美国国家公共电台 NPR LGBT Community Worries Extend Beyond Itself To Other, More Vulnerable People

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: 

Since President Obama came into office, the Supreme¹ Court has legalized same-sex marriage, and Congress ended the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. Well, now a very different leader is about to be sworn in, and many LGBT people are worried.

As part of our Kitchen Table Conversation series, reporter Stina Sieg with member station KJZZ in Phoenix² spoke³ with three people anxious about what might happen under President-elect Donald Trump⁴.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: I'm going to give you a card in case you ever want to get a hold of me.

STINA SIEG, BYLINE⁵: Two middle-aged⁶ men and a young woman are sitting around a small, round table. It's the first time they've ever met, but it only takes a few minutes for the conversation to flow easily.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Laughter).

SIEG: They all vividly⁷ recall the night they realized Donald Trump would be their next president.

TONY MOYA: It was disbelief, shock, like someone punched you in the stomach.

SIEG: Fifty-two-year-old Tony Moya was watching the election results at home. Fifty-nine-year-old Brendan Mahoney was at a Phoenix hotel where Democrats⁸ were holding what was supposed to be a victory celebration for Hillary Clinton.

BRENDAN MAHONEY: Although it wasn't a celebration. And I left early - just said, let's just get out of here; I don't want to do this.

SIEG: And 19-year-old Jenni Vega was surrounded by LGBT and undocumented college students.

JENNI VEGA: And afterwards, it was the flush of crying. And if it wasn't the flush of crying, it was people wondering what their next step was.

SIEG: That's because while Donald Trump has called himself a supporter of the LGBT community, many of his Cabinet picks and his vice⁹ president oppose LGBT rights. And Tony Moya, who is gay, Latino and married, says he thinks Trump's opinions can turn on a dime¹⁰. So even though Trump has said he's, quote, "fine with the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage..."

MOYA: I don't for once believe that. I don't know what's going to happen.

SIEG: And that uncertainty¹¹ is terrifying for Moya and everyone at the table. They believe Trump has invigorated people who don't want to understand them and might even hate them. Jenni Vega, a Hispanic genderqueer woman who uses the pronoun they, says some days, it can be hard to even go outside.

VEGA: I really have to push forward and, like, love myself, take care of myself, especially now in this, like, era in time where we have this person who's, like, no, like, I don't want you. Like, I don't want you here. Like, I don't want your kind here. I don't want you existing. I don't want you being this.

SIEG: Because Vega presents in a feminine way, people don't immediately know they're genderqueer. Vega worries how others must feel, those more vulnerable - trans folks, the undocumented and the people, Vega says, who simply cannot hide.

Brendan Mahoney worries about them, too, much more than himself. As a white lawyer who's been out since he was 19, he has a certain amount of privilege and years of emotional armor.

MAHONEY: The reality is I know I'm not going to suffer as much harm as other people are that I worry about. There are other people who are going to feel it much worse. I'll survive it.

SIEG: Who do you worry about the most?

MAHONEY: Undocumented the most and Muslims.

SIEG: Mahoney's empathy with other marginalized groups attacked by Trump has caused him to lose a few friends.

MAHONEY: You care more about saving a couple hundred dollars in taxes than you do about the family down the street that's being threatened with deportation¹². You're not my friend. I've misjudged you.

SIEG: Someone who hasn't had those conversations yet is Tony Moya, who works in a conservative office setting. Right after the election, he heard some people saying this was the most exciting time of their lives, but...

MOYA: It was just too raw for me to say anything, so I conveniently avoided that. I think now if someone were to tell me that, then I would engage with them (laughter).

SIEG: Moya and the others at this table say it's important to be open about who they are now more than ever. For NPR News, I'm Stina Sieg in Phoenix.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE CAVE SINGERS SONG, "BEACH HOUSE")

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

7 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。