The danger of silence | Clint Smith | TED

Translator: Greta Gašparac Reviewer: Andreja Benčina

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Dr. Martin Luther King mlajši je v svojem govoru leta 1968,

in a 1968 speech where he reflects upon the Civil Rights Movement,

v razmišljanju o ameriškem gibanju za državljanske pravice, izjavil:

states, "In the end,

"Na koncu se ne bomo spominjali besed naših sovražnikov,

we will remember not the words of our enemies

but the silence of our friends."

temveč tišine naših prijateljev."

As a teacher, I've internalized this message.

Kot učitelj sem ponotranjil to sporočilo.

Every day, all around us,

Vsak dan lahko okoli nas spremljamo posledice tišine,

we see the consequences of silence

manifest themselves in the form of discrimination,

ki se kažejo v obliki diskriminacije,

violence, genocide and war.

nasilja, genocida in vojne.

In the classroom, I challenge my students

V učilnici pozivam svoje učence,

to explore the silences in their own lives

naj raziskujejo tišino svojih življenj skozi poezijo.

through poetry.

We work together to fill those spaces,

Skupaj skušamo zapolniti te vrzeli,

to recognize them, to name them,

jih prepoznati, poimenovati,

to understand that they don't have to be sources of shame.

razumeti, da ne rabijo biti izvori sramu.

In an effort to create a culture within my classroom

Da bi v svoji učilnici ustvaril okolje,

where students feel safe sharing the intimacies

kjer bi učenci lahko varno

z ostalimi delili zaupnosti svoje lastne tišine,

of their own silences,

I have four core principles posted on the board

imam na tabli štiri bistvena načela,

that sits in the front of my class,

ki so vidna celotnemu razredu,

which every student signs at the beginning of the year:

kjer se vsak učenec na začetku leta podpiše:

read critically, write consciously,

beri kritično, piši vestno,

speak clearly, tell your truth.

govori jasno, povej svojo resnico.

And I find myself thinking a lot about that last point,

Sam pogosto razmišljam o tem zadnjem načelu - povej svojo resnico.

tell your truth.

And I realized that

Spoznal sem,

if I was going to ask my students to speak up,

da če želim od svojih učencev, da spregovorijo,

I was going to have to tell my truth

potem moram tudi jaz povedati svojo resnico,

and be honest with them about the times

biti iskren z njimi in jim povedati o časih, ko mi to ni uspelo.

where I failed to do so.

So I tell them that growing up,

Tako sem jim povedal, da so me med odraščanjem v New Orleansu,

as a kid in a Catholic family in New Orleans,

kot člana katoliške družine v postnem času, vedno učili,

during Lent I was always taught

that the most meaningful thing one could do

da je najpomembneje kar človek lahko naredi, da se nečemu odreče.

was to give something up,

sacrifice something you typically indulge in

Žrtvovati nekaj, v čemer običajno uživaš,

to prove to God you understand his sanctity.

da dokažeš Bogu, da razumeš njegovo svetost.

I've given up soda, McDonald's, French fries,

Odrekel sem se gaziranim pijačam, McDonald's-u,

praženemu kompirčku, francoskim poljubom in vsemu vmes.

French kisses, and everything in between.

But one year, I gave up speaking.

A nekega leta sem se odrekel govorjenju.

I figured the most valuable thing I could sacrifice

Menil sem, da je najdragocenejše kar bi jo lahko žrtvoval,

was my own voice, but it was like I hadn't realized

moj lastni glas.

Kot da se ne bi zavedal, da sem to storil že dolgo nazaj.

that I had given that up a long time ago.

I spent so much of my life

Porabil sem toliko časa,

telling people the things they wanted to hear

da sem govoril ljudem, kar so želeli slišati,

instead of the things they needed to,

namesto kar bi morali slišati.

told myself I wasn't meant to be anyone's conscience

Govoril sem si, da ne morem biti nikogaršnja vest,

because I still had to figure out being my own,

saj moram še vedno oblikovati svojo,

so sometimes I just wouldn't say anything,

zato pogosto nisem rekel nič,

appeasing ignorance with my silence,

blažil nevednost s svojo tišino,

unaware that validation doesn't need words

ne da bi se zavedal, da obsojanje ne potrebuje besed, da obstaja.

to endorse its existence.

When Christian was beat up for being gay,

Ko so kristjana pretepli zaradi homoseksualnosti, sem dal roke v žep

I put my hands in my pocket

and walked with my head down as if I didn't even notice.

in odkorakal s pogledom v tla, kot da nisem opazil.

I couldn't use my locker for weeks because the bolt on the lock

Tedne nisem uporabljal omarice,

ker me je ključavnica spominjala na tisto na mojih ustih.

reminded me of the one I had put on my lips

when the homeless man on the corner

Ko me je brezdomec na vogalu pogledal in iskal potrditev,

looked at me with eyes up merely searching

for an affirmation that he was worth seeing.

da je vreden pogleda.

I was more concerned with touching the screen on my Apple

Bolj me je zanimal ekran na mojem Applu (op. p. Jabolko),

than actually feeding him one.

kot da bi mu dejansko dal jabolko.

When the woman at the fundraising gala

Ko mi je ženska na dobrodelni prireditvi rekla:

said "I'm so proud of you.

"Ponosna sem nate.

It must be so hard teaching those poor, unintelligent kids,"

Zagotovo je težko učiti te uboge, neinteligentne otroke."

I bit my lip, because apparently we needed her money

Tiho sem bil, saj očitno potrebujemo njen denar bolj,

more than my students needed their dignity.

kot učenci potrebujejo svoje dostojanstvo.

We spend so much time

Toliko časa porabimo,

listening to the things people are saying

ko poslušamo, kaj ljudje govorijo,

that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't.

da smo redko pozorni na stvari, ki jih ne povejo.

Silence is the residue of fear.

Tišina je usedlina strahu.

It is feeling your flaws

Občuti tvoje slabosti,

gut-wrench guillotine your tongue.

zaveže tvoj jezik.

It is the air retreating from your chest

Je zrak, ki beži iz tvojega prsnega koša,

because it doesn't feel safe in your lungs.

ker se tam ne počuti varnega.

Silence is Rwandan genocide. Silence is Katrina.

Tišina je genocid v Ruandi. Tišina je Katrina.

It is what you hear when there aren't enough body bags left.

Je tisto, kar slišiš, ko zmanjka vreč za posmrtne ostanke.

It is the sound after the noose is already tied.

Je tisti zvok, ko je zanka okoli vratu že zategnjena.

It is charring. It is chains. It is privilege. It is pain.

Je upepelitev. Je veriga. Je privilegij. Je bolečina.

There is no time to pick your battles

Ni časa, da sam izbereš svoje bitke,

when your battles have already picked you.

če so bitke že same izbrale tebe.

I will not let silence wrap itself around my indecision.

Ne bom dovolil tišini, da se ovije okrog moje neodločenosti.

I will tell Christian that he is a lion,

Kristjanu bom rekel, da je lev,

a sanctuary of bravery and brilliance.

svetišče poguma in briljantnosti.

I will ask that homeless man what his name is

Vprašal bom tistega brezdomca, kako mu je ime

and how his day was, because sometimes

in kakšen dan je imel, ker včasih

all people want to be is human.

je vse, kar si ljudje želimo, biti človek.

I will tell that woman that my students can talk about

Povedal bom tisti ženski, da moji učenci lahko govorijo

transcendentalism like their last name was Thoreau,

o transcendentalni filozofiji, kot da se pišejo Thoreau,

and just because you watched one episode of "The Wire"

in ker je gledala epizodo Skrivnih navez,

doesn't mean you know anything about my kids.

še ne pomeni, da ve karkoli o mojih otrocih.

So this year,

Zato bom letos,

instead of giving something up,

namesto, da se čemu odrečem,

I will live every day as if there were a microphone

živel vsak dan, kot da bi imel pod jezikom mikrofon,

tucked under my tongue,

a stage on the underside of my inhibition.

oder, na spodnji strani moje inhibicije.

Because who has to have a soapbox

Kdo potrebuje govorniški oder,

when all you've ever needed is your voice?

če je vse, kar si kadarkoli potreboval, tvoj glas?

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)