美国国家公共电台 NPR His Life Cut Short, Vincent Chin Is Remembered For What Might Have Been

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today from StoryCorps on this Friday, we have memories of a Chinese-American immigrant killed 35 years ago today. Vincent Chin was a draftsman living near Detroit. In 1982, Chin and a group of friends went out to celebrate his upcoming wedding. He was 27 years old. At a bar, he crossed paths with two auto¹ industry workers angry about recent layoffs², which they blamed on Japanese imports. Gary Koivu was with Chin that night. He recently came to StoryCorps with his wife to recall his childhood friend.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GARY KOIVU: Vincent was introduced to my first-grade class. And I can remember him standing³ up there and the teacher introducing him. And we were good friends for over 20 years.

KIM KOIVU: He asked you to be the best man for his wedding?

G. KOIVU: He did. I was at work. And he called me up, said - why don't you meet me at the bar tonight? It was one last time to go out with the guys before he got married. We were just having a good time and listening to music. There was an auto worker, and he said to Vincent, because of little [expletive] like you, a lot of Americans are losing their jobs. Vincent wasn't Japanese. He was Chinese, but that didn't matter. He...

K. KOIVU: He was Asian.

G. KOIVU: He was Asian. And with that, Vincent stood up, and he did fight. And Vincent was holding his own. Later, we were outside, and the man went straight to the car and pulled out a baseball bat and started racing⁴ toward Vincent. And Vincent ran, but they found him. I don't know how many times he hit him in the head, but he was swinging the baseball bat like he was swinging for a home run. Still hurts just talking about it. Left an empty hole in my heart.

These men that killed him, they were given probation⁵ and a fine for what they had done. And that was like a punch in the gut⁶. Vincent - he had a good life. He was getting married in a few days. He was looking forward to buying a house. And his mother was going to live with him, and he was going to have kids. And I was happy for him. He was living the American dream.

G. KOIVU: And the rest of us, we got married and lived the rest of our lives. But he missed out on that.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHRISTOPHER BOWEN'S "I WANT TO SEE YOU FLY")

INSKEEP: That's Gary and Kim Koivu in Detroit, remembering Vincent Chin, killed 35 years ago today. The federal case against Chin's killers⁷ marked the first time a civil rights law was used to prosecute⁸ a crime against an Asian-American. It became a rallying point for stronger federal hate crimes legislation. And this interview will be archived by the Library of Congress.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHRISTOPHER BOWEN'S "I WANT TO SEE YOU FLY")

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

6 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

7 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

8 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？