英文演讲录 憨豆先生：言论自由(2)

The Police sensed that ridicule¹ was just around the corner and withdrew their actions.

警方察觉到这会立马沦为笑柄，于是叫停了行动。

But what about the thousands of other cases that did not enjoy the oxygen of publicity²? That weren't quite ludicrous enough to attract media attention?

那其它的案子怎么办呢？还有成千上万的案子未能曝光于公众，难道那些就不够荒谬吗？

Even for those actions that were withdrawn³, people were arrested, questioned, taken to court and then released.

就算之后行动被撤回了，但人们仍然被逮捕、审问、带上法庭，然后被释放。

That isn't a law working properly: that is censoriousness of the most intimidating⁴ kind, guaranteed to have, as Lord Dear says, a 'chilling effect' on free expression and free protest.

这不是正常运作的法律体系，这是一种震慑力最强的严苛，必然会带来寒蝉效应，使人们惧怕言论自由和抗议自由。

Parliament's Joint⁵ committee on Human Rights summarized, as you may know, this whole issue very well by saying 'While arresting a protestor for using threatening or abusive speech may, depending on the circumstances, be a proportionate response,

英国议会人权联合委员会很好地总结了这一问题：“逮捕发表‘威胁或辱骂’言论的抗议者，在具体情况下，有可能作为一种相应的回应。

we do not think that language or behaviour that is merely insulting should ever be criminalized in this way.'

但我们不认为单纯的‘侮辱性’言行就应以此种方式被定罪。”

The clear problem with the outlawing⁶ of insult is that too many things can be interpreted as such.

问题很明显，如果“侮辱”就不合法，那么有太多事情不合法了，

Criticism is easily construed⁷ as insult by certain parties.

因为批评可以被认作侮辱，

Ridicule is easily construed as insult.

嘲笑可以被认作侮辱，

Sarcasm⁸, unfavourable comparison, merely stating an alternative point of view to the orthodoxy can be interpreted as insult.

讽刺，打个不恰当的比方，虽然仅仅是阐述与正统观点相异的主张，但也可以被认作侮辱。

And because so many things can be interpreted as insult, it is hardly surprising that so many things have been, as the examples I talked about earlier show.

因为有太多事情都可以被认为是侮辱，我们也就不奇怪，为什么会有那么多奇奇怪怪的案例，就像我之前提到的那些。

Although the law under discussion has been on the statute⁹ book for over 25 years, it is indicative of a culture that has taken hold of the programmes of successive governments that,

但它表明了一种文化，这种文化已经影响到了继任政府的决策。

with the reasonable and well-intended ambition to contain obnoxious¹⁰ elements in society, has created a society of an extraordinarily¹¹ authoritarian¹² and controlling nature.

他们合理有序地控制社会中的不利因素，因而创造了极端独裁、高度控制的社会环境。

That is what you might call The New Intolerance, a new but intense desire to gag uncomfortable voices of dissent¹³.

这也就是大家说的“新型不容忍”。这一概念虽新，但是有力地遏制了令人不快的异议。

‘I am not intolerant', say many people; say many softly spoken, highly educated, liberal-minded people: 'I am only intolerant of intolerance'.

很多人说，“我很宽容的哦，”其中不乏说话温和有礼、受过高等教育、思想开明的人，“我只是看不惯那些不宽容的事罢了。”

And people tend to nod sagely¹⁴ and say 'Oh, wise words, wise words'

人们往往点点头，说‘哦，有道理’，

and yet if you think about this supposedly inarguable statement for longer than five seconds, you realize that all it is advocating is the replacement¹⁵ of one kind of intolerance with another.

但不超过五秒钟，你就会发现这个貌似无可辩驳的表述，其实是在用一种不容忍代替另一种不宽容。

Which to me doesn't represent any kind of progress at all.

在我看来，这并不能代表社会的进步。

Underlying¹⁶ prejudices, injustices¹⁷ or resentments¹⁸ are not addressed by arresting people: they are addressed by the issues being aired, argued and dealt with preferably outside the legal process.

抓几个人，并不能解决潜在的偏见、不公和愤恨。最好的办法，是抛开司法程序公开讨论，适当解决。

1 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

2 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

3 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

4 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 outlawing   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Regulations are outlawing certain refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which contain ozone-depleting chemicals. 随后出台的政策禁用了部分制冷剂，如破坏臭氧层的氟氯碳化合物。
• An amendment outlawing sale of intoxicating liquors(1920)was repealed in 1933. 规定售卖酒类为非法的一个宪法修正案（一九二○年）在一九三三年被废止。

7 construed   

v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析

参考例句：

• He considered how the remark was to be construed. 他考虑这话该如何理解。
• They construed her silence as meaning that she agreed. 他们把她的沉默解释为表示赞同。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

9 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

10 obnoxious   

adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的

参考例句：

• These fires produce really obnoxious fumes and smoke.这些火炉冒出来的烟气确实很难闻。
• He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。

11 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

12 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

13 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

14 sagely   

adv. 贤能地，贤明地

参考例句：

• Even the ones who understand may nod sagely. 即使对方知道这一点，也会一本正经地点头同意。
• Well, that's about all of the sagely advice this old grey head can come up with. 好了，以上就是我这个满头银发的老头儿给你们的充满睿智的忠告。

15 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

16 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

17 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

18 resentments   

（因受虐待而）愤恨，不满，怨恨( resentment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He could never transcend his resentments and his complexes. 他从来不能把他的怨恨和感情上的症结置之度外。
• These local resentments burst into open revolt. 地方性反感变成公开暴动。