我父母这代亚裔认为我们只能自保，我不这么想
The Generational Split in How Asian-Americans See the Atlanta Shootings
GISH JEN
2021年3月24日
My mother, who immigrated to America in the 1940s, assumed my siblings and I would never really be accepted as American. Partly this was because there were so few Chinese immigrants when she came. But also, it was a rough time for minorities. My parents’ response to my brother’s being beaten up, as he was just about every day in Yonkers, N.Y., was to sign him up for karate lessons. The world was like a forest full of bears. There was no forest ranger. You had to defend yourself.
我的母亲在上世纪40年代移民美国，她认为自己的孩子永远不会被当成真正的美国人。这在一定程度上是因为，她来美国时这里的华人还太少。但同时也因为，那段时期对少数族裔来说十分艰难。我哥哥在纽约州扬克斯市几乎每天都会被打，父母的解决办法就是替他报了空手道课程。世界就像一个到处都有熊出没的森林，却没有护林员。你只能自保。
Of all the figures who have emerged from the recent surge in anti-Asian violence, my parents would have most admired Xiao Zhen Xie of San Francisco. This 75-year-old, having been punched for no reason, picked up a wooden plank and hit her 39-year-old assailant so hard that he ended up on a stretcher.
在近来反亚裔暴力浪潮涌现出的所有人物中，我父母最钦佩来自旧金山的谢萧珍（音）。这位75岁老人无缘无故遭人殴打，她捡起一块木板，将39岁的袭击者暴打一顿，导致后者被担架抬走。
That woman was “hen lihai” — fierce. And yet in his account of the incident, her grandson John Chen emphasized how terrified she was. Over and over, people speaking on behalf of Asian-Americans in recent weeks have described how fearful people are, how afraid to leave their houses. Hearing this, all I could think was, there has been a sea change. Young people seem to believe that there are forest rangers around who, if they don’t exactly care, can be made to care. To sympathize. To come and help. I can hear my parents’ voices and see their heads shaking: You know what they are, these young people? They are Americanized, that’s what. … You know what happens if you show you are afraid? You have even more attacks.
这女人“很厉害”。然而，她的孙子约翰·陈(John Chen)在描述此事时，强调的是她有多么害怕。最近几周，代表亚裔发声的人反复描述人们心中的恐惧，甚至不敢离开家门。听到这些，我唯一能想到的就是，一切都变了。年轻人似乎觉得，周围的护林员就算不是真的关心，也可以让他们关心。让他们同情。让他们施以援手。我都能想象父母会说什么，看到他们连连摇头的样子：你知道这些年轻人是什么吗？他们被美国化了，就是这样……你知道如果表现出害怕会怎么样吗？你会遭到更多攻击。
Cynics equate “American individualism” with an “every man for himself” social Darwinism my parents would recognize. Idealists see it as an “every person counts” promise of respect and dignity: No one should be told to go back to where she came from or be accosted with “kung flu” comments. And certainly no one should have to fear being assaulted, much less killed, because of her race.
犬儒主义者将“美式个人主义”等同于“人各为己”，即我父母会认同的社会达尔文主义。理想主义者则将其解读为“人人都重要”，这是对尊重和尊严的承诺：任何人都不应该被告知滚回出生地，或者被人用“功夫流感”的说法评头论足。当然，谁也不该因为自己的种族而害怕遭到袭击，更不用说遇害了。
These two outlooks have long vied in the court of public opinion. With the killing of George Floyd, however, the idealists gained a decisive victory. His death made it clear, for those to whom it was not clear already, that the brutality and racism faced by Black Americans are an urgent concern for all Americans.
公众舆论一直以来都对这两种观点争论不休。但乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)被杀后，理想主义者赢得了决定性的胜利。对那些还搞不清楚状况的人来说，他的死清楚地表明，美国黑人所面临的暴行和种族主义是所有美国人都必须迫切关注的问题。
Now many Asian-Americans wonder: Will these horrific Atlanta murders prove to be a similar turning point? Will this country own the racism and misogyny behind the gunman’s targeting of Asian women? Will Americans finally see these problems as everyone’s problem? And, most important, will they ask what needs to change? As Randy Park, the 23-year-old son of one of the victims, Hyun Jung Grant, said, his question to the shooter’s family is, “What did you-all teach him?”
现在，许多亚裔也想知道：发生在亚特兰大的可怕杀戮，会成为一个类似的转折点吗？这个国家会承认枪手以亚裔女性为目标背后的种族主义和厌女症吗？美国人最终会把这些问题看作是所有人的问题吗？最重要的是，他们会不会问，有什么需要改变吗？正如受害者之一玄贞·格兰特(Hyun Jung Grant，音)的23岁儿子兰迪·朴(Randy Park)说的，他对枪手家人的疑问是，“你们都教了他什么？”
Right now, we Asian-Americans are proving to be a great test case of the question, “Is America America?” It’s a question at which my parents would have scoffed. Of course not, they would have said. And let me pay heartfelt tribute here to their self-respect and their resilience, which we would do well to retain. But the time has come not just to cope but to move the world forward. Can we? Americanized as I am — American that I am — I can only hope there are forest rangers around.
现在，我们亚裔成为了“美国还是美国吗”这个问题的绝佳测试。这是一个我父母听了只会嗤之以鼻的问题。他们会说，当然不是了。在此我要衷心赞美他们的自尊心和坚强，我们要把这些尽力传承下去。但这不仅是克服艰难的时候，也是推动世界前进的时候。我们能做到吗？美国化的我，以及作为美国人的我，只能希望周围还有护林员。
