时代周刊:了解私刑有助于伤口愈合(2)

LEARNING THE TURNER STORY, and others like it at the memorial and museum, helped alleviate¹ my shame.

在纪念馆和博物馆里学习特纳的故事，以及其他类似的故事，帮助我减轻了羞耻感。

I know what my father did to my mother was wrong.

我知道，我父亲那么对我母亲是不对的。

I also have come to realize that society is steeped in institutional racism² that shaped my parents in ways that we are still trying to recover from.

我也开始意识到，我们的社会充斥着制度性的种族歧视，而这种歧视塑造我父母的方式我们至今都没能摆脱掉。

My father was probably a 2-year-old when Turner was lynched in a neighboring state.

特纳在邻州被处以死刑的时候，我父亲可能才两岁左右。

I didn't understand that when I began despising him as a boy, scared and helpless in the corner of the kitchen watching him hit my mother.

但在厨房的角落里害怕而无助地看着他打我母亲，还是个孩子的我就开始看不起他的时候，我并不懂这些。

What must it have been like growing up in a country that hated you for possessing the wrong skin?

在一个因为你皮肤的颜色不对就憎恨你，

That forced you to bow down to white boys and girls who routinely called you "nigger"?

强行让你向那些经常叫你“黑鬼”的白人男孩和白人女孩低头，

That legislated³ you out of an equal education and into the worst jobs and neighborhoods?

用法律剥夺你平等接受教育的权利，继而让你沦落到最差的工作岗位和生活区域的国家，在这样的国家长大是什么感觉?

All of it enforced by white neighbors and businessmen and pastors⁴ and judges and juries and prosecutors⁵ and sheriffs and policemen.

而落实这一切（种族歧视）的人包括我们的白人邻居、白人商人、白人牧师、白人法官、白人陪审团、白人检察官、白人治安官和白人警察（所有人）。

What must it be like to see that, to this day, those people still often face no justice?

看到时至今日这些（白）人大多依旧没有受到法律的制裁又是什么感觉？

For all that we've seen change—in, yes, the wake of America's first black President—

尽管我们已经看到了变化——是的，第一位黑人总统上任后确实发生了变化——

we forget how much we are surrounded by those who remain understandably wary⁶ of who we say we've become.

我们还是忘记了我们周围有多少人仍然对我们说我们已经成了怎样的人保持着可以理解的警惕。

When I worked as a columnist⁷ in South Carolina for a daily newspaper whose readership was mostly white and conservative,

我在南卡罗来纳州一家读者主要是白人和保守派的日报社担任专栏作家时，

elderly black people would call to check on me.

老一辈的黑人同胞会（专门）打电话来确认我是否安然无恙。

They spoke⁸ in whispers, as though they might be overheard.

他们在电话里说话的声音很小，仿佛有人会听到似的。

They explained to me why they feared I would be disappeared if I kept on criticizing the white governor and other officials.

他们对我说明了他们为什么担心我要是继续批评白人州长和其他白人官员就会消失的原因。

They were not joking.

他们并不是在开玩笑。

They had seen too much to dismiss what may feel to some like a remote possibility.

他们已经见过太多太多，某些人眼里很遥远的可能性他们也不会放过。

The museum in Alabama, as gut-wrenching as any ever conceived, is for all of us, but especially for those people.

阿拉巴马州那个能有多揪心就有多揪心的博物馆是为我们所有人而建的，更是为那他们而建的。

They will no longer have to speak in hushed tones about what happened.

从今往后，他们再也不用对发生的事情保持沉默了。

An unflinching portrayal⁹ of the hell they lived through is public confirmation¹⁰ that their lives still matter,

真实地再现他们经历过的地狱就是公开证实他们的命依然重要，

that what they survived was real, as are the lingering effects of the trauma¹¹.

他们的遭遇确有其事，他们的创伤也确实留下了挥之不去的阴影。

They, like me, were taught in public schools with history books written by a descendant of a Confederate soldier

他们和我一样，上的公立学校用的历史书都是某个南方联盟士兵的后代编写的，

who spent more time suggesting that black people were satisfied under Jim Crow

而相比探究延续了数十年之久的奴隶制后遗症，

than exploring the decades-long aftershock of slavery.

更多时候这位后代都在暗示黑人是满足于种族隔离制度的。

They, like me, have witnessed more than their share of violence.

他们和我一样，也目睹了本不该由他们承受的暴力。

The lynching monuments can't erase¹² the rage and the shame and the fear that remain.

那些私刑纪念碑抹不掉残留至今的愤怒、耻辱和恐惧。

But by correcting the historical record, they allow a deeper healing to begin.

但通过纠正历史记载，它们为更深层次的愈合创造了可能。

I have felt it myself.

我自己就有这样的感受。

1 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

2 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

3 legislated   

v.立法，制定法律( legislate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Congress has legislated a new minimum wage for workers. 国会制定了一项新的关于工人最低工资的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most member countries have already legislated against excessive overtime. 大多数成员国均已立法禁止超时加班。 来自辞典例句

4 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

7 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

8 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。

9 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

10 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

11 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

12 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。