I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much | Stella Young

翻译人员: Yolanda Zhang 校对人员: Philo Tang

I grew up in a very small country town

我在维多利亚的

in Victoria.

一个小乡镇长大。

I had a very normal, low-key kind of upbringing.

我受的教育平凡而普通。

I went to school, I hung out with my friends,

我上学，跟朋友一起玩，

I fought with my younger sisters.

跟妹妹们吵架。

It was all very normal.

一切都再普通不过了。

And when I was 15, a member of my local community

在我15岁的时候，一名社区的工作人员

approached my parents

找到我的父母，

and wanted to nominate me

想要提名我

for a community achievement award.

一个社区成就奖。

And my parents said, "Hm, that's really nice,

我的父母说：“嗯，这是件好事儿，

but there's kind of one glaring problem with that.

不过有个比较明显的问题。

She hasn't actually achieved anything." (Laughter)

她从来也没取得什么成就啊。“（笑声）

And they were right, you know.

他们说的对。

I went to school, I got good marks,

我上学，成绩还不错。

I had a very low-key after school job

毕业之后在妈妈的

in my mum's hairdressing salon,

发型设计沙龙有个很普通的工作，

and I spent a lot of time watching

我还花很多时间看各种肥皂剧，

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Dawson's Creek."

比如”吸血鬼猎人巴菲“和”恋爱时代“。

Yeah, I know. What a contradiction.

没错，是有点矛盾。

But they were right, you know.

不过他们说得对，

I wasn't doing anything that was out of the ordinary

我压根儿也没有过任何

at all.

不寻常的作为。

I wasn't doing anything that could be considered an achievement

我从来也没做过任何可以被当做是成就的事情，

if you took disability out of the equation.

如果不考虑身体有缺陷这一点的话。

Years later, I was on my second teaching round

几年以后，我再次回到

in a Melbourne high school,

一个墨尔本高中的教书，

and I was about 20 minutes into a year 11 legal studies class

当我在11年级（相当于中国高中）的一堂法律课上刚讲了大概20分钟时，

when this boy put up his hand and said,

一个男孩举手问道：

"Hey miss, when are you going to start doing your speech?"

“女士，你什么时候才能开始演讲？”

And I said, "What speech?"

我说：”什么演讲？“

You know, I'd been talking them

事实上，我已经就诽谤法

about defamation law for a good 20 minutes.

讲了二十多分钟了。

And he said, "You know, like,

然后他说：”比方说

your motivational speaking.

励志演说什么的。

You know, when people in wheelchairs come to school,

当坐着轮椅的人来到学校，

they usually say, like, inspirational stuff?"

他们一般都会说一些鼓舞人心的故事，是吧？“

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"It's usually in the big hall."

”不过这种演讲一般都是在大报告厅里进行的呀。“

And that's when it dawned on me:

就是在那个时候我开始意识到：

This kid had only ever experienced disabled people

这孩子一直把残障人士当做

as objects of inspiration.

一种励志对象。

We are not, to this kid --

对这个孩子来说，我们并不是什么激励对象，

and it's not his fault, I mean,

这也不是他的错，

that's true for many of us.

很多人都有这种想法。

For lots of us, disabled people are not our teachers

对很多人来说，残障人士并不是老师，

or our doctors or our manicurists.

医生或者美甲师。

We're not real people. We are there to inspire.

我们不是真实的人，我们的存在只是为了激励别人。

And in fact, I am sitting on this stage

现在，我在这个讲台上，

looking like I do in this wheelchair,

坐着轮椅演讲，

and you are probably kind of expecting me

你们可能多少也会期待我

to inspire you. Right? (Laughter)

能对你们有所激励，对吧？（观众笑声）

Yeah.

我说的没错吧。

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid

不过，女士们先生们，恐怕

I'm going to disappoint you dramatically.

我要让你们非常失望了。

I am not here to inspire you.

我在这里不是为了激励你们。

I am here to tell you that we have been lied to

我来这儿是想告诉你们

about disability.

我们对残疾有错误的认识。

Yeah, we've been sold the lie

没错，我们一直被错误的灌输

that disability is a Bad Thing, capital B, capital T.

残疾是件坏事，很——糟——糕的事。

It's a bad thing, and to live with a disability

这是件坏事，带着残缺生活

makes you exceptional.

会让你与众不同。

It's not a bad thing, and it doesn't

其实，这并不是件坏事，

make you exceptional.

也不会让你变得多出众。

And in the past few years, we've been able

在过去的几年，这个谎言

to propagate this lie even further

通过社交媒体

via social media.

被传的更广了。

You may have seen images like this one:

你们可能看过这样的图片：

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude."

”生活中唯一的残缺就是消极的态度。“

Or this one: "Your excuse is invalid." Indeed.

或者这个：”你的理由不成立。”

Or this one: "Before you quit, try!"

亦或者：“不要轻易放弃，继续尝试！”

These are just a couple of examples,

这只是其中的几个例子，

but there are a lot of these images out there.

这样的图片还有很多。

You know, you might have seen the one,

你们还可能看到过这个，

the little girl with no hands

一个没有手臂的小女孩儿

drawing a picture with a pencil held in her mouth.

把笔刁在嘴里画画。

You might have seen a child running

你们可能也见过一个孩子借助

on carbon fiber prosthetic legs.

碳纤维义肢奔跑。

And these images,

类似这样的图片，

there are lots of them out there,

太多了，

they are what we call inspiration porn.

我们管这些叫励志情色片。

(Laughter)

（观众笑声）

And I use the term porn deliberately,

我故意用“情色片”这个词的，

because they objectify one group of people

因为他们为了另一群人的利益，

for the benefit of another group of people.

而把一群人物化。

So in this case, we're objectifying disabled people

现在，我们正在物化残障人士，

for the benefit of nondisabled people.

以满足非残障人士的利益。

The purpose of these images

这些图片是

is to inspire you, to motivate you,

想要鼓舞你们，激励你们，

so that we can look at them

这样我们看到这些残疾人的时候

and think, "Well, however bad my life is,

就会想：“哦，我的生活再糟，

it could be worse.

也还是有比我更糟的。

I could be that person."

还好我不是那个人。”

But what if you are that person?

但如果你就是那个人呢？

I've lost count of the number of times that I've

我已经记不清有几次，

been approached by strangers

有陌生人向我走过来，

wanting to tell me that they think I'm brave

想要告诉我他们认为我很勇敢，

or inspirational,

很励志，

and this was long before my work

这还是在我没有

had any kind of public profile.

成为公众人物之前的事。

They were just kind of congratulating me

他们只是因为我早上能够正常起床，

for managing to get up in the morning

还能记着我自己的名字

and remember my own name. (Laughter)

而祝贺我。（观众笑声）

And it is objectifying.

这就是物化。

These images, those images

这些图片

objectify disabled people

物化了残障人士，好让他们

for the benefit of nondisabled people.

能够激励非残障人士。

They are there so that you can look at them

他们的存在，就在于能够让你们

and think that things aren't so bad for you,

庆幸自己过的还不坏，

to put your worries into perspective.

把担心抛在脑后。

And life as a disabled person

不过残障人士的生活

is actually somewhat difficult.

的确有些挑战。

We do overcome some things.

我们确实需要克服一些困难。

But the things that we're overcoming

不过我们需要克服的那些事

are not the things that you think they are.

跟你们想像的不一样。

They are not things to do with our bodies.

这些事跟我们身体本身的缺陷没什么关系。

I use the term "disabled people" quite deliberately,

我刻意使用“残疾人”这个词，

because I subscribe to what's called the social model of disability,

因为我可以接受这种社会普遍认同的残疾，

which tells us that we are more disabled

这让我们认识到，相比较我们身体本身的

by the society that we live in

缺陷和病症，我们所居住的社会

than by our bodies and our diagnoses.

让我们更觉得自己是残疾人。

So I have lived in this body a long time.

其实我像现在这样已经相当久了。

I'm quite fond of it.

感觉还挺不错的。

It does the things that I need it to do,

我想做什么都能做，

and I've learned to use it to the best of its capacity

而且我也知道怎么做那些力所能及的事儿，

just as you have,

就跟你们一样，

and that's the thing about those kids in those pictures as well.

图片里的那些孩子也是这样。

They're not doing anything out of the ordinary.

他们并没做什么不同寻常的事儿。

They are just using their bodies

他们只是最大程度的

to the best of their capacity.

让自己的身体发挥功能。

So is it really fair to objectify them

那么通过传播这些图片

in the way that we do,

来物化他们

to share those images?

真的公平吗？

People, when they say, "You're an inspiration,"

当人们说：”你真励志，”

they mean it as a compliment.

他们以为这是一种赞美。

And I know why it happens.

我知道大家为什么这么做。

It's because of the lie, it's because we've been sold

是因为我们一直以来都被灌输一种错误的思想：

this lie that disability makes you exceptional.

残缺可以让你变得出色。

And it honestly doesn't.

其实不是。

And I know what you're thinking.

我知道你们在想什么。

You know, I'm up here bagging out inspiration,

我在讲台上否认这种激励作用，

and you're thinking, "Jeez, Stella,

你们就会想：“天呐，史黛拉，

aren't you inspired sometimes by some things?"

难道你就不会受其他事物的激励吗？”

And the thing is, I am.

事实是，我会。

I learn from other disabled people all the time.

我无时无刻不在从其他残障人士身上学习。

I'm learning not that I am luckier than them, though.

不过我学习，并不是我比他们幸运多少。

I am learning that it's a genius idea

我学到的是，用烧烤棍

to use a pair of barbecue tongs

把你掉的东西捡起来

to pick up things that you dropped. (Laughter)

是个相当不错的主意。（观众笑声）

I'm learning that nifty trick where you can charge

我觉得用电动轮椅的电池给手机充电

your mobile phone battery from your chair battery.

也是个绝妙的点子。

Genius.

太有才了！

We are learning from each others' strength and endurance,

我们互相学习彼此的坚强和隐忍，

not against our bodies and our diagnoses,

不是对抗身体缺陷和疾病的坚强，

but against a world that exceptionalizes

而是对抗整个社会区别对待我们，

and objectifies us.

物化我们的这种风气。

I really think that this lie that we've been sold

我真心认为这种针对我们残障人士的谎言

about disability is the greatest injustice.

就是最大的不公。

It makes life hard for us.

这让我们的生活变得很困难。

And that quote, "The only disability in life

还有那句名言：”生活中唯一的残疾

is a bad attitude,"

就是消极的态度“，

the reason that that's bullshit

这简直就是胡说八道，

is because it's just not true,

因为事实根本不是这样

because of the social model of disability.

这只是社会认同的残疾。

No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs

笑的再多也不会让你费力攀爬的楼梯

has ever made it turn into a ramp.

变成可以通过轮椅的斜坡。

Never. (Laughter) (Applause)

永远都不会。（观众笑声）（掌声）

Smiling at a television screen

对着电视机屏幕笑，

isn't going to make closed captions appear

也不能让聋哑人听懂

for people who are deaf.

没有字幕的节目。

No amount of standing in the middle of a bookshop

在书店里呆的再久，

and radiating a positive attitude

释放再积极的正能量，

is going to turn all those books into braille.

也不能把这些书变成盲文。

It's just not going to happen.

这都是不可能的事情。

I really want to live in a world

我真心期待能活在这样一个世界里，

where disability is not the exception, but the norm.

残疾不再是当成一种特殊， 仅仅是普通现象。

I want to live in a world where a 15-year-old girl

一个坐在卧室里

sitting in her bedroom

看”吸血鬼猎人巴菲”

watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

的15岁女孩，

isn't referred to as achieving anything

不会因为她能正常坐着

because she's doing it sitting down.

就被提名什么成就奖。

I want to live in a world

在我期望的社会里，

where we don't have such low expectations

人们不放低他们对

of disabled people

残障人士的期待，

that we are congratulated for getting out of bed

不会因为他们早上能正常起床， 记得自己的名字

and remembering our own names in the morning.

就对他们大加赞赏。

I want to live in a world where we value genuine achievement

我期待的社会，人们会认可残障人士

for disabled people,

真正的成就，

and I want to live in a world

我期待的社会里，

where a kid in year 11 in a Melbourne high school

一个墨尔本高中11岁的孩子

is not one bit surprised

不会因为他的新老师需要轮椅代步

that his new teacher is a wheelchair user.

而感到吃惊。

Disability doesn't make you exceptional,

残障不会让你变得出色，

but questioning what you think you know about it does.

但质疑你原本自以为了解的事物，可以让你进步。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）