美国国家公共电台 NPR African-American Gun Rights Group Grows In The Age Of Trump

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Gun rights groups, including the NRA, have seen a rise in membership since the school shootings in Parkland, Fla., in February. But one group in particular has had a major increase well before that - the National African American Gun Association. Their numbers tripled after the inauguration¹ of President Donald Trump². Philip Smith founded the group in 2015. And he joins us from Atlanta. Mr. Smith, thanks so much for being with us.

PHILIP SMITH: Thanks for having me today.

SIMON: And why did you create this National African American Gun Association rather than just join the NRA?

SMITH: I wanted a voice for our community where we could feel comfortable to gather, a place where we could come and learn about firearms together in a very peaceful and nonthreatening environment.

SIMON: You're a gun owner.

SMITH: Yes, I am.

SIMON: May I ask what kind of guns you own?

SMITH: I have a AK-47. I have a Glock 19. I have a Glock 17. And I have the - as of late, I've got a hunting 783 Remington.

SIMON: Why an AK-47?

SMITH: It's a good gun. It serves a purpose. It's really good for self-defense purposes. And I think it's a very solid tool to have.

SIMON: What's your analysis, Mr. Smith - maybe from conversations with some of your membership - as to why you had this terrific increase in membership right after President Trump's inauguration?

SMITH: Well, I think it's a three-headed monster. I think, one, people are looking at, you know, the state of the United States in terms of robberies, burglaries, things that are happening on your daily basis. Two, I think also - probably just as important - we see what's happening around the world. You know, terrorism is something that scares black folks just like anybody else. So we are aware of that. But also, we look at what's happening in the political arena³ in terms of the conversations and the types of conversations. We see folks that were on the fringes of society, let's say, eight, nine, 10 years ago. But they're now out front talking about various things that are somewhat disturbing.

SIMON: When you say people on the fringes of society, let me chance to be blunt. Do you mean white racists?

SMITH: I think there are some individuals out there that have negative views of African-Americans. They have gotten bolder and bolder in their conversations in terms of our place in society. We're getting too progressive. Or we're moving too much up the ladder in society, so they want to kind of keep us down. When we hear those things - and me being a black man - your alarms go off. And you say, you know what? I think the days of us sitting back and just turning the other cheek - I think those days are long gone.

SIMON: Mr. Smith, how do you and the African American Gun Association feel about stricter gun laws?

SMITH: From the organizational standpoint, we believe that if you're a violent person and you beat your wife, you never need to own a gun. If you have a violent felony, you never need to have a gun. And a third piece - if you on - are the no-fly list, you need to not have a gun for any shape, form or reason.

SIMON: And what about the argument - I'm sure you've heard - that putting more guns in the hands of more people just adds fuel to a fire that's burning up parts of America?

SMITH: Well, see. I disagree with that argument. And I do hear that particular perspective, and I respect it. I believe that the best way to stop someone with a gun other than law enforcement is to have a gun yourself. I think too often as African-Americans we've been told to not arm ourselves. And I think too often we are just sitting back and letting someone come and save us. If you look at our communities right now across the country, they are in a wreck⁴ because we cannot protect those communities. These communities are just literally⁵ wide-open markets for violence, and that needs to change.

SIMON: What do you say, Mr. Smith, to those people who might point out that, actually, urban crime has been going down in the United States for a generation?

SMITH: I would say this. If you look at urban areas such as LA or east LA or South Chicago - and there's a lot of gun violence in those areas. Let's be blunt. The reason those areas are having issues are the following - anytime you take a group of young men - black, white or any color - put them in an area in which they have a confrontational⁶ relationship with the police and, on top of that, give them no economic skills that can be transferable into 2018, and I'll tell you what's going to happen. All those gentlemen and ladies are going to be very, very frustrated⁷. And they're going to do what they have to do to survive. If that means killing⁸ folks and shooting folks, unfortunately, that's what's going to happen. That's what's driving gun violence in certain areas throughout the U.S. It's not because it's the gun. It's that these folks, that these brothers don't have any recourse for anything viable⁹ that's going to allow them to have a skill to provide for themselves and their family.

SIMON: Philip Smith is president and founder¹⁰ of the National African American Gun Association. Thanks so much for being with us, sir.

SMITH: Thanks for having me.

1 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

4 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

5 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

6 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

7 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。