两次骚乱,一个原因,相隔半个世纪

Two Riots, One Cause, a Half-Century Apart 两次骚乱,一个原因,相隔半个世纪

One year ago this week, riots began in Ferguson, Missouri after an unarmed black teenager was killed by a white police officer.

Earlier this week, officials declared a state of emergency in the city after people who had gathered to mark the anniversary became violent.

Monday night, police arrested more than 20 protestors after being hit by rocks and bottles.

But within a few days, tensions between protestors and police had eased.

Although there have been clashes, some people in the city are trying to show that there is much to like about Ferguson. They are angry that reporters have not shown that much of their community is peaceful.

“They make it seem like everybody out here is just throwin chaos¹, acting² like maniacs⁴. They talk about people shooting, but they don’t talk about the positive things that's out here goin on.”

Kenneth Wheat lives in Ferguson. He volunteers at the “I Love Ferguson” store. It is near the Ferguson Police Department. He says others are also beginning to become involved in efforts to improve the image of the city, including Jacqueline Dehmer. She also works at the store.

“I volunteer because I want people to know about Ferguson, and that we're a friendly, loving community -- not at all what was portrayed⁶.”

Ms. Dehmer, Mr. Wheat and 22 others volunteer at the store. Profits are used to help the community. Ms. Dehmer says the store has given a total of more than $100,000 to businesses affected⁷ by the rioting.

On the one-year anniversary of the riots, reporters from other states have traveled to the city to write stories. People in Ferguson are worried that some of those reports will say that the city is a dangerous place where riots can begin at any time. They say that is not the truth about Ferguson.

Fifty Years Ago in Watts⁸

While Ferguson marks the one-year anniversary of rioting, Los Angeles, California is observing the 50-year anniversary of the Watts riots.

Watts was -- and still is -- a poor neighborhood. Just as in Ferguson, riots began there when blacks clashed with white police officers who they believed were mistreating them.

Some people who were involved in the clashes in 1965 remember them clearly. Masai Minters was 15 years old when the rioting began.

“You could see the helicopters buzzing around, the fires burning, the plumes⁹ of smoke, the people in the streets, the red lights flashing, the noise, the activity. It was electric, it was crazy, it was busy.”

On August 11, 1965, white police officers stopped a black man and his mother who were riding in their car. The officers were accused of abusing them. Protests began quickly. They lasted for six days. Hundreds of buildings were damaged, 34 people were killed and more than a thousand people were injured.

An exhibit at a local college shows pictures of the violence. Gregory Williams is the director of the archives and special collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

“This is a photograph of Marquette Frye and Ronald Frye. Marquette was the gentleman who was pulled over by the police that sort of started the rebellion.”

In 1992, there were more clashes in the area when a video was shown of police officers beating black taxi driver Rodney King.  

Mr. Williams says people in Watts and the Los Angeles police department have learned lessons from the clashes.

“The reason that LA hasn’t exploded again is because we are aware of the past. The police department's aware of the past.”

People in the area say they have learned that violence does not help them improve their lives. Shanice Joseph is 23 years old.  

“People in Watts understand that having another riot just reinforces the stigma¹⁰ that's already going on. So to eliminate that, and get rid of this idea that it is just such a dangerous place, people are not willing to put themselves in that situation all over again.”

Most people who live in Watts are still very poor. But their relations with the police force have improved. Officers who work in the neighborhood are black, Hispanic and Asian in addition to white. People in Watts hope relations with police will improve in other black neighborhoods in the United States as well.

Words in the News

chaos – n. complete confusion and disorder¹¹; a state in which behavior and events are not controlled by anything

maniac³ – n. someone who is violent and mentally ill

portray⁵ – v. to describe (someone or something) in a particular way

reinforce – v. to encourage or give support to (an idea, behavior or feeling)

stigma – n. a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something

1 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 maniac   

n.精神癫狂的人；疯子

参考例句：

• Be careful!That man is driving like a maniac!注意！那个人开车像个疯子一样！
• You were acting like a maniac,and you threatened her with a bomb!你像一个疯子，你用炸弹恐吓她！

4 maniacs   

n.疯子（maniac的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Hollywood films misrepresented us as drunks, maniacs and murderers. 好莱坞电影把我们歪曲成酒鬼、疯子和杀人凶手。 来自辞典例句
• They're not irrational, potentially homicidal maniacs, to start! 他们不是非理性的，或者有杀人倾向的什么人！ 来自电影对白

5 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

6 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

9 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

10 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

11 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。