美国国家公共电台 NPR The 'Young Black Man' Who Reluctantly Became An NRA-Certified Instructor

 

SHEREEN MARISOL MERAJI, HOST:

Journalist RJ Young came of age in Oklahoma but kept his distance from guns and gun culture there. So it was a surreal turn of events when, years later, he became an NRA-certified¹ pistol instructor². These days, RJ Young's guns are locked up, and he wants to have nothing to do with them. He writes about this journey in his upcoming book, "Let It Bang." Young says he first got into guns because he was hoping to bond with his girlfriend's dad, Charles.

RJ YOUNG: I was dating a woman whose father was the only guy - or seemed to be the only guy - in Oklahoma who could give a damn about football, especially Oklahoma football.

MERAJI: Wow.

YOUNG: And I had no way to get in other than Lizzie. That was the thing we had in common. But if this was going to work, I needed to be able to talk with Charles about something that wasn't Lizzie. The first thing he did for me ended up being one of the coolest things that he's ever done for me. But, at the time, it felt very threatening because I am a black man in his house. So he shakes my hand after Lizzie introduces me to her father and her mother. And he just bolts, you know? He leaves the room. He goes down the hallway. He comes back, and he's got the biggest damn revolver I've ever seen in my life. It's like a flaming scimitar to me.

MERAJI: (Laughter).

YOUNG: And he hands it to me. I'm looking at Lizzie. I'm looking at her mother, Nancy. And I'm going, does anybody else - does this resonate with anybody else? And, you know, I give it back to him, and I don't make a big deal out of it. I asked Lizzie later. I was like, what was that? Oh, he's very proud of it. He wants you to know that? And putting together that that was one of the first things that he had done as an act of friendship, as an act of, hi, nice to meet you, I want to get to know the man. And if this is the way to get to know the man, let's get started.

MERAJI: And then, you realize, oh, my God. In order to actually have this conversation, I need to know more about the subject. And you ended up buying - now, I'm trying to remember. You ended up buying your Glock first, right? And then, you went to shoot it? Is that how it worked?

YOUNG: I think you got the time frame correct. But what I actually tried to do first was just learn everything I could to know about guns without actually picking up a gun, which is how I came to understand and know that I wanted or needed a Glock - right? - as opposed to any other sort of pistol. And that is how we ended up going to the gun show.

MERAJI: Talk to me about the gun show. Tell me the story of you, RJ Young, being at the gun show with Charles Stafford (ph).

YOUNG: I grew up around baseball card shows. My dad sold baseball cards. I collect baseball cards. So I came to find out that going to a gun show was a lot like going to a trade show. But it was different for me because I had a very, very hard time finding someone who was not white at the world's largest gun show - which is in Tulsa, Okla. It's put on by Wanenmacher's. And we eventually find a gun that I like. And I'm willing to pay for it, but he is insistent³. He wants to buy me my first gun.

MERAJI: You're taking the gun that your father-in-law - or assumed to be father-in-law - bought for you, which was a Glock 26...

YOUNG: Right.

MERAJI: And you are at the gun range, and you're shooting it for the first time. I just want to know your feelings.

YOUNG: OK. We get all of our pistols out. He said, yeah. Just stick it in there, rack the slide, aim and, you know, hit the target. So I fire, and I miss almost everything. And he walks over to me, takes the gun out of my hand, turns it sideways and says, don't hold it like this. I mean, that was hurtful to me because I was already in a state of anxiety. I was already afraid of what this weapon can do. I was extremely reverent⁴, still extremely reverent about guns. I felt like he was really just turning the knife on me. You know what? To hell with this. I have to get better at this than anybody else on earth. I have to.

MERAJI: And then, you took that instruction and everything that you learned. And you decided⁵, OK, not only am I going to have my concealed⁶ carry license⁷. I'm going to take it one step further. I'm going to be an NRA pistol instructor, and I want to be certified.

YOUNG: Well, if I get this certification, nobody can tell me [expletive].

MERAJI: (Laughter).

YOUNG: Like, I get to pull this thing out of my wallet and say, OK, here are my credentials⁸.

MERAJI: You're really good at this. You could actually defend yourself with a gun, yet you choose not to. And I just - I am having a hard time understanding that.

YOUNG: Shereen, I'm a black man, and that carries lots of connotations. And I don't get to - let me put it another way. I am a black man who walked into the studio with a Lincoln High Jesus Shuttlesworth jersey⁹ on, jumper jeans and Air Force 270s. I wear dreads¹⁰. I have a beard. I do not get to say how people immediately receive me. But how people immediately receive me, it's like they might - downstairs at the front desk where, yo, messenger, go around to the dock or a gangbanger, you know? I'm the author. I'm the guy coming in to be interviewed. I'm not the guy picking up a package. I'm the guy going after a Ph.D. I'm the guy who wrote the book. I'm the guy who's not been to prison. I'm the guy who doesn't have any misdemeanors, felonies on his record. I'm the Eagle Scout¹¹. I have to say all these things to put people at ease. A gun ain't going to help that.

So I put it down, you know? It's locked up. But I have guns because I'm a black man, and they were taken away from me. And that is a history and a right that I don't get to forget. I don't get to act like that's not a big deal. But I also don't have to feed into the argument that I've got to carry a gun everywhere I go to be safe.

MERAJI: Well, RJ Young, thank you so much.

YOUNG: Thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about this.

1 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

2 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

3 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。

4 reverent   

adj.恭敬的，虔诚的

参考例句：

• He gave reverent attention to the teacher.他恭敬地听老师讲课。
• She said the word artist with a gentle,understanding,reverent smile.她说作家一词时面带高雅，理解和虔诚的微笑。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

7 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

8 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 dreads   

n.恐惧，畏惧( dread的名词复数 )；令人恐惧的事物v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The little boy dreads going to bed in the dark. 这孩子不敢在黑暗中睡觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A burnt child dreads the fire. [谚]烧伤过的孩子怕火（惊弓之鸟，格外胆小）。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。