A Hong Kong friend sent me a WhatsApp picture of a San Francisco street sign outside a Louis Vuitton shop that said stolen goods must remain under $950. It was a fake sign put up by someone as a prank (joke) but it looked authentic (real). My friend believed it because the internet is full of claims that California allows people to steal up to US$950. I saw a Fox News anchor last week interviewing California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is being groomed by the Democratic Party as a future US president.
The word “groom” has many meanings, but if you are being groomed for something, it means you are being prepared for a special job. I am not a fan of Newsom, but I was glad he ran rings around the Fox anchor who was twisting facts to show it is legal in California to steal up to US$950. If you run rings around someone, it means you prove you are better than and superior to the other person. Newsom proved the anchor wrong by explaining the difference between misdemeanor and felony.
A misdemeanor is a minor criminal offence such as shoplifting or possessing a small quantity of drugs punishable by a fine or short-term imprisonment. A felony is a much more serious crime. California voters passed a 2014 referendum so that minor offences such as shoplifting up to US$950 are treated as a misdemeanor. People who ridiculed California need to understand that it is illegal to steal up to US$950 but offenders will face lighter punishment. Places such as Hong Kong and Britain use summary offences and indictable offences for misdemeanor and felony.
一個香港朋友 WhatsApp傳了一張圖給我，是三藩市路易威登店外一個路牌寫着，所有偷竊的物品必須在九百五十美元以下。那是某人放在那兒的一個偽造的路牌，只是個惡作劇（prank），不過看上去頗為真實（authentic）。我朋友信以為真，因為網上人人聲稱加州容許人偷竊不多於九百五十美元的金額。上星期我見到一個霍士新聞的主播訪問加州州長加文‧紐森，他正被民主黨培養成（being groomed）未來美國總統的人選。
Groom有許多意思，但如果你是 being groomed for something，意即你正為一個特別的職位作準備。我並非紐森的粉絲，但當那個霍士的主播嘗試扭曲事實，說在加州偷竊不多於九百五十美元是合法的時候，我很高興他能遠勝於（ran rings around）那主播。若你 run rings around someone，意即你證明到你比某人更優秀或更出色。紐森解釋了 misdemeanor與felony 之間的分野，證明那位主播是錯的。
A misdemeanor是輕微的犯罪，例如高買或持有小量毒品，可以用罰款或短期監禁治罪；a felony就是嚴重的犯罪。加州選民在二零一四年的公投中通過，輕微犯罪例如不多於九百五十美元金額的高買，會被視為輕罪（misdemeanor）。那些嘲諷加州的人需要明白，盜竊九百五十美元以下的物品仍是非法的，只是犯案者所面臨的刑罰較輕。像香港和英國等地方，則是用簡易程序治罪和可公訴罪行來處理輕罪（misdemeanor）與重罪（felony）。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
