'Imitation Game' is right: UK
Updated 1401 GMT (2201 HKT) February 23, 2015
Alan
Turing, portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film "The Imitation Game" by
Benedict Cumberbatch, was one of many convicted under the UK's anti-gay laws.
(CNN)A couple of weeks
ago, the rally cry that had been bubbling in the wake of "The Imitation
Game" suddenly grew louder. Matt Breen, editor-in-chief of The Advocate
and one of the most impassioned, trustworthy voices out there when it comes to
politics and civil liberties, started a petition. Visit Pardon49k.organd you'll see that
it's gathered more than 272,000 signatures already and counting.
Its call to action: a plea to the British government to grant pardons to the estimated
49,000 men who were convicted under the UK's anti-gay laws, just as Alan Turing
-- the computer scientist and World War II codebreaker -- was in the 1950s.
Truth
be told, most apologies given would be posthumous like the one Turing received from Gordon Brown and
Queen Elizabeth II a
few years back. But to ignore the injustice they all suffered just because
they're not there to hear us is to ignore history, do further injustice to
their families, and that's something we quite simply cannot do.
Hearing
of the overwhelming response that Matt's petition was receiving, outspoken gay
actor/comedian Stephen Fry echoed the sentiment at a London
Members of Turing's family and the movie's cast joined
Fry in drafting an open letter to Britain's political leaders, including David
Cameron, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge -- insisting that those
men deserved to have the stains of criminal conviction removed from their
names.
Benedict
Cumberbatch, who so exquisitely
plays Turing in the movie, said it best perhaps: "Alan Turing was not only prosecuted, but quite
arguably persuaded to end his own life early, by a society who called him a
criminal for simply seeking out the love he deserved, as all human beings do.
Sixty years later, that same government claimed to "forgive" him by
pardoning him. I find this deplorable,
because Turing's actions did not warrant forgiveness -- theirs did -- and the
49,000 other prosecuted men deserve the same."
Indeed,
part of what makes telling Turing's story so important is that thousands like
him experienced the same cruelty as he did, enduring relentless discrimination
simply for attempting to live complete, fulfilled lives.
I've
been a huge supporter of "The Imitation Game" from before its premiere and see it as
this year's best film because, as I said, it so poignantly reminds us that we cannot ignore
history.
In
minority communities like ours, we look to stories of legendary role models
like Turing or Harvey Milk for inspiration. Instead of relying on oral
traditions from family or friends, we must look to historians, artists, authors
and moviemakers to help ensure that we remember where we came from. The heroes
of our movement, alive or dead, are there to remind us of what we still need to
strive towards.
Turing's
many achievements should have earned him royal accolades in the UK Atlantic .
The
work he did helped to defeat the spread of fascism, and yet in return, the government took
away his freedom. His persecution at the hands of their laws ended his life
with pain and suffering. That same injustice was shared by close to 50,000 of
our LGBT forebears, who selflessly accomplished feats that benefit us still
today.
"The
Imitation Game" and efforts inspired by it, like Matt's petition,
guarantee that Turing and men like him won't ever be forgotten.
Structure:
Who: Alan Turing & the estimated
49,000 men who were convicted under the UK
What: British should give them pardons
How: not given
Where: UK
When: not given
Key
words:
1.
petition: 請願
2.
plea
:懇求，請願
3.
pardon:
赦免
4.
posthumous:
死後的
5.
exquisitely:
精巧地
6.
deplorable:可嘆的，悲慘的
7.
premiere:
初次公演
8.
poignantly:
痛切地
9.
accolade:爵位的授與
10.
fascism:法西斯國家主義(極端的國家主義)
