TED演讲之入门 我们需要谈谈不公(2)
And my mother, my grandmother was tough, but she was also loving.
我的外婆很强势，但她也很慈爱。
When I would see her as a little boy, she’d come up to me and she’d give me these hugs.
当我是个小男孩时，每次见到她都拥抱我。
And she’d squeeze me so tight I could barely breathe and then she’d let me go.
她抱得那么紧，我都透不过气来，然后她才会放开我。
And an hour or two later, if I saw her, she’d come over to me and she’d say, “Bryan, do you still feel me hugging you?”
一两个小时之后，当我再见她，她会过来问我：“还能感觉我的拥抱么？”
And if I said, “No,” she’d assault me again, and if I said, “Yes,” she’d leave me alone.
如果我说“感觉不到了”，她就再度出击，直到我说“感觉得到”，她才放开我。
And she just had this quality that you always wanted to be near her.
她就是有这个能力让你老是想亲近她。
And the only challenge was that she had 10 children. My mom was the youngest of her 10 kids.
唯一的挑战是她有十个儿女，我妈妈是十个里最年轻的。
And sometimes when I would go and spend time with her, it would be difficult to get her time and attention.
常常当我去和外婆亲近时，很难让她注意到我，有时间陪我。
My cousins would be running around everywhere.
我的表兄妹们总是无处不在。
And I remember, when I was about eight or nine years old, waking up one morning,
我记得，当我八九岁时的一次，我早上醒来，
going into the living room, and all of my cousins were running around.
跑到客厅，所有的表兄妹都在。
And my grandmother was sitting across the room staring at me.
我外婆坐在房间的另一端，盯着我看。
And at first I thought we were playing a game.
一开始我以为我们在玩游戏。
And I would look at her and I’d smile, but she was very serious.
我就看回去，对她笑笑，但我外婆是很严肃的。
And after about 15 or 20 minutes of this, she got up and she came across the room and she took me by the hand and she said,
大概十五还是二十分钟之后，她站起来，穿过房间，牵住我的手对我说：
“Come on, Bryan. You and I are going to have a talk.”
“过来，布莱恩，我们得谈谈。”
And I remember this just like it happened yesterday. I never will forget it.
这就像是昨天才发生的一样，我永远忘不掉。
She took me out back and she said, “Bryan, I’m going to tell you something, but you don’t tell anybody what I tell you.”
她把我带到一边说：“我想和你说些事，你不许和任何人说。”
I said, “Okay, Mama.” She said, “Now you make sure you don’t do that.” I said, “Sure.”
我答应了：“好的，外婆。”她说：“保证绝不说出去。”我回答：“保证。”
Then she sat me down and she looked at me and she said, “I want you to know I’ve been watching you.”
然后我们坐下，她看着我说：“我想让你知道我观察你有一段时间了。”
And she said, “I think you’re special.” She said, “I think you can do anything you want to do.” I will never forget it.
接着她说：“你是个特别的孩子。”她说：“我确信你是无所不能的。”这我永远不会忘记。
演讲简介：
在这个演讲里，人权律师布莱恩·史蒂文森通过讲述他与其外婆以及与帕克斯夫人之间的故事，告诉了大家一些美国司法系统中的骇人真相。演讲从讲述大规模的的种族不平等待遇开始：三分之一美国黑人男性有被监禁的经历。这些问题源于美国一段不被重视的历史，它们从未像今天这样被坦诚地，有洞察力地和有说服力地公开讨论过。