英文演讲录 憨豆先生：言论自由(2)（在线收听）

The Police sensed that ridicule 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 publicity? 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Even for those actions that were withdrawn, people were arrested, questioned, taken to court and then released.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 intimidating 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 Joint 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 outlawing 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 construed 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，

Sarcasm, 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 statute 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 obnoxious elements in society, has created a society of an extraordinarily authoritarian 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 dissent.

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 sagely 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 replacement 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。

Underlying prejudices, injustices or resentments 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。