Miscellaneous
Download MP3 今回は少し重い話題ですが、米国での事件を発端として現在世界で大きな動きとなっている”Black Lives Matter”についての会話です。 今回の会話にも見られるように「行動」こそ重要、というのがこの運動の特徴のようですね。もちろん暴力は論外ですが、たとえば本を読む、英語を勉強するというのも広い意味での「行動」に含まれるかもしれません。そんな簡単にできる「行動」の例として、今回の会話ではどのようなことが紹介されていますか。【リモート収録】 *** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） Black Lives Matterについて 動詞matterはDoes it matter?やIt doesn’t matter if…など疑問文や否定文で使われる場合が多いようです。そのmatterがあえて肯定文で使われることにより、スローガンとしての強いメッセージ性が生み出されていると言えます。一方、名詞matterの意味は"a subject or situation that you have to think about or deal with" (Longman)とあります。「黒人の命は大切だ」など、様々な日本語訳がされていますが、上記の点を踏まえて、皆さんならどう訳しますか？ What’s up? 元気？ I don’t feel like I’m making a difference. 自分が世の中への働きかけができていないように感じる。 ※make a difference「違いを生む、改善する」 protest 抗議行動 donate to charities 慈善団体に寄付する and stuff like that 〜など、〜とか ※and things (like that)とも言う。 ad revenue 広告収入 petition 嘆願、署名活動 loads of たくさんの〜 racism 人種差別 reflect on 〜について振り返る *** Script *** Black Lives Matter Scene: Two friends on a phone call. M: Hey, Lily, what’s up? What are you doing now? W: Oh, I was just making a sign for the Black Lives Matter protest I’m going to tomorrow. M: Wow, good! I wish I could go to one. But there isn’t one where I live. I don’t feel like I’m making a difference. I want to actually DO something, but I don’t know how! W: Hey, you can start your own group! Contact your friends and get them to spread the news. Right now, in America and in a lot of other countries too, there are not only protests, but also discussion groups, speeches in schools, and other activities which try to improve relations between races. M: Wow, sounds cool. Formal discussions and things. W: And, another idea: we can donate to charities and groups that support blacks— groups that help them with education, jobs, and stuff like that. M: Yeah... but I don’t have money. W: Um, for example, there are some Youtubers who are giving all of their ad revenues to charities! Just don’t skip the ads—watch them through. M: Hmm, I never thought of that. Hey! In our groups, I guess we can start petitions too? --asking people to think of ways to improve police departments around the world? W: Good idea! And there’s loads of petitions online which we can support. We can also spread awareness online. We can use our social media platforms to propose ways of improving police departments. M: I think it’s so interesting. In Japan we see it on the news, but we don’t see much conversation about it, or action. W: Maybe the first step is to educate ourselves and actually TALK to people about it. There’s some racism in ALL countries, not just America. I think we should reflect on our own attitudes and actions, and understand about good human rights. And then we should act! No Justice, No Peace!