Courage is contagious | Damon Davis

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Ann Chen

So, I'm afraid.

我很害怕，

Right now,

現在，

on this stage,

在這個講台上，

I feel fear.

我感到恐懼。

In my life, I ain't met many people

我一生中，沒見過很多

that will readily admit when they are afraid.

會欣然承認自己害怕的人。

And I think that's because deep down,

我覺那是因為在內心深處，

they know how easy it spreads.

他們知道恐懼有多容易散播。

See, fear is like a disease.

恐懼就像疾病。

When it moves, it moves like wildfire.

當它散播移動時，就像野火。

But what happens when,

但當你去做你該做的事，

even in the face of that fear,

即使是要面對恐懼也去做，

you do what you've got to do?

會發生什麼事呢？

That's called courage.

那就叫做勇氣。

And just like fear,

就像恐懼一樣，

courage is contagious.

勇氣會傳染。

See, I'm from East St. Louis, Illinois.

我來自伊利諾州的東聖路易斯，

That's a small city

那是個小城市，

across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri.

在密蘇里州聖路易斯的 密西西比河對岸。

I have lived in and around St. Louis my entire life.

我一生都住在聖路易斯一帶。

When Michael Brown, Jr.,

當小麥可布朗──

an ordinary teenager,

他是個平凡的青少年 ，

was gunned down by police in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri --

於 2014 年在密蘇里州的 佛格森被警方槍殺──

another suburb, but north of St. Louis --

佛格森是聖路易斯北邊的 另一個郊區，

I remember thinking,

我記得我當時在想，

he ain't the first,

他不是第一個，

and he won't be the last young kid to lose his life to law enforcement.

也不會是最後一個被執法人員 奪去生命的年輕孩子。

But see, his death was different.

但，他的死不一樣。

When Mike was killed,

當麥可被殺時，

I remember the powers that be trying to use fear as a weapon.

我記得當權者試圖用恐懼當作武器。

The police response to a community in mourning was to use force

警方對哀傷的 社區大眾的回應是用武力

to impose fear:

來造成恐懼：

fear of militarized police,

對備戰警察、

imprisonment,

坐牢、

fines.

罰金的恐懼。

The media even tried to make us afraid of each other

媒體甚至試圖用編造故事的方式

by the way they spun the story.

讓我們害怕彼此。

And all of these things have worked in the past.

這些在過去都是可行的。

But like I said, this time it was different.

但如我所言，這次不同。

Michael Brown's death and the subsequent treatment of the community

麥可布朗之死 以及後續對社區的對待方式，

led to a string of protests in and around Ferguson and St. Louis.

導致了佛格森及聖路易斯 一帶一連串抗議。

When I got out to those protests about the fourth or fifth day,

當我在第四或第五天時， 出門去參與這些抗議，

it was not out of courage;

並非出於勇氣

it was out of guilt.

而是出於罪惡感。

See, I'm black.

我是黑人，

I don't know if y'all noticed that.

不知道你們有沒有注意到。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But I couldn't sit in St. Louis, minutes away from Ferguson,

但我無法坐在離佛格森 只有幾分鐘遠的聖路易斯，

and not go see.

卻不去看看。

So I got off my ass to go check it out.

所以我出門去看看。

When I got out there,

當我到那兒時，

I found something surprising.

我發現的東西讓我很驚訝。

I found anger; there was a lot of that.

我看到了憤怒，很多的憤怒。

But what I found more of was love.

但我看到了更多的是愛。

People with love for themselves.

人們有對自己的愛、

Love for their community.

對他們的社區的愛。

And it was beautiful --

那很美──

until the police showed up.

直到警察出現。

Then a new emotion was interjected into the conversation:

接著，新的情緒被加了進來：

fear.

就是恐懼。

Now, I'm not going to lie;

現在我老實地說，

when I saw those armored vehicles,

當我看到那些武裝車輛、

and all that gear

那些裝備、

and all those guns

那些槍枝、

and all those police

那些警察，

I was terrified --

我嚇壞了──

personally.

我個人是如此。

And when I looked around that crowd,

當我看向周圍群眾，

I saw a lot of people that had the same thing going on.

我看到很多人跟我一樣。

But I also saw people with something else inside of them.

但我也看到一些人， 他們內心還有別的，

That was courage.

就是勇氣。

See, those people yelled,

那些人吶喊，

and they screamed,

他們大叫，

and they were not about to back down from the police.

他們不打算因為警察而打退堂鼓。

They were past that point.

他們已超越了這個點了。

And then I could feel something in me changing,

我接著感到我內在起了變化，

so I yelled and I screamed,

所以我也吶喊、我也大叫，

and I noticed that everybody around me was doing the same thing.

我注意到我身邊的每個人 也在做同樣的事。

And there was nothing like that feeling.

沒什麼比得上那種感覺。

So I decided I wanted to do something more.

所以我決定要多做點什麼。

I went home, I thought: I'm an artist. I make shit.

我回家，心想： 我是個藝術家，我會產出作品。

So I started making things specific to the protest,

所以我開始針對抗議來創作，

things that would be weapons in a spiritual war,

創作出在心靈戰爭中 能當武器用的作品、

things that would give people voice

能夠表達人民心聲的作品，

and things that would fortify them for the road ahead.

讓他們能更堅強 面對前方道路的作品。

I did a project where I took pictures of the hands of protesters

我有一個設計是 將抗議者的手拍下來，

and put them up and down the boarded-up buildings

把照片貼在圍住建築物的木板上

and community shops.

及社區店家上。

My goal was to raise awareness and to raise the morale.

我的目標是要引起注意、提振士氣。

And I think, for a minute at least,

我覺得至少有一個短暫的時間，

it did just that.

我有做到了。

Then I thought, I want to uplift the stories of these people

接著我想，我要把 我看到的這些在當下

I was watching being courageous in the moment.

很有勇氣的人的故事再推進一步。

And myself and my friend,

我自己、我朋友、

and filmmaker and partner Sabaah Folayan

製片人、以及合作伙伴沙巴佛拉亞

did just that with our documentary,

用我們的紀錄片完成了這目標，

"Whose Streets?"

片名叫「誰的街道？」

I kind of became a conduit

我有點變成了導體，

for all of this courage that was given to me.

這些被賦予我的勇氣的導體。

And I think that's part of our job as artists.

我認為身為藝術家， 那是我們工作的一部份。

I think we should be conveyors of courage in the work that we do.

我想該用我們的作品來傳遞勇氣。

And I think that we are the wall between the normal folks

我認為我們是介在一般人， 與用權力來散播

and the people that use their power to spread fear and hate,

恐懼與恨意的人之間的一道牆，

especially in times like these.

特別是在這樣的時刻。

So I'm going to ask you.

所以，我想問你們，

Y'all the movers and the shakers,

你們是有行動有影響力的人物、

you know, the thought leaders:

是思想領袖；

What are you gonna do

你們打算用

with the gifts that you've been given

你們被賦予的天賦來做什麼，

to break us from the fear the binds us every day?

讓我們不要再每天被恐懼所束縛？

Because, see, I'm afraid every day.

因為，我每天都很害怕。

I can't remember a time when I wasn't.

我記不得有任何不害怕的時候。

But once I figured out that fear was not put in me to cripple me,

一旦我了解到，恐懼被植入 我內心的目的不是要削弱我，

it was there to protect me,

而是要保護我，

and once I figured out how to use that fear,

一旦我了解到如何運用那恐懼，

I found my power.

我就找到了我的力量。

Thank you.

謝謝大家。

(Applause)

（掌聲）