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布克·T·华盛顿:力争上游·摘录 256

布克·T·华盛顿《力争上游》· Up from Slavery · 领导

I do not believe that any state should make a law that permits an ignorant and poverty-stricken white man to vote, and prevents a black man in the same condition from voting. Such a law is not only unjust, but it will react, as all unjust laws do, in time; for the effect of such a law is to encourage the Negro to secure education and property, and at the same time it encourages the white man to remain in ignorance and poverty. I believe that in time, through the operation of intelligence and friendly race relations, all cheating at the ballot-box in the South will cease. It will become apparent that the white man who begins by cheating a Negro out of his ballot soon learns to cheat a white man out of his, and that the man who does this ends his career of dishonesty by the theft of property or by some equally serious crime. In my opinion, the time will come when the South will encourage all of its citizens to vote. It will see that it pays better, from every standpoint, to have healthy, vigorous life than to have that political stagnation which always results when one-half of the population has no share and no interest in the Government.

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2376
定位:Excerpt 256 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

华盛顿反对任何州立法让无知贫穷的白人能投票,却把同样境况的黑人拒之门外。他认为这种法律不公正,而且像所有不公正的法律一样,迟早会反噬:它实际上鼓励黑人去争取教育和财产,却让白人安于无知和贫穷。他相信随着智识增长和种族关系改善,南方投票箱前的舞弊会停止;因为开始靠剥夺黑人选票作弊的人,很快也会剥夺白人的选票,最终走向盗窃财产等重罪。他预言南方终会鼓励所有公民投票,因为让一半人口对政府毫无参与和兴趣,只会造成政治停滞,而健康有活力的生活从各方面看都更划算。

上下文

这段话出自华盛顿自传中讨论南方种族与政治的部分,当时南方各州正通过识字测试、人头税等手段剥夺黑人投票权。

今日一问

我是否意识到,一项看似只针对别人的不公规则,最终也会反噬到我自己身上?

公版作品;原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg,仅摘录段落并附全书链接。

本文本为公版;底本与原文链接见上。 版权

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