美国国家公共电台 NPR--Remembering a gay rights trailblazer you may have never heard of

Remembering a gay rights trailblazer you may have never heard of

Transcript¹

In the 1970s, John Singer left the Army and changed his name to Faygele Ben-Miriam. Two friends — Patrick Haggerty and Ronni Gilboa — remember the gay rights activist² who died in 2000.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

On today's StoryCorps, we unveil a new theme, which you're hearing now, and also a different veteran's story. In the 1970s, John Singer left the Army and changed his name to Faygele Ben-Miriam. His friends, Patrick Haggerty and Ronni Gilboa, remember him.

PATRICK HAGGERTY: In Yiddish, Faygele means little bird. But it was a pejorative³ for effeminate men. And my friends introduced me to him. He was actually quite polite in his first meeting. But he wasn't famous for his politeness.

RONNI GILBOA: No.

HAGGERTY: He was famous for his directness.

GILBOA: Well, yeah. He didn't bull****.

HAGGERTY: Yeah. And he wanted to agitate⁴.

GILBOA: And he was good at it.

HAGGERTY: And he was very good at it. Faygele got a job working as a secretary in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Well, you know, he had a dress that was navy blue. And he wore that dress everywhere.

GILBOA: Well, he was a secretary. Any bags or high heels?

HAGGERTY: Yeah. Right.

(LAUGHTER)

HAGGERTY: No, but I'm pretty sure he had a wallet on him somewhere.

(LAUGHTER)

HAGGERTY: He made sure that dress was short enough to be disgraceful. It was like, this is who I am. And if it offends you, that's too damn bad. Well, he soon became indispensable in that office. But Washington, D.C., mucky-mucks caught wind of the fact that there was an open homosexual. And they insisted that he be fired. He filed suit. And he ultimately won. And he set a precedent⁵. I mean, he broke the bank on the federal civil service not allowing homosexuals to work. He got a big, fat settlement. And he spread it around because Faygele was one of the most gracious people. You know, he told me for decades, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be on this Earth. This is an ugly place. The society that we lived in compared to the society that he wished to build were so far apart. It just broke his heart. He told me, I am here, so I'm going to set it right as much as I can.

GILBOA: He took risks that other people wouldn't dare.

HAGGERTY: Why he was unknown is a mystery because he was really a power to be reckoned with for decades.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

INSKEEP: Patrick Haggerty and Ronni Gilboa remembering their friend Faygele Ben-Miriam, who died in 2000. Their conversation will be archived at the Library of Congress.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 pejorative   

adj.贬低的，轻蔑的

参考例句：

• In the context of ethnic tourism,commercialization often has a pejorative connotation.摘要在民族旅游语境中，商品化经常带有贬义色彩。
• But news organizations also should make every effort to keep the discussion civil and to discourage the dissemination of falsehoods or pejorat

4 agitate   

vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动

参考例句：

• They sent agents to agitate the local people.他们派遣情报人员煽动当地的民众。
• All you need to do is gently agitate the water with a finger or paintbrush.你只需要用手指或刷子轻轻地搅动水。

5 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。