TED演讲:同性恋权利运动从公民权利运动中学到了什么(1)

 Election night 2008 was a night that tore me in half.  2008年的大选之夜，我激动万分。

It was the night that Barack Obama was elected.  这一夜，巴拉克奥巴马当选总统。

years after the end of slavery,  奴隶制废除后148年，

years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act,  也是选举权法通过后48年，

an African-American was elected president.  一位非裔美国人当选总统。

Many of us never thought that this was possible until the moment that it happened.  我们中有许多人从未想过这一天会到来，直到此刻出现。

And in many ways, it was the climax¹ of the black civil rights movement in the United States. 在诸多层面上，这是美国黑人民权运动的巅峰。

I was in California that night,  那一夜，我在加州。

which was ground zero at the time for another movement:  那儿，那一刻，正发起另一场运动：

the marriage equality movement.  婚姻平权运动。

Gay marriage was on the ballot² in the form of Proposition 8,  同性恋婚姻以8号提案的形式，被投票表决。

and as the election returns started to come in,  然而正当选举开始运作时

it became clear that the right for same sex couples to marry,  最近被加利福尼亚州法庭，通过的同性夫妇结婚的权利，

which had recently been granted by the California courts,was going to be taken away.   似乎，正趋于被剥夺（之边缘）。

So on the same night that Barack Obama won his historic presidency,  所以，当夜，正值巴拉克奥巴马赢得他历史性总统席位之时，

the lesbian and gay community suffered one of our most painful defeats.  女同及男同社区却遭受了有史以来最惨痛的失败之一。

And then it got even worse.  然后，情势每况愈下

Pretty much immediately,African-Americans started to be blamed for the passage of Proposition 8.   不久，非裔美国人就因8号法案被谴责

This was largely due to an incorrect poll that said that blacks had voted for the measure by something like 70 percent.  这很大程度上，缘于一份有误的民意调查。它显示，黑人占选举人数的，70%左右。

This turned out not to be true,  这后来被证明不实。

but this idea of pervasive³ black homophobia set in,  但是，同性恋恐惧症的概念，却由此四处扩散。

and was grabbed on by the media.  它被媒体恶意攫取了。

I couldn't tear myself away from the coverage⁴.  我不能将视线从这一新闻报道上转移，

I listened to some gay commentator⁵ say that the African-American community was notoriously homophobic,  我听到有些同性恋时事评论员说到，非裔美国人社区，是声名狼藉的同性恋恐惧者聚积地

and now that civil rights had been achieved for us,  现在我们的民权诉求已经实现

we wanted to take away other people's rights.  而我们却想剥夺他人之权利。

There were even reports of racist⁶ epithets⁷ being thrown at some of the participants of the gay rights rallies that took place after the election.  在大选后，更有甚者，报道称，种族主义者，对同性恋权利集会参与者谩骂连篇。

And on the other side,  另一方面，

some African-Americans dismissed or ignored homophobia that was indeed real in our community.  有些非裔美国人也忽略了同性恋恐惧症确然存在于我们社区。

And others resented this comparison between gay rights and civil rights,  亦有人，对同性恋权利运动与民权运动的比较满腹牢骚。

and once again, the sinking feeling that two minority groups of which I'm both a part of were competing with each other， 又一次，那种我所属的两个少数团体在互相竞争而非相互支持的无力感，

instead of supporting each other overwhelmed and, frankly⁸, pissed me off.  向我袭来。它们最终压垮了我，坦率而言，也使得我怒发冲冠。

Now, I'm a documentary filmmaker,  如今，我是一位纪录片制作人。

so after going through my pissed off stage and yelling at the television and radio,  所以，在经历人生低谷并朝电视与收音机大喊大叫后，

my next instinct was to make a movie.  我出于本能的，做了部影片。

And what guided me in making this film was,  我的动力之源，（即为深深萦绕脑海的问题：）

how was this happening?  这怎么发生的？

How was it that the gay rights movement was being pitted against the civil rights movement?  为何，同性恋权利运动与民权运动争锋相对？

And this wasn't just an abstract question.  这不只是个抽象问题，

I'm a beneficiary of both movements,  因为我同为这两个运动的受益者，

so this was actually personal.  所以，这实际上，是个人问题。

But then something else happened after that election in 2008.  但，在2008年大选之后，发生了一些意想不到的事。

The march towards gay equality accelerated at a pace that surprised and shocked everyone,  向着同性恋权利平等，大步迈进的响声，震惊了每一人，

and is still reshaping our laws and our policies,  并重塑着我们的法律，政策，

our institutions and our entire country.  我们的制度，及整个国家。

And so it started to become increasingly clear to me that this pitting of the two movements against each other actually didn't make sense,  所以，我愈发的清晰，这两个运动，互相扯皮，诉之无益。

and that they were in fact much, much more interconnected,  相反，他们的联系实际上非常地紧密。

and that, in fact, some of the way that the gay rights movement has been able to make such incredible gains so quickly， 而且，就某方面而言，同性恋权利运动（的规模）能如此飞速的增长，

is that it's used some of the same tactics and strategies that were first laid down by the civil rights movement.  得益于民权运动留下的策略与方法。

1 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

2 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

3 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

6 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

7 epithets   

n.（表示性质、特征等的）词语( epithet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He insulted me, using rude epithets. 他用粗话诅咒我。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He cursed me, using a lot of rude epithets. 他用上许多粗鲁的修饰词来诅咒我。 来自辞典例句

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。