日英バイリンガル通信 No. ４１ Hiroshi Matsuoka 松 岡 博 ASSASINATION TRAUMA
One of the most shocking news in my life is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which took place on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. On this very day, the first satellite broadcast between the United States and Japan just started. What the Japanese people saw on the TV screen was the news of the assassination. I saw the news and was shocked. It was the beginning of my trauma.
Kennedy was elected president in January 1961. I became a university freshman in April in the same year. I belonged to the International Student Association and had a chance to listen to his inaugural address. A Canadian teacher used a chorus version of his speech in his English class. The students had to memorize it. I bought a record of his speech and listened to it repeatedly. I still remember the beginning of his speech. “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning….” This way, Kennedy’s Boston accent, his square face, his side-parted hair, his posture possessed me so deeply that his assassination was very shocking.
Then, a series of shocking news followed: Ted Kennedy’s involvement in a plane crash in 1964, the assassinations of Malcolm X in 1965, and Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy in 1968. Presidents and political leaders were targets of assassination. Since then when I saw them unprotected, I sometimes felt scared. The trauma lasted for several years, but over the years I have almost forgotten them.
However, when the new president Barack Obama and his wife got out of the limousine and began to walk waving their hands, a slight trauma overwhelmed me. I was afraid, “Isn’t it dangerous to walk unprotected? Some assassin, a member of the KKK, might be fingering a trigger at this very moment aiming at him from the top of a building.” The president was unharmed, but I realized that my assassination trauma has not been totally cured.
One of the most shocking news in my life is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which took place on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. On this very day, the first satellite broadcast between the United States and Japan just started. What the Japanese people saw on the TV screen was the news of the assassination. I saw the news and was shocked. It was the beginning of my trauma.
Kennedy was elected president in January 1961. I became a university freshman in April in the same year. I belonged to the International Student Association and had a chance to listen to his inaugural address. A Canadian teacher used a chorus version of his speech in his English class. The students had to memorize it. I bought a record of his speech and listened to it repeatedly. I still remember the beginning of his speech. “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning….” This way, Kennedy’s Boston accent, his square face, his side-parted hair, his posture possessed me so deeply that his assassination was very shocking.
Then, a series of shocking news followed: Ted Kennedy’s involvement in a plane crash in 1964, the assassinations of Malcolm X in 1965, and Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy in 1968. Presidents and political leaders were targets of assassination. Since then when I saw them unprotected, I sometimes felt scared. The trauma lasted for several years, but over the years I have almost forgotten them.
However, when the new president Barack Obama and his wife got out of the limousine and began to walk waving their hands, a slight trauma overwhelmed me. I was afraid, “Isn’t it dangerous to walk unprotected? Some assassin, a member of the KKK, might be fingering a trigger at this very moment aiming at him from the top of a building.” The president was unharmed, but I realized that my assassination trauma has not been totally cured.
the very moment
the sniper pinpointed the target
AHCHOO!
(It was freezing cold on that day, wasn’t it?)
the sniper pinpointed the target
AHCHOO!
(It was freezing cold on that day, wasn’t it?)
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暗殺トラウマ
今までで一番ショックだった事は1963年11月22日に起きたケネディ大統領の暗殺だ。丁度この日に日米間最初の衛星放送が開始され、テレビに映った映像はなんとケネディ暗殺事件だった。私はニュースを見て大変なショックを受けた。これがトラウマの始まりだ。
ケネディは1961年１月に大統領に就任し、私は同じ年の4月に大学１年生となった。私は大学で国際学生協会に属し、ケネディの就任演説を聞く機会があった。英語の授業では、カナダ人の先生が就任演説をコーラス風にアレンジしたものを教材に使い、学生は演説を暗唱させられた。私は演説のレコードを買い、何度も聞いたため、今でも演説の出だしを覚えている。「今日、我々は党の勝利ではなく、自由の祭典を祝っています。これは終結と同時に始まりを象徴しているのです…」このように、ケネディのボストンなまり、四角張った顔、7・3に分けた髪型、身体の姿勢が私を強く捉えたため、彼の暗殺は大変ショックだった。
その後、1964年のテッド・ケネディの飛行機墜落事故、1965年のマルコムXの暗殺、1968年のキング牧師とロバート・ケネディの暗殺などショッキングなニュースが続いた。大統領や政治的指導者が暗殺の標的になった。以来、私は無防備な要人を見ると、時々怖くなった。このトラウマは数年続いたが、年を経てしだいに忘れていった。
しかし、オバマ新大統領と夫人がリムジンを降り、手を振って歩き始めたとき「危ないんじゃないか、まさにこの瞬間ビルの上から暗殺者かKKKの一員が拳銃の引き金に指をかけているのでは」と思った。大統領は無事だったが、私の暗殺トラウマがまだ全治してないことが分かった。
今までで一番ショックだった事は1963年11月22日に起きたケネディ大統領の暗殺だ。丁度この日に日米間最初の衛星放送が開始され、テレビに映った映像はなんとケネディ暗殺事件だった。私はニュースを見て大変なショックを受けた。これがトラウマの始まりだ。
ケネディは1961年１月に大統領に就任し、私は同じ年の4月に大学１年生となった。私は大学で国際学生協会に属し、ケネディの就任演説を聞く機会があった。英語の授業では、カナダ人の先生が就任演説をコーラス風にアレンジしたものを教材に使い、学生は演説を暗唱させられた。私は演説のレコードを買い、何度も聞いたため、今でも演説の出だしを覚えている。「今日、我々は党の勝利ではなく、自由の祭典を祝っています。これは終結と同時に始まりを象徴しているのです…」このように、ケネディのボストンなまり、四角張った顔、7・3に分けた髪型、身体の姿勢が私を強く捉えたため、彼の暗殺は大変ショックだった。
その後、1964年のテッド・ケネディの飛行機墜落事故、1965年のマルコムXの暗殺、1968年のキング牧師とロバート・ケネディの暗殺などショッキングなニュースが続いた。大統領や政治的指導者が暗殺の標的になった。以来、私は無防備な要人を見ると、時々怖くなった。このトラウマは数年続いたが、年を経てしだいに忘れていった。
しかし、オバマ新大統領と夫人がリムジンを降り、手を振って歩き始めたとき「危ないんじゃないか、まさにこの瞬間ビルの上から暗殺者かKKKの一員が拳銃の引き金に指をかけているのでは」と思った。大統領は無事だったが、私の暗殺トラウマがまだ全治してないことが分かった。
スナイパー 狙撃の瞬間 ハックション
(なにしろ、あの日は寒かったからねぇ）
Matsuoka-sensei,
ReplyDeleteYes, I did feel the exact same thing when I saw Obama get out of the limousine and start walking during the parade, particularly because it was reported that that had not been part of the plan of the parade. I do hope our assassination concern won't come true...
By the way, I am hosting a forum on March 1 about English Education at the university level. (I might have told you about that on the phone.) You can find details at the following URL. Please do come if you have time.
http://www.seto.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ps/nepas/gp/forum_200903.html
Charlie,
ReplyDelete現代GPのサイト見ました。昔の南山大学の英語教育内容と全く異なり、実践的な英語量区の養成に力を入れている姿勢がうかがわれ、感心しました。今の学生がうらやましい。3月1日、出席予定です。Good Luck!
松岡