150多年歷史,。1900年前后,,曾經有來自20多個國家的7000個新移民住在這里。舊日的擺設和詳細的講解令人身臨其境地體驗20世紀初移民艱辛,。所以,,這里已成為了歷史的鑒證。
冠狀病毒大流行病持續(xù)顛覆著人們的正常生活,,文化中心和博物館的命運仍然未明,。3月13日晚,和其它機構一樣,,移民公寓博物館也被迫關閉,,目前還不清楚何時才會重新開放。
從2008年至2017年,,莫里斯·沃格爾(Morris Vogel)一直擔任該博物館館長一職,,2019年11月,,已退休的沃格爾返聘回原職,。沃格爾早年為歷史學家,在天普大學(Temple)教授了30年的醫(yī)學和公共衛(wèi)生史,,他也曾在威斯康星大學醫(yī)學院和賓夕法尼亞大學擔任過客座教授,。
我們采訪了沃格爾。他講述了新型冠狀病毒如何影響了其工作和未來計劃,,以及他在情緒和經濟方面如何應對,。以下是經過編輯的對話內容,。
《財富》:請解釋一下“公共衛(wèi)生”是什么意思。
沃格爾:公共衛(wèi)生具有真正的種族,、階級和性別多重特征,。它并不是“生病了,就去治病”這么簡單,。公共衛(wèi)生關注的是群體,,如群體如何被看待、群體如何行動等,。
在曼哈頓下東區(qū),,就發(fā)生了一些美國歷史上最有代表性的公共衛(wèi)生事件。比如,,19世紀早期和中期,,在黑幫聚集的五點區(qū),如今的唐人街以及曼哈頓下城,,爆發(fā)了霍亂疫情,。再往后,1892年,,傳染病威脅美國時,,曼哈頓下東區(qū)的猶太人被隔離。
發(fā)生這樣的事件,,社會應該如何應對,,這里面存在很多的深層次的問題。最容易受波及的往往是那些弱勢群體,,他們被視為局外人,,只能服從。在當下發(fā)生的這場大流行病中,,情況還沒有發(fā)展到這一步,,但我們目前在唐人街看到的現象就足以表明,一切都只是時間問題,。
《財富》:從歷史角度,,你怎么看現在發(fā)生的新型病毒疫情?
沃格爾:那我就談談1793年由蚊子傳播的黃熱病,。費城是那次疫情的中心,,當時還是美國的首都。有些人認為這個國家很健康,,所有疾病都是從外面?zhèn)鱽淼?,所以要隔離,讓外國人離開這個國家,。持這樣觀點的,,是當時執(zhí)政的聯邦黨,。
但當時的共和黨卻不這么認為,共和黨認為,,真正的問題在于對國內機構和人民的投資不足,,用他們當時的話說,就是街道很骯臟,。住房條件很差,。因為政府對社區(qū)沒有足夠的關注,所以導致空氣中彌漫著瘴氣和真菌,,必須要想辦法將其清除,。
當然,后來事實證明,,這兩種觀點從某種意義上都是對的:蚊子叮咬了病毒感染者,,使黃熱病傳播開來。1793年時,,海地正處于激進革命中,,很多感染者逃到了費城。在費城的夏季,,蚊子隨處可見,,它們在沼澤、死水塘和無人角落里不停地繁殖,,通常窮人區(qū)才有這樣的環(huán)境,。
1793年黃熱病對今天我們最大的啟發(fā)就是:政黨會想利用疫情獲得支持。今天,,還是有人只會指責外人,,而不采取有效行動,有政治領導人會指責一個群體是導致問題的罪魁禍首,,哪怕他們是和我們生活在一起的公民,,這種危險的做法會加劇仇外情緒。
《財富》:自從3月13日閉館以來,,博物館的狀況如何,?
沃格爾:我們是非營利組織,大概75%的運營資金來自門票等收入,,在紐約,,像我們這樣的博物館只有911博物館和無畏號航母博物館。平時,,人們會覺得我們自負盈虧,,很厲害,。但是,,當3月13日周五下午,,我們收入額徹底歸零時,突然間,,這75%的份額就成了極為困難的挑戰(zhàn),。
我們的董事會很厲害,通過捐贈形式幫我們覆蓋了20%至25%的運營費用,。他們很積極,,全力支持我們,但是依然力量有限,。慈善業(yè)跟股市高低掛鉤,,股市脆弱的時候,慈善業(yè)也舉步維艱,,我們也沒有資助基金,,多年來,籌集到的資金都用在項目上了,。所以現在,,收入和募捐都雙雙受到沖擊,我們也得考慮接下來該怎么走,。
桑迪颶風和911事件時,,我們也閉館過,每次都需要做一份應對預算方案,。這次,,我們可以先關門一個月,看看能否渡過難關,。我們正在重新安排預算,,好讓博物館能撐到6月30日。至于再往后會發(fā)生些什么,,我們完全沒法確定,。
《財富》:博物館關閉后,你的工作日常發(fā)生了什么變化,?
沃格爾:我在家全職辦公,。兩年半前我就已經退休了,所以我在家里做了很多咨詢類的工作,,只有必須的時候,,才會去出差。我習慣了待在安靜的空間里,,坐在筆記本電腦前工作,,通常還會放一些古典音樂??蓜e忘了,,我曾經當過30多年的大學教授,,一個大學教授一周可能就上兩天課,剩下的時間都是在做研究和寫作,。
所以,,我習慣于在自己的地方獨自思索。現在,,人們都是在線辦公,,所以就算你在家里工作,屏幕上各類訊息也會來找你,,所以其實沒有那么孤獨,。
《財富》:基于過去的經驗,人們現在能做些什么呢,?
沃格爾:不要忽略最好的醫(yī)學建議:洗手,、避開人群、去做檢測,。做這些不光是為了自己,,也是為了公共衛(wèi)生。要做一個好公民,,就要盡可能避免前往公眾場合,。
我們大家是在共同面對傳染病。如果讓一個群體對抗另一個群體,,這就會導致災難,,不光是流行病的災難,也是制度的災難,,我們無論是個人還是集體,,都依賴于一個社會政治制度,維系它的健康,,就像我們要洗手一樣重要,。
我們的博物館講述的故事,很多是關于那些能夠勇敢面對未知境遇的人,。他們不知道未來會怎樣,,但堅信自己應該冒險一試。眼下,,我們無法選擇要不要冒險,,因為災禍已經降臨,但我們應該像故事中的那些人一樣,,勇敢地找尋渡過難關的方法,。(財富中文網)
譯者:殷圓圓
責編:雨晨
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend normal life, the fate of cultural centers and museums remains unknown. Like other institutions, the Tenement Museum in New York City’s Lower East Side neighborhood was forced to shut its doors on the evening of March 13 with no reopening date in sight.
Morris Vogel served as museum president from 2008 through 2017, before coming out of retirement in November 2019 to resume his post. In an earlier career, Vogel was a historian who taught the history of medicine and public health at Temple University for 30 years. Additionally, he served as a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania.
Fortune spoke with Vogel for a new series, The Coronavirus Economy, to ask about how COVID-19 has affected his employment status and plans for the future, and to get a sense of how he was handling this news, both emotionally and financially. The following Q&A has been condensed and lightly edited.
Fortune: Explain what is meant by “public health.”
Vogel: Public health has a real race and class and gender overlay. It’s not as straightforward as “You’re sick, here’s treatment.” It’s about communities; how communities are perceived and how the communities act.
So being on the Lower East Side, some of the most revealing public health episodes—at least in American history—take place in lower Manhattan. There are things like the great cholera epidemics of the early and mid-19th century that are very much focused in Five Points and what we think of today as Chinatown and lower Manhattan. And then in 1892, the Jewish population of the Lower East Side was the great subject of quarantine when an epidemic threatened the United States.
There have always been deeper questions at play and how society responds to events like that. You tend to see it most in communities of people who are disadvantaged, seen as outsiders, subject to social controls. And in this epidemic, it hasn’t fully played into that trope yet, but what we’ve seen in Chinatown so far suggests that it’s just a matter of time.
Can you provide some historical context to what we’re seeing today with COVID-19?
Let’s look at 1793. Yellow fever, mosquito-borne. Philadelphia (the center of that epidemic) was the capital of the United States. This is not an original analysis on my part. What you get is some people who believe that everything about this country is hunky-dory. It’s great. Any disease must be coming from somewhere else. The answer is to quarantine, to keep foreigners out of the country. And these people who have these views? It’s the party in power, the Federalists. On the other side is that day’s Republicans, who actually have a fairly direct line to today’s Democratic party. What they see is wrong is inadequate investment in our own institutions and in our own people. The way they see it—because the idea of investing in people, human capital, isn’t yet a subject—is the streets are filthy. Housing is poor. We’ve got to clean up the miasma, the foul rot that permeates our atmosphere, which is the result of inadequate care for our communities. So that’s pretty clear-cut.
Of course, it turns out that both of these were to some degree right: Mosquitoes spread yellow fever by biting people who were already infected. And in 1793, Philadelphia held a growing population of infected persons fleeing Haiti, which was in the throes of radical revolution. The city’s mosquitoes were an ever-present fact of summer life; they bred (as they do now) in environments where there were swamps, where water stood in stagnant pools, and where properties weren’t cared for, often situations marked by poverty.
The key takeaway from the 1793 yellow fever epidemic for our moment is the degree to which political parties used it to build support. And there is a terrific risk today of blame replacing effective action, of political leaders heightening xenophobia by reassuring at least some Americans that some other group (even a group that lives among us as fellow citizens) is the cause of our problems.
What’s happening with the museum since it had to close its doors on March 13?
We’re a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. We generate most of our operating costs through earned revenue, probably around 75%. The only other museums in New York in that category are the 9/11 Museum and the Intrepid. So in ordinary times, people say, “Wow, that’s a sign of such incredible strength.” But as soon as we zeroed out earned income, which we did on Friday afternoon [March 13], all of a sudden that 75% or so, it becomes—I don’t want to say insurmountable—it becomes an extremely difficult challenge.
We’ve got a great board. They help us generate the 20% to 25% of our operating expenses that come through philanthropy. They’re engaged, they’re supportive, but there’s a limit to what they can do. And now we’re trying to figure out how we go forward, given our dependence on earned revenue and given the challenges to philanthropy.I mean, it’s no secret that philanthropy has gotten harder as the stock market is vulnerable. We also have no endowment. Over the years we’ve taken what money we’ve raised and put it into expanding programs.
In ordinary circumstances, we write a budget where we could absorb Hurricane Sandy or being closed for 9/11. We’ve absorbed closures, and we could take off a month and get through it. We’re rewriting the budget to get us through June 30 and with absolute uncertainty about what comes after that.
How has your working life changed since the museum’s closure?
I will be working full-time from home. I had retired about two and a half years ago, and so I was doing a lot of consulting from home and going into people’s offices on a need-to-travel basis. I’m used to sitting at a laptop, in a semi-quiet space, usually with classical music in the background. And before that, don’t forget, I spent more than 30 years as a college professor. And a college professor may go in and have classes two days a week, and the rest of the time you’re doing research and writing.
So, I’m used to being in a place with my own thoughts. These days are a lot more online; even if you’re sitting around and working, you have got these pings on the screen coming at you. You’re not as isolated.
Is there anything actionable that people can do based on what we’ve seen in the past?
Don’t overlook the best medical advice: Wash your hands. Avoid crowds. Have yourself tested. There’s the personal, and then there’s the public health. You do your best as a public citizen to not be in public. That’s what we can learn in a medical way.
We have to—it’s kind of like third grade—learn that we are in all of this together. That an individual that’s setting one group off against another is a formula for disaster, both in terms of the response to the epidemic and in terms of maintaining the social and political institutions on which we depend as individuals and collectively
o that’s almost a metaphoric response. But when you’re trying to maintain a society, that becomes as important as washing your hands. You have to be able to anticipate the good intentions of the people around you. And if you’re not doing your best to make that possible, you can’t assume that they are.
In a bigger way, [the museum] tells the story of people who were brave in a place that had been unknown to them and circumstances that were unknown to them. They didn’t know what the future held, but they believed that it was worth taking the risk. We have no choice about taking the risk at this moment; it’s been dropped onto us, but we should try to be as brave in figuring out how we get through this as were the people whose stories we tell.