KTS胜之玥英语丨奥巴马就黑人之死讲话：悲剧，美国的结构性问题

美国警察暴力执法导致黑人死亡事件持续升级，引发全境民众暴乱。

据央视新闻最新报道，近日，美国CNN总部大楼成为示威者攻击的目标，从曝光的视频中来看，CNN总部大楼的窗户被抗议者打砸，玻璃散落一地，在示威过程中，抗议者还当场焚烧了一辆警车进行示威，现场一片混乱。

6月3日，美国前总统奥巴马就弗洛伊德事件发表公开讲话。

他表示，该事件是美国结构性的问题，是历史悠久的奴隶制、《吉姆·克劳法》（种族隔离法）、种族歧视和制度化种族主义的结果。

他亦强调弗洛伊德的悲剧，是解决美国潜在问题的契机，并呼吁美国少数族裔青年们保持希望。

按照惯例，先来看看视频！

01

这场悲剧，

是美国的结构性问题

在演讲的开头，奥巴马说，在过去这几周里，大家都承受了非常大的痛苦。但是，但是请大家相信他和米歇尔，他们都在为国家的后代们建立一个更加公正的国家。

“

Good afternoon, everybody – all the participants, all the panelists, you know.

Let me start by just acknowledging that we have seen in the last several weeks, last few months, the kinds of epic changes and events in our country that are as profound as anything that I’ve seen in my lifetime, and I’m now, a lot older than Playon, I’m going to be 59 soon.

首先，我要承认在过去几周，过去几个月里，我们国家发生了史诗级的变化和事件，影响之深远, 正如我人生中所经历过的其他大事。我现在年纪大了，我马上就要59岁了。

And let me begin by acknowledging that, although all of us have been feeling pain, uncertainty, disruption, some folks have been feeling it more than others. Most of all the pain that’s been experienced by the families of George and Breonna and Ahmaud, Tony and Sean, and too many others to mention, those that we thought about during that moment of silence. To those families who’ve been directly affected by tragedy, please know that Michelle and I and the nation grieve with you, hold you in our prayers. We’re committed to the fight of creating a more just nation in memory of your sons and daughters.

首先让我承认，尽管我们所有人一直在感到痛苦，不确定和混乱，但是有的人感受更深刻。最重要的是，弗洛伊德家人和朋友所经历的痛苦，我们在默哀中向他们致以慰问。请知道，我和米歇尔，以及整个国家同你们一样悲伤，我们致力于为你们的儿女建立一个更公正的国家。

✔ panelist n.专门小组成员

✔ epic changes 变革

✔ tragedy n.悲剧；【文】(文学)悲剧

Yea, as she said in the drama, life of a tragedy actress is a tragedy itself.

是啊，正如她自己所说，悲剧演员的生活本来就是一本悲剧。

他继续说——这场革命反映的是美国的结构性问题。同时这次疫情大流行，少数族裔感染率和丧生率更高的这个事实，更加体现了美国医疗体系的脆弱以及不公平。

“

We can’t forget that even as we’re confronting the particular acts of violence that led to those losses, our nation and the world is still in the midst of a global pandemic that’s exposed the vulnerabilities of our healthcare system, but also the disparate treatment and, as a consequence the disparate impact that exists in our healthcare system, the unequal investment, the biases that have led to a disproportionate number of infections and loss of life in communities of color.

我们不能忘记，即使我们正面临暴力行为，同时我们的国家和世界仍然处于新冠病毒大流行之下，这不仅暴露出美国医疗体系的脆弱，还有不同的治疗方法，以及它们对我们的医疗系统造成的影响，造成的不公平投资，偏见导致少数族裔感染和丧生的比例更高。

In a lot of ways, what has happened over the last several weeks is challenges and structural problems here in the United States have been thrown into high relief. They are the outcomes not just of the immediate moments in time, but they’re the result of a long history of slavery and Jim Crow and red lining and institutionalized racism that too often have been the plague, the original sin of our society.

在许多方面，过去几周发生的事情对美国是挑战，暴露了结构性问题。这些不仅是现在的问题导致的结果，还是悠久奴隶制历史，种族隔离制度，制度化的种族主义的结果。种族主义是瘟疫，是我们社会的原罪。

✔ vulnerability n.弱点；脆弱性；易伤性

But it was his embrace of the American-style bonus culture that became one of his main vulnerabilities.

然而，对美式红利文化的信奉，成了他的一个主要弱点。

✔ disparate adj.由不同的人（或事物）组成的；迥然不同的

✔ bias n.偏见；(衣服等上面缝的)斜线

✔ disproportionate adj.不成比例的；不相称的；太大（或太小）的

✔ institutionalize v.将（生活不能自理的人）送到收容机构（或社会福利机构）；使成惯例

接下来，他话锋一转“这次事件同样也是人们被唤醒的一次绝好的机会”，他希望借助这次动乱，让所有人共同解决这些问题，MAGA！

年轻人是国家的希望。他在年轻人身上看到了希望，无论是争取权利，亦或者是履行义务，他都能在不同的地方看到年轻人的身影。

“

Part of what’s made me so hopeful is the fact that so many young people have been galvanized and activated and motivated and mobilized because historically so much of the progress that we’ve made in our society has been because of young people. Dr. King was a young man when he got involved. Cesar Chavez was a young man. Malcolm X was a young man. The leaders of the feminist movement were young people.

我如此充满希望的原因是，这么多年轻人受到激励，鼓励和动员，因为历史上我们的社会取得的巨大进步都归功于年轻人。马丁路德.金当时还是个年轻人，塞萨尔.查韦斯也很年轻，马尔科姆.X 都是年轻人。女权运动的领袖同样是年轻人，还有工会运动的领袖。

Leaders of union movements were young people. The leaders of the environmental movement in this country and the movement to make sure that the LGBT community finally had a voice and was represented were young people. When sometimes I feel despair, I just see what’s happening with young people all across the country and the talent and the voice and the sophistication that they’re displaying, and it makes me feel optimistic. It makes me feel as if this country is going to get better.

美国的环保运动，确保同性恋权利的领袖都是年轻人。当有时我感到绝望，我就去看看全国各地的年轻人正在做什么。他们所展现出的才能，他们的发声，处事能力，让我感到乐观，让我觉得，这个国家会变好。

✔ galvanize v.激励；刺激；使震惊

✔ sophistication n.复杂；诡辩；老练；温文尔雅

Once I found a quote by Leonardo Da Vinci, and it said: "Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication" .

一旦我找到了一个达芬奇格言、它说：“简约风格，是一种成熟的最终形式”。

他试图想要和少数族裔的年轻人直接对话，以换取他们的理解和包容。他想要让他们知道，他们很重要，他们的梦想很重要。

“BLACK LIVE MATTER.”

“

Now, I…I want to speak directly to the young men and women of color in this country, who as Playon just so eloquently described, have witnessed too much violence and too much death and too often, some of that violence has come from folks who were supposed to be serving and protecting you. I want you to know that you matter, I want you know that your lives matter, that your dreams matter.

现在，我想同这个国家年轻的少数族裔直接对话，他们目睹了太多的暴力，有时候暴力来自于原本应该保护你的人。我想让你们知道，你们很重要，我想要你们知道，你们的命很重要，你们的梦想很重要。

And…and…and so I hope that you also feel hopeful even as you may feel angry because you have the power to make things better, and you have helped to make the entire country feel as if this is something that’s got to change. You…you’ve communicated a sense of urgency that is as powerful and transformative as anything that I’ve seen in recent years.

我希望你们心里存有希望，即使你们可能感到生气，因为你们有能力让事情变得更好，让整个国家感到必须作出改变。你们传达出了一种紧迫性，这如同我近几年看到的事情一样具有变革性。

✔ eloquentlyadv.雄辩地

She talks eloquently about her sense of gratitude to the US for giving her the chance, about wanting some day to "pay back" in public life.

她滔滔不绝地谈起了对于美国给自己机会的感激之情，并谈到希望有一天，能够在公共生活中“回报”社会。

他回忆起自己做总统的时候，他成立了21世纪警察工作组。他认为工作组的报告提出了一系列被证明有效的解决方案，可以改善社区警务状况，确定隐性偏见，对警察进行培训和对使用武力进行改革。而这份报告对现在来说，同样重要。

“

Now, when I was in office, this was mentioned, I created a task force on 21st Century Policing in the wake of the tragic killing of Michael Brown. That task force, which included law enforcement and community leaders and activists, was charged to develop a very specific set of recommendations to strengthen public trust and foster better working relationships with law enforcement and communities that they’re supposed to protect, even as they’re continuing to promote effective crime reduction.

当我担任总统时，在非裔麦克·布朗遇害事件后，我成立了21世纪警察工作组，由执法人员，社区领袖，活动家组成，负责制定一套非常具体的建议，以加强公众信任。

✔ reduction n.还原；降低；减少；缩小

What we found was that it did not matter whether a reduction in calories was achieved through diet or burned everyday through exercise.

我们发现，卡路里的减少是通过每天的节食还是运动并不重要。

政治和参与VS公民抗命？究竟哪点更重要？奥巴马的回答是：“都重要”。

“

And in some places, there are police community review boards with the power to monitor police conduct. Those oftentimes might be elected as well. The bottom line is, I’ve been hearing a little bit of chatter in [on] the internet about voting versus protest, politics and…and participation versus civil disobedience and direct action. This is not a [an] either/or, this is a both/and. To bring about real change, we both have to highlight a problem and make people in power uncomfortable, but we also have to translate that into practical solutions and laws that can be implemented and we can monitor and make sure we’re following up on.

最重要的是，我在网上听到一些人说关于投票VS抗议的问题，政治和参与VS公民抗命，直接行动的辩论。这并不是二选一，而是两者都需要。要实现真正的变革，我们都需要找到问题，给当权者压力，同时我们还需要将其转换为实际可行的解决方案和法律，并且可以进行监控，确保后续行动。

✔ disobedience n.不服从；不顺从；违抗

接下来，他谈到了人们观念上的转变。即使暴力行为在现在时有出现，人们仍旧认为这项抗议是合理的。

“

You look at those protests, and that was a far more representative cross-section of America out on the streets peacefully protesting and who felt moved to do something because of the injustices that they had seen. That didn’t exist back in the 1960s, that kind of broad coalition. The fact that recent surveys have shown that despite some protests having been marred by the actions of some, a tiny minority that engaged in…in violence, that despite, you know, as usual, that got a lot of attention, a lot of focus, despite all that, a majority of Americans still think those protests were justified.

你们看今天的抗议者们，他们更具代表性，来自美国各个领域，参与和平抗议。因为他们看到了不公正，他们想做点什么。这么广泛的联盟，这在上世界60年代是不存在的。最近的调查表明，尽管后来一些抗议因为少数人发生了暴力，引发了很大的关注，但大部分的美国人仍然认为抗议是合理的。

That wouldn’t have existed 30, 40, 50 years ago. There is a change in mindset that’s taking place, a greater recognition that we can do better. And that is not as a consequence of speeches by politicians, that’s not the result of, you know, spotlights in news articles. That’s a direct result of the activities and organizing and mobilization and engagement of so many young people across the country, who put themselves out on the line to make a difference.

这在30，40，50年前是不存在的。这是人们观念的变化，人们越来越认识到我们可以做的更好。这不是政治家的讲话带来的结果，不是新闻报道带来的结果，而是年轻人运动，组织，动员和参与的直接结果，他们竭尽所能发挥作用。

✔ cross-section na.(有代表性的)横截面；抽样

✔ coalition n.联盟；联合；结合

Yet what has marked out the British coalition government in recent months is a sense of pragmatism, not extreme ideological conviction.

不过，英国联合政府近几个月来所表现出来的是一种实用主义氛围，而非极端的意识形态信念。

最后，奥巴马想要对那些一直抗议这种种不公平的人说“谢谢”，因为正因为他们，整个国家才能够不断地前进，前进。

“

So I just have to say thank you to them for helping to bring about this moment and just make sure that we now follow through because at some point, you know, attention moves away. At some point, protests start to dwindle in size. And it’s very important for us to take the momentum that has been created as a society, as a country, and say, “Let’s use this to finally have an impact.”

我只想对他们表达感谢，感谢他们帮助实现了这个时刻，要确保我们贯彻下去，因为某个时候抗议会结束。但重要的是，我们作为一个社会和国家要抓住这个势头，让它最终产生影响。

02

美国黑人的血汗泪

美国黑人受奴役、受压迫的历史可以追溯到16世纪美洲沦为欧洲殖民地的时期。

16～19世纪，欧洲殖民者从非洲（主要是西非）劫运大批黑人奴隶到美洲，其中半数以上运入今天的美国境内，主要在南部诸州的棉花、甘蔗种植场和矿山当苦工，深受白人种族主义者的残酷剥削和虐待。

随着美国工业的发展，南方的黑人陆续迁往北方和西北方城市。1861～1865年南北战争后，虽然从法律上废除了奴隶制度，但是黑人仍受种族歧视和压迫。

三百多年的美国黑人血泪史，开始于大西洋东岸的非洲大陆。深沉在大西洋海底的千百万具带着锁链的黑人尸骨，就是最有力的第一批人证和物证。

这是因为，约占美国总人口百分之十的两千多万美国黑人，他们的祖先原来并不住在美国，而是被欧美的殖民主义从非洲强行掠夺运往美洲的奴隶。

当欧洲殖民者到了新大陆之后，发现最大的问题乃是地广人稀，劳动力不足。在这样的情况下，以"奴隶贸易"为中心的"三角贸易"，就在欧洲、非洲、美洲之间大规模地展开了。

"三角贸易"的三角，事实上都在大西洋的沿岸。他们从欧洲运出廉价的工业品到非洲，在非洲掠夺了大批非洲黑人到美洲贩卖，再换取那里的廉价原料，诸如棉花等等运回欧洲。

如此三角循环，单线周转，每一次航程都赚极大利润。因此，"奴隶贸易"为欧洲资本主义的发展，积累了很多资金。

"奴隶贸易"中的黑人大都来自西非洲的几内亚海湾以北，沃尔特河与尼日尔河之间的一带海岸地方，即现在的多哥、达荷美和尼日利亚沿海一带。加纳的东部沿海的小部分也包括在内。

在几内亚的海湾内，现在的尼日利亚的首都拉各斯，达荷美的威达，加纳的边角堡，就是当年最有名的"奴隶贸易"出口港。当时从贝宁、约鲁巴、达荷美、阿散蒂各王国劫掳来的黑人，全都是先集中在这些出口港，然后转往海外。

黑人是怎样被劫掳集中的呢?除了欧洲的人口贩子自己组织"猎捕队"捕捉黑人外，主要是勾结当地一些酋长和利用奴隶贩卖商来搜捕黑人;有时甚至故意挑起部落战争，掳去俘虏充当奴隶，以便于他们拿到"活货"，装船运走。

几内亚海湾一带，本来有着繁荣兴盛的文明，可是一经殖民主义踏足该地，"奴隶贸易"越做越大，当地的经济文化遭到不可弥补的破坏，那里的文明也只能是衰退和死亡。

这种吃人的"奴隶贸易"一共持续了三百多年，先是葡萄牙人垄断，后来转到西班牙人、荷兰人手里，十八世纪中叶又由英国人、法国人接手过去。"奴隶贸易"在十八世纪前后二十五年中达到最高峰，直到十九世纪初期才告衰落。

现在，美洲的唯一黑人国家海地，说的是法语；美国的黑人有的"袭用"英国人姓氏、有的"袭用"法国人姓氏，这些"印记"都说明，英法殖民主义者是贩运黑人的最大集团。

三百多年中，究竟从非洲运出多少奴隶到人贩市场上，这是无法计算的。据美国著名黑人学者杜波依斯研究，几百年来，先后从非洲运到美洲的奴隶大约有一千五百万人，现在居住在南北美洲的三千四百多万黑人和一千八百万黑白混血种人，都是非洲黑人奴隶的后裔。

03

BLACK LIVE MATTER.

小K在写稿的时候看到，#美民众发起装死抗议#这个tag上了微博热搜，排名还挺前的。

下面也不少人在调侃他们这次抗议的方式：

但是小K不得不说，这次的抗议比之前被报道出来的放火、打劫要好太多太多了。

温和而又令人震撼，小K相信这是一种比以往都要更好的形式。

很多人不懂，为什么他们要这么做，为什么其中的一些白人也要来参加？美国不是奉行“白人至上主义”吗？

小K想，不仅仅“BLACK LIVE MATTER.”

WE ALL LIVE MATTER.

—END—