Unit-12-A-Case-of-“Severe-Bias”课文翻译综合教程四

Unit12ACaseofSevereBiasPatriciaRaybon1ThisiswhoIamnot.Iamnotacrackaddict.Iamnotawelfaremother.Iamnotilliterate.Iamnotaprostitute.Ihaveneverbeeninjail.Mychildrenarenotingangs.Myhusbanddoesn’tbeatme.Myhomeisnotatenement.NoneofthesethingsdefineswhoIam,nordotheydescribetheotherblackpeopleI’veknownandworkedwithandlovedandbefriendedoverthesefortyyearsofmylife.2NordoesitdescribemostofblackAmerica,period.3YetintheeyesoftheAmericannewsmedia,thisiswhatblackAmericais:poor,criminal,addicted,anddysfunctional.Indeed,mediacoverageofblackAmericaissoone-sided,soimbalancedthatthemostvictimizedandhurtingsegmentoftheblackcommunity－asmallsegment,atbest－ispresentednotastheexceptionbutasthenorm.Itisaninsidiouspractice,alltheuglierforitsblatancy.4Inrecentmonths,Ihaveobservedasteadyofferingofmediareportsoncrackbabies,gangwarfare,violentyouth,poverty,andhomelessness－andinmostcases,thepeoplefeaturedinthephotosandstorieswereblack.Atthesametime,articlesthatdiscussotheraspectsofAmericanlife－fromhomebuyingtomedicinetotechnologytonutrition－rarely,ifever,showblacksplayingapositiverole,orforthatmatter,anyroleatall.5Dayafterday,weekafterweek,thismessage－thatblackAmericaisdysfunctionalandunwhole－getstransmittedacrosstheAmericanlandscape.Sadly,asaresult,Americaneverlearnsthetruthaboutwhatisactuallyawonderful,vibrant,creativecommunityofpeople.6MostblackAmericansarenotpoor.Mostblackteenagersarenotcrackaddicts.Mostblackmothersarenotonwelfare.Indeed,insheernumbers,morewhiteAmericansarepoorandonwelfarethanareblack.YetoneneverwoulddeducethatbywatchingtelevisionorreadingAmericannewspapersandmagazines.7WhydotheAmericanmediainsistonplayingthismyopic,inaccuratepicturegame?Inthisgame,whiteAmericaisalwayswholeandlovelyandhealthy,whileblackAmericaisusuallysickandpatheticanddeficient.Rarely,indeed,isblackAmericaeverdepictedinthemediaasfunctionalandself-sufficient.Thefreepress,indeed,asthemaininterpreterofAmericancultureandAmericanexperience,holdsthemirroronAmericanreality－somuchsothatwhatthemediasayisis,evenifit’snotthatwayatall.Themediaareguiltyofaseverebiasandtheproblemscreamsoutforcorrection.Itisworsethansimplylazyjournalism,whichisbadenough;itisinaccuratejournalism.8ForblackAmericanslikemyself,thisisn’tjustanissueofvanity－ofwantingtobeseeninagoodlight.Norisitamatterofclosingone’seyestotheveryrealproblemsoftheurbanunderclass－whichundeniablyisdisproportionatelyblack.Tobesure,problemsbesettingtheblackunderclassdeservetheutmostattentionofthemedia,aswellastheunderstandingandconcernoftherestofAmericansociety.9Butiftheirproblemsconsistentlyarepresentedastheonlyrealityforblacks,anyotherexperienceknownintheblackcommunityceasestohavevalidity,ortobereal.Inthisscenario,millionsofblacksarerelegatedtoasortoftwilightzone,wherewhoweareandwhatweareisn’tbasedonfactbutanimageandperception.That’swhatitfeelsliketobeablackAmericanwhoselifestyleisoutsideoftheaberrantbehaviorthatthemediapresentasthenorm.10Formanyofus,lifeisacuriousseriesofencounterswithwhitepeoplewhowanttoknowwhyweare“different”fromotherblacks－when,infact,mostofusareonly“different”fromthenowcommonnegativeimagesofblacklife.Sopervasivearetheseimagesthattheyaren’tjustperceivedasthenorm,they’reacceptedasthenorm.11Iamreminded,forexample,ofthecontroversialSpikeLeefilmDotheRightThingandthecriticismbysomemoviereviewersthatthefilm’sghettoneighborhoodisn’tpopulatedbyaddictsanddrugpushers－andthusisnotatruedepiction.12Infact,millionsofblackAmericansliveinneighborhoodswherethemostcommonsightsarechildrenplayingandcoupleswalkingtheirdogs.Inmyowninner-cityneighborhoodinDenver－anareathatthelocalpressconsistentlydescribesas“gangterritory”－Ihaveyettoseearecognizable“gang”memberorany“gang”activity(drugdealingordrive-byshootings),norhaveIbeenthevictimof“gangviolence”.13YettostudentsofAmericanculture－inthecaseofSpikeLee’sfilm,themoviereviewers－ablack,inner-cityneighborhoodcanonlybeonethingtobereal:drug-infestedanddysfunctioning.Isthismyegotalking?Inpart,yes.Forthemillionsofblackpeoplelikemyself－ordinary,hard-working,law-abiding,tax-payingAmericans－themedia’sblindnesstothefactthatweevenexist,letalonetoourcontributionstoAmericansociety,isabittercuptodrink.Andasself-reliantasmostblackAmericansare－becausewe’vehadtobeself-reliant－eventhestrongestamongusstillcraveaffirmation.14Iwantthat.Iwantitformychildren.Iwantitforallthebeautiful,healthy,funny,smartblackAmericansIhaveknownandlovedovertheyears.15AndIwantitfortherestofAmerica,too.16IwantAmericatoknowus－allofus－forwhowereallyare.Toseeusinallofourcomplexity,oursubtleness,ourartfulness,ourenterprise,ourspecialness,ourloveliness,ourAmerican-ness.ThatistherealportraitofblackAmerica－thatwe’restrongpeople,survivingpeople,capablepeople.Thatmaybethebest-keptsecretinAmerica.Ifso,it’stimetoletthetruthbeknown.“强烈偏见”之实话实说帕特里夏·雷本1我不是通常想象的那种黑人。我不是吸食强效纯可卡因的瘾君子。我不是靠救济来生活的母亲。我不是文盲。我不是妓女。我从没蹲过大牢。我的孩子们没有混迹黑帮。我老公不会对我家暴。我家不住廉租房。这些都不能用来界定我，也不能描述我40年生命中认识、共事、热爱、交往的任何其他黑人。2大多数美国黑人也与此无关。就这么回事。3然而美国新闻媒体眼中的美国黑人恰恰如此：贫穷，有犯罪倾向，吸毒，与社会格格不入。千真万确，媒体关于美国黑人的报道如此片面，如此失衡，黑人群体中受伤最深、同时也是害人最深的那些人——那顶多是一小部分人——被描述成常态，而非例外。这真是用心险恶