TED演讲 :生命中最惨痛的时刻如何造就我们(6)

 But if you banish¹ the dragons,  但如果你驱逐了恶龙，

you banish the heroes,  你也同时驱逐了英雄，

and we become attached  而我们无法放下

to the heroic strain in our own lives.  我们生命中英雄的那一部分。

I've sometimes wondered  我有时候会问自己

whether I could have ceased to hate that part of myself  如果没有同性恋权益的色彩斑斓，

without gay pride's technicolor fiesta,  (这个演讲就是其显像之一），

of which this speech is one manifestation².  我能否停止憎恨自己的那一部分。

I used to think I would know myself to be mature  我曾经认为当我是同性恋者，

when I could simply be gay without emphasis,  却不加宣扬时，我就成熟了，

but the self-loathing of that period left a void,  但那段时间的自厌留下了一个洞，

and celebration needs to fill and overflow³ it,  需要靠庆祝来填满和倾注，

and even if I repay my private debt of melancholy,  就算我还清了我自身的悲伤，

there's still an outer world of homophobia  外在的同性恋恐惧症还是存在的

that it will take decades to address.  那需要几十年的时间来解决。

Someday, being gay will be a simple fact,  有一天，同性恋身份会是个简单的事实，

free of party hats and blame,  没有夸耀或指责，

but not yet.  但现在不是这样。

A friend of mine who thought gay pride  我有个朋友，他认为

was getting very carried away with itself,  同性恋权益忘乎所以，

once suggested that we organize  他提议我们举行

Gay Humility⁴ Week.  同性恋“谦卑”一周。

It's a great idea,  这是个好主意，

but its time has not yet come.  但它的时间未到。

And neutrality, which seems to lie  而中立，这似乎

halfway⁵ between despair and celebration,  在绝望和庆祝中间的东西，

is actually the endgame.  才是最终的目标。

In 29 states in the U.S.,  在美国有29个州，

I could legally be fired or denied housing  法律准许我因为同性恋身份，

for being gay.  而被开除或被拒之门外。

In Russia, the anti-propaganda law  在俄罗斯，反政治宣传法

has led to people being beaten in the streets.  导致人们在大街上被殴打。

Twenty-seven African countries  二十七个非洲国家

have passed laws against sodomy,  立法严禁肛交，

and in Nigeria, gay people can legally  在尼日利亚，同性恋者

be stoned to death,  可以合法地被处于石刑,

and lynchings have become common.  私刑也最近变得越发常见

In Saudi Arabia recently, two men  近日在沙特阿拉伯，两个被逮到

who had been caught in carnal acts,  在发生肉体关系的男人，

were sentenced to 7,000 lashes⁶ each,  每人被判了7000下的鞭刑，

and are now permanently⁷ disabled as a result.  而现在变得终身残疾。

So who can forge meaning  那谁能铸造意义

and build identity?  和建立身份呢？

1 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

2 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

3 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

4 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

5 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

6 lashes   

n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时，母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面，以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。