PBS高端访谈:建立平台谈及种族和身份问题

 　　JEFFREY BROWN: And finally tonight: what we talk about and don't talk about when it comes to race and identity. It's a subject again at the fore¹ after the death of Trayvon Martin and the trial of George Zimmerman. And it's the subject of The Race Card Project, an effort by NPR journalist and author Michele Norris to engage people in a conversation about, as her website says, their experiences, questions, hopes, dreams, laments² or observations about race and identity.

　　And Michele Norris joins us now.

　　Welcome to you.

　　MICHELE NORRIS, The Race Card Project: Good to you with you.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: First, explain to us a little bit about what The Race Card is, how it works and what you're after.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: Well, there are very short stories, six-word stories.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Six words, that is short.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: That is short.

　　And it idea was to get people to open up on a difficult subject by not asking very much of them. I asked people to share as you said their thoughts, observations, anthems³, laments, whatever, in one sentence that has only six words. And the idea was to create a platform, a place where people could say perhaps difficult things, but more importantly where they could go to the website or use the exercise to listen to other people to find out what other people are saying and thinking.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: And something about that compactness works, just the six words? You can't go on and on?

　　MICHELE NORRIS: Well, what happens is, in the beginning, people would send in six words and they were often anonymous⁴. Then they would send in six words and add their name and maybe their location.

　　Over time, the six words like opening up a spigot, because people send in six words and then they keep going. They are accompanied by essays and additional comments.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: So, generally speaking, what have you seen happening since the death of Trayvon Martin and through to today?

　　MICHELE NORRIS: Well, it's been a running thread through the Race Card Project, and there are flash points. So, when it became -- even before it became a national story, the submissions⁵ started to trickle⁶ in.

　　When it became a national story, big spike⁷ in submissions. When George Zimmerman was arrested, big spike in submissions, and then throughout the trial and of course with the verdict, big spike in submissions.

　　And you see all kinds of things. You see mothers who watched this trial and felt for their own children. They somehow felt that Trayvon Martin's experience touched their home, and they feared for their children. You saw people who would watch the trial and maybe they didn't condone⁸ what George Zimmerman did, but they understood his impulses.

　　When they see people of color on the street, particularly in their neighborhood, if they feel that they don't belong, that they talk openly and honestly about the fear that they feel.

　　And a lot of people talk about the things that they wrestle⁹ with, that they're uncomfortable with, the idea that people fear them, the idea that they make assumptions about other people based on their skin color or what they happen to be wearing.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: It was interesting because of course at the trial itself, there was a lot of emphasis on not seeing this through the lens of race. But, clearly, many people do in America. And that's what you're seeing on your site.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: That was interesting, because the lawyers, particularly the prosecutor¹⁰, tried to say that this is not about race, actually said that in the courtroom.

　　And then we have heard from one of the jurors, who said this is not about race. And as I look at the thousands of submissions that have poured in, clearly, people who were watching this in their own homes and communities were seeing racial elements in this.

　　And so there is this thing that sometimes people think that just because you don't talk overtly¹¹ about race that it's not there. But, nonetheless, it does appear to be in the atmosphere.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: So give us a few examples of the kind of thing you have been hearing.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: "Urban living has made me racist¹²."

　　JEFFREY BROWN: "Urban living has made me racist."

　　MICHELE NORRIS: This is from someone who moved to the city, and she lives in a multiethnic community. And she says that some of the attitudes that she's developed over time living in that community have hardened based on what she sees, and that makes her uncomfortable.

　　She is sort of buying into the trope of the hardworking Asian, or the industrious¹³ Hispanic, and, unfortunately, the scary black person. And she talked really honestly about that not just in those six words, but in an essay that came along with that.

　　"Stop seeing my son as a predator¹⁴."

　　"I pray for my son every day" came from a woman in Canton, Ohio. She has three children, two daughters and a son. She worries most about her son.

　　And when he comes home to visit -- he's an adult now -- when he comes home to visit in their multiethnic neighborhood, and he wants to go out to run, she tells him, please don't run in your own neighborhood. Go someplace else. Go in a park or where it's well-lit, because she's afraid that if he runs in the neighborhood wearing athletic¹⁵ gear, that people will see him and maybe see the same thing that George Zimmerman saw in Trayvon Martin.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: I was taking a look. And fear, of course, is one of the themes that is running through here.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: It runs throughout this, yes.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: And people being almost upset by their fear, too, right? It all comes out in various ways.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: Upset by the fear that they -- I was just reading one that came from an Ian Seer. He lives not far from here in Springfield, Va.

　　And he talked about he's a part of the Benetton generation, the generation that is supposed to be post-racial. Remember that word?

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: That they grew up without all the burdens that previous generations have. And yet he talked about he still -- he really hates this implicit¹⁶ fear that he has. So, people are wrestling with this.

　　But on the other hand, black folks, black men in particular, writing about what it feels like to step onto an elevator and have to say hello really loudly to everyone, so that they understand that they're not a threat.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: You also had though some people thinking that we put too much emphasis on race.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: Yes, got a lot about that, one person in particular saying, "Stop exploiting to promote own agenda."

　　And the idea there is -- this is from someone who said that we talk too much about race, that the Trayvon Martin case, the George Zimmerman case was just another example for the liberal media -- that was the word that he used -- to drive up ratings.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Let me just ask you briefly¹⁷ in our last 30 seconds or so here, coming back to the project itself, have you seen a -- what is your sense of the comfort level of people talking about these things?

　　MICHELE NORRIS: Well, people are comfortable talking at least in six-word snippets.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: In six words.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: But this is what I really take heart from. A large percentage of the submissions come in, in the form of a question. People are asking. They're thinking out loud.

　　And that says something hopeful about the need for dialogue.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: All right, the project is The Race Card.

　　Michele Norris of NPR, thanks so much.

　　MICHELE NORRIS: Thank you.

1 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

2 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

3 anthems   

n.赞美诗( anthem的名词复数 )；圣歌；赞歌；颂歌

参考例句：

• They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网

4 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

5 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

6 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

7 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

8 condone   

v.宽恕；原谅

参考例句：

• I cannot condone the use of violence.我不能宽恕使用暴力的行为。
• I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.我绝不允许任何导致战争的行为。

9 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

10 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

11 overtly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• There were some overtly erotic scenes in the film. 影片中有一些公开色情场面。
• Nietzsche rejected God's law and wrote some overtly blasphemous things. 尼采拒绝上帝的律法，并且写了一些渎神的作品。

12 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。

13 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

14 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

15 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

16 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

17 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。