You may feel unsafe—even threatened—by my very existence.

你可能會對我的存在感到不安，甚至受威脅。

What is this power I possess?

是什麼讓我有這般能力？

It's called "free speech."

是「言論自由」。

While I knew it was always there, I recently discovered its true value.

雖然言論自由一直都在，我最近才發現它真正的價值。

Here is my story.

以下是我的故事。

It could easily be yours.

這也可能會發生在你身上。

I'm a journalist, an author, and a podcaster.

我是個記者、作者，也是個線上有聲節目作者。

I live in Portland, Oregon.

我住在奧勒岡的波特蘭。

My husband owns a few local coffee shops and small coffee roasting business called Ristretto Roasters.

我丈夫擁有幾間咖啡店與一個叫做 Roasters 的小型咖啡烘焙事業。

In December 2018, I started a YouTube podcast entitled #MeNeither.

2018 年十二月時，我在 YouTube 上開了一個線上有聲節目叫 #MeNeither。

The show's "about" page reads, "#MeNeither is an almost-weekly conversation about the cultural issues of the day, and an attempt to create a space where people can find ways to think out loud through uncomfortable topics."

節目的說明欄寫道：「#MeNeither 是個近乎每週播放的談話性節目，會談論日常的文化議題，意在創造一個能讓人們透過一些令人不自在的主題來發表想法的地方。」

One of those topics is the #MeToo movement and what I see as some of its excesses, including celebrities who exploit #MeToo for personal gain.

其中一個主題為 #MeToo 運動，而我看見其中有些名人為了個人利益而濫用了它。

Sexual assault and harassment are real, but the idea that any charge any woman—or man—brings must be believed without question…where's the logic in that?

性侵與性騷擾都是真實的，但若毫無疑問地相信每個女人或男人所提出的指控，邏輯何在？

I believe we are better off judging any claim of harassment, like any other claim, on its own merits.

我相信若我們依每個性騷擾案的個別特點來評論它們會更好。

This, I would learn, is not a popular position.

而這樣的觀點，並不受到歡迎。

It turned out, one of the people tuning in to my new show was a former employee of my husband's coffee business.

結果，我其中一個聽眾是我丈夫在咖啡事業的前員工。

She claimed my views were "vile, dangerous, and extremely misguided" and, in an email to the press, claimed my opinions created a "demoralizing and hostile environment for employees."

她宣稱我的觀點是﹔「可恥、危險且非常誤導人的」，而她在一封寄給媒體的電子郵件宣稱我的觀點會建立一個「使員工受挫且有敵意的環境。」

Why would the opinions of the wife of the boss demoralize an employee?

為什麼一個老闆的妻子要用自己的意見來讓一名員工受挫呢？

No one bothered to ask that question.

沒人想到要問這個問題。

That I appeared to be on the wrong side of the #MeToo debate was all people needed to know.

大家只在意我站在 #MeToo 辯論中錯誤的那邊。

By the time you could say "Twitter," a social media mob formed to say they would never spend another penny at my husband's business.

到時候人們就會在推特上說他們絕不會到我丈夫的店花任何一毛錢。

A college-age girl stormed into one of the cafes screaming, variously, that the baristas were in danger and that their working at the cafe posed a threat to the community.

一名約大學年紀的女生衝進咖啡廳大吼說店員有危險了，且在這間咖啡廳工作只會對社會造成危害。

Employees previously secure in their jobs grew jittery and quit.

原本堅守職位的員工也接續退縮辭職了。

One suggested that my husband sell the company and that I offer a public apology before it was too late.

有人建議我們在一切都太遲之前賣掉公司並公開道歉。

This all happened within the first 48 hours.

而這一切都發生在 48 小時之內。

As the outrage grew, local businesses that make up a big part of my husband's base cut and run.

隨著群眾憤怒上升，支持我丈夫大部分生意的當地供應商都不再合作了。

Wholesale customers cancelled large accounts, afraid they'd be caught in the #MeToo crossfire.

批發商顧客也取消了大量訂單，怕自己會被捲入 #MeToo 的戰火中。

Staff now worried that they'd lose their jobs and health insurance if Ristretto were forced to close; that I—a person with whom they'd heretofore had a perfectly congenial relationship—might, in fact, be a secret monster, a rape culture apologist.

員工們擔心若 Ristretto 被迫要收店，他們就會失去工作與健保；而先前與員工們相處融洽的我，可能其實是個秘密怪物，一個強暴文化的辯護者。

Many of those who claimed to have been offended had not seen the podcast.

許多宣稱被冒犯的人根本沒有收看過我的節目。

One woman wrote, "I clicked, down-voted, then reported on YouTube that it violates community guidelines: hateful…

一個女人評論：「我點擊進去，按噓然後向 Youtube 檢舉這節目違反社群規範的仇恨言論......

I didn't listen, but it's one way to make that [expletive] go away."

我沒聽內容，但這是個讓那 *消音* 東西消失的方法。」

This kind of uninformed, virtual attack strikes me as childish—the behavior of a toddler whose tantrum brings a dinner party to a halt until it's placated with the attention it seeks.

這種虛擬無知而幼稚的攻擊對我來說就像個耍脾氣的嬰兒行為，打斷晚餐的進行只為了得到關注。

I invited my critics to speak with me—the whole point of #MeNeither is to provoke discussion.

我邀請了評論家來與我對談，整個 #MeNeither 的意義就是要引起討論。

No one took me up on my offer.

但沒人領情。

It was evidently easier for so-called feminists to tell my husband to leave his wife or lose his business.

對所謂的女性主義者而言，叫我丈夫離開妻子、放棄事業簡單多了。

For some random dude on Facebook to send me the message, "You are scum. Rot in hell you dirty..."—just use your imagination—than to honestly confront me.

某個在 Facebook 的陌生男子寧願傳「妳是垃圾，下地獄吧妳這髒......(自己發揮想像力)」也不願正面與我對談。

I can't help but think that those who engage in this kind of behavior are steering themselves into perpetually unhappy waters, that they live in fear that everyone and everything is out to get them, so therefore they must strike first.

我忍不住想會做出這些行為的人是在將自己引至一池汙水，他們活在恐懼裡，覺得所有人事物都想傷害他們，所以只好先發制人。

Or are they addicted to the feeling that what they are doing is righteous?

或者，他們沉迷於一種行俠仗義的感覺中？

Not considering intolerance in the name of tolerance is a frightening contradiction and solves nothing.

以無法容忍的名義而不去考慮別人是否容忍是很矛盾且無法解決事情的。

Or maybe they think they are making progress.

或許他們認為已取得進展？

But if this is progress, one might reasonably ask, for whom?

但若這叫進展，問題是，對誰而言呢？

And to what end?

又有什麼好處？

It's also contrary to what is most fundamental to America: that every citizen has the equal right to voice his or her opinion, and to express these opinions in a public forum.

這與美國最基本保障的東西也恰恰相反：每個人民都有相等的權力可以為自己發聲，並公開發表言論。

My story is one of many, another cautionary tale for those who get pulled into the culture wars.

我的故事只是許多故事中的其中一個，又一個給那些身陷文化戰爭的人們的警世寓言。

I understand why most people want to stay out of it.

我明白為何多數人想要遠離這些是非。

It's scary to fight for liberty and against a mob.

挺身對抗暴民與爭取自由是令人惶恐的。

The whole thing is exhausting.

這整件事都很累人。

I have repeatedly been asked, usually in "you should have known better" tones, if I am going to stop having nuanced conversations about sensitive subjects.

一直有人問我，通常是以「妳早該知道」的語氣來問，我是否會停止對這些敏感的議題做出評論。

The answer is absolutely not.

答案是當然不會。

And if that makes you feel unsafe?

如果這讓你感到不安？

Too bad.

太糟了。

I'm Nancy Rommelmann, journalist and author, for Prager University.

我是 Nancy Rommelmann，普拉格大學的記者與作者。

Thank you for watching this video, to help keep PragerU videos free, please consider making a tax-deductible donation.

感謝收看，若想讓普拉格大學的影片維持免費，請考慮可減稅的捐款。