为什么我不想要也不配得到赔偿
中英对照文本
翻译：Mangosteen
校对：FungChuh
My great-great-grandfather, Silas Burgess, came to America shackled in the belly of a slave ship.
我的高祖父西拉斯·伯吉斯被拴在奴隶船舱里运到美国。
He was sold on an auction block in Charleston, South Carolina, to the Burgess Plantation.
他在南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿的拍卖台上被人拍下，送到伯吉斯种植园。
Orphaned by age 8, he was, fortunately, surrounded by elder slaves who, though physically chained, mentally envisioned themselves as free men. They escaped, taking young Silas with them, making their way to West Texas.
八岁就成为孤儿的他很幸运身边都是年长的奴隶，他们尽管身体受到禁锢，精神上却幻想自己是自由人。他们带着年轻的西拉斯一起逃走了，一路来到西得克萨斯。
Silas worked hard and saved his money. Eventually, he became the owner of 102 acres of farmland, which he cultivated and paid off within two years. I proudly carry the name of my first American ancestor—who, like millions of others drawn or brought to our country, struggled past overwhelming obstacles to live the American Dream.
西拉斯勤奋攒钱。最终，他拥有 102 公顷（约 412779m2）农田，他在此耕种，两年内便偿清债务。我自豪地继承了我第一位美国祖先的名字——他像无数被吸引到或被卖到我们国家的人一样，千辛万苦历尽万难实现了美国梦。
Silas founded the first black church, the first black elementary school in his town. He was a Republican, a Christian, and a pillar of his community. He was proud and industrious and taught his children to be the same.
西拉斯在他的镇子成立了第一间黑人教堂，第一所黑人小学。他是个共和党人，基督徒，社区的支柱。他骄傲并勤奋，并教导他的孩子们也要一样。
Now, because great-great-grandpa Silas was once a slave, so-called “progressives” want to give me money.
如今，因为高祖父西拉斯曾经是奴隶，所谓的「进步主义者」想给我钱。
Never mind that, like him, I am an entrepreneur who received an excellent education, built businesses, raised a remarkable family and, unlike most white Americans, earned a Super Bowl ring.
别介意，像他一样，我是个受过良好教育的企业家，成立公司，组建了一个了不起的家庭，而且，不同于多数白人，我赢得了一枚超级碗戒指。
Because of work I’ve never done, stripes I’ve never had, under a whip I’ve never known, these progressives want to give me money I’ve never earned. The fact that this money will be forcibly taken from others who also dreamed, worked and sacrificed for it, I’m told is not my concern.
由于一些我从未做过的事，从未受过的鞭打，从未见识过的皮鞭，这些进步主义者想给我一些我不曾争取的钱。事实上这笔钱将从他人手上强抢过来，这些人也有梦想，也曾努力工作并为此牺牲，他们说这不是我该关心的。
But it is.
但它是。
At the core of the reparations movement is a distorted and demeaning view of blacks and whites.
赔偿运动的核心是对黑人与白人的歪曲和贬低。
It grants superiority to the white race, treating them as an oppressive people too powerful for black Americans to overcome. It brands blacks as hapless victims, devoid of the ability which every other culture possesses to assimilate and to progress.
它假定白种人的优越，将他们看作是强大的压迫者，是黑人无法战胜的对手。它将黑人标为不幸的受害者，缺乏其他文化都有的能力，无法被同化，也无法取得进步。
The reparations movement conveniently forgets the 150 years of legal, social, and economic progress obtained by millions of American minorities. It also minimizes the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of white Americans and a Republican president who gave their lives to eradicate slavery.
赔偿运动随随便便就忽略了 150 年来，美国少数族裔所取得的法律、社会及经济进步。它同时轻视了为结束奴隶制而牺牲的成千上万白人及一位共和党总统。
I think Grandpa Silas would have seen this loss of American lives as payment in full. Every grateful black American, then and now, would feel the same.
我认为西拉斯高祖父会将这些美国人的牺牲当作全额赔款。每一个感恩的黑人，过去的与现在的，都会这么想。
The reparations movement also reinforces a view of racial relationships that undermines America’s Judeo-Christian foundation. It defies the ideals of forgiveness and second chances and scorns individual accountability.
赔偿运动同时强化了一个种族关系观点，它腐蚀美国的犹太教-基督教基础。它违背了宽恕、第二次机会的理念，并且蔑视个人责任。
Proponents of reparations believe that black Americans are incapable of carrying their own burdens, while white Americans must bear the sins of those who came before them. Proponents do not take into account the majority of white Americans who never owned slaves, who fought to end slavery, or who came to America long after it was ended.
主张赔偿的人认为黑人没有能力自己承担责任，而白人必须背负前人犯下的罪。支持者们没有考虑到多数白人从未拥有过奴隶，他们为结束奴隶制而战斗，或是在它结束后才来到美国。
This divisive message marks the black race as forever broken, a people whose healing can only come through the guilt, pity, and benevolence of whites. Tragically, we now see this playing out on our college campuses. As young white Americans acknowledge their skin color as a “privilege,” young black Americans—with no apparent shame—accept their skin color as one that automatically confers victim status.
这个分裂性的信息将黑种人看作永远是破落的，只能靠白人的愧疚、怜悯与仁慈才能治愈。可悲的是，如今我们正看到这幕在大学校园里上演。美国年轻白人承认他们的肤色是一种「特权」，美国年轻黑人——毫无羞耻之心——接受他们肤色自动赋予的受害者地位。
In doing so, they seem unaware that this perception of blacks was shared by the 1960s Southern white supremacists of my youth. Those who seek reparations have accepted the theory that skin color alone is capable of making one race superior to the other—that with no additional effort, values, or personal initiative, white Americans will succeed, while black Americans will fail. At its very core, this represents the condescending evil of racism.
他们这么做，似乎没意识到对黑人的这种看法正是我年轻时 1960 年代南方白人至上主义者的共识。那些争取赔偿的人已然接受这一理论，即单单肤色便能让一个种族优于其他种族——无需额外的努力、价值观或进取心，美国白人就会成功，而美国黑人则会失败。它本质上代表着种族主义傲慢的邪恶。
It certainly does not represent black America’s potential.
它当然不代表美国黑人的潜力。
40% of black households today live the middle-class American Dream. There are thousands of black Americans among our nation’s top 1% of income earners—doctors, lawyers, engineers and professors; not to mention music, TV, film and sports stars. Many of our society’s most revered and celebrated citizens are black.
如今 40% 的黑人家庭过着中产阶级的美国梦。我们国家前 1% 的高收入者中，有成千上万的美国黑人——医生、律师、工程师与教授；更不必提音乐、电视、电影与运动明星。许多我们社会最受尊敬的名人是黑人。
The journeys of these Americans to wealth and prominence vary, like those of their white counterparts, but many benefited from having ancestors like Grandpa Silas, who embraced the opportunities their country provided and who left behind a legacy of proud, productive, patriotic, and successful families. Why should white Americans—my neighbors, friends, and fellow citizens—owe me anything?
美国黑人获得财富名声的经历不尽相同，就像他们的许多同辈白人一样，但许多人受益于如高祖父西拉斯这样的祖先，他拥抱他们国家提供的机会，留下一个骄傲、丰饶、爱国且成功的家庭。为什么美国白人——我的邻居、朋友与同胞们——要欠我们任何东西？
If Grandpa Silas were here, I’m certain his message to everyone, whether black or white, would simply be this:
假如高祖父西拉斯还在，我肯定他给所有人的信息，不管是黑人还是白人，只会是：
Good character cannot be bought by bribery.
良好品格是贿赂不来的。
I’m Burgess Owens for Prager University.
我是伯吉斯·欧文斯，为 PragerU 制作。