Zachary R. Wood: Why it's worth listening to people you disagree with
Zachary R. Wood: Por que vale a pena ouvir as pessoas das quais discordamos
As the head of a student group called Uncomfortable Learning, Zachary R. Wood made a point of engaging in conversation with people he disagreed with. Full bio
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coauthored "The Bell Curve,"
escreveram "The Bell Curve",
and more likely to succeed than others.
mais chances de sucesso do que outras.
explains the prominence of violent crime
a notoriedade de crimes violentos
are not the only people who think this.
não são os únicos que pensam assim.
commentator named John Derbyshire
político chamado John Derbyshire
a non-black version of the talk
uma versão não negra da palestra
they have to give their kids today:
que devem dar a seus filhos hoje:
likely to draw a lot of blacks,"
que atraem muitos negros",
predominantemente negros"
to blacks in distress."
para negros em sofrimento".
I invited John Derbyshire
convidei John Derbyshire,
be giving them a platform and attention
dando espaço e atenção
throughout my life.
desagradável ao longo de minha vida.
was diagnosed with schizophrenia,
foi diagnosticada com esquizofrenia,
by mood swings and paranoid delusions.
mudanças de humor e delírios paranoicos.
would turn our small house
a fúria de minha mãe
em um campo minado.
her rage on a daily basis,
a fúria dela todos os dias,
and challenging,
era complicado e desafiador,
that I needed to live apart from her.
que precisava viver longe dela.
some of the important lessons
que minha mãe me ensinou sobre a vida.
about learning from the other side.
sobre aprender de um outro ponto de vista.
liberal democrats.
liberais dedicados.
and the issues our world faces
e as questões enfrentadas por ele
and ever-changing.
com a expressão "política de cotas"
the phrase "affirmative action"
o significado dessa expressão,
and thoughtful explanation
completa e precavida
at least as interesting
pelo menos tão interessante
de meus professores fariam.
why people of various political views
pessoas de visões políticas diferentes
supported it herself,
ela mesma a apoia firmemente,
as a controversial one
ver o assunto como polêmico
the presence of minorities
pode aumentar a presença de minorias
hardworking people of different races
em desvantagem pessoas trabalhadoras
just write off opinions
apenas descartar as opiniões
to learn from the perspectives of others,
segundo a perspectiva dos outros,
possa parecer difícil.
that has been formative and uncomfortable.
que tem sido formativo e desagradável.
that I should attend a private school
frequentar uma escola particular
the best education possible.
predominantly white private schools,
particulares predominantemente brancas,
that reflected racial stereotypes.
que refletiam estereótipos raciais.
assumed within minutes of meeting me
pouco tempo depois de me conhecer,
era jogar basquete.
que minha etnia dificultava a eles
that my race made it harder for them
reading, writing and speaking.
que adorava ler, escrever e falar.
to work tirelessly
a trabalhar incansavelmente
people had assumed.
que as pessoas assumiam.
in order to put my best foot forward,
para tentar causar uma boa impressão,
and excruciatingly well-mannered.
e extremamente educado.
I had to show poise and confidence,
tinha que mostrar equilíbrio e confiança
and listen closely.
e de escutar com atenção.
that I deserved to be there
que eu merecia estar lá, assim como eles.
and the discomfort I often felt,
e do incômodo que eu sentia,
of being at an elite private school
de estar em uma escola particular de elite
to explore my curiosity,
a explorar minha curiosidade,
of subjects that fascinated me the most.
sobre os assuntos que mais me fascinavam.
meu impulso intelectual
drive and interest in the world of ideas
para o próximo nível.
with peers and professors
de debates ativos com colegas, professores
a deeper understanding of myself
de mim mesmo e dos outros.
peers and professors
interessados pelos mesmos assuntos,
in doing the same thing,
was also met with resistance.
difíceis também encontrou resistência.
with controversy in the real world,
com controvérsia no mundo real,
controversial speakers to campus.
palestrantes polêmicos para o campus.
opposed this group,
violentamente a esse grupo,
and my administration.
e da administração.
speakers to campus could be valuable,
polêmicos para o campus
facing personal attacks,
encarar ataques pessoais,
cancelando os palestrantes
distorted by those around me.
distorcidas por aqueles ao meu redor.
os sentimentos de muitas pessoas,
controversial speakers
de escutar palestrantes polêmicos
a war against men
tornou-se uma guerra contra os homens,
mais baixo do que o dos brancos.
traumatic experiences in their lives.
por experiências traumáticas na vida.
pontos de vista ofensivos
that they've worked so hard to overcome.
que trabalharam tanto para superar.
these people a platform,
dando espaço a essas pessoas,
I listen to these points of view
que escuto esses pontos de vista
opostos não os fazem desaparecer,
doesn't make them go away,
concordam com eles.
agree with them.
the potential of society
de avanço da sociedade,
and offensive ideas,
polêmicas e ofensivas,
um denominador comum,
they may attract or indoctrinate.
que eles podem atrair ou doutrinar.
that we may reach a better understanding,
creio que podemos alcançar
de nossas próprias crenças
to solve problems,
de resolver problemas,
se não conversarmos uns com os outros
if we don't talk to each other
para sermos bons ouvintes.
daria uma palestra no campus,
would be speaking on campus,
eclodiu na mídia social.
in fact, was so intense,
era de fato tão intensa,
rescinded the invitation.
because, as I saw it,
porque, como eu percebia,
that any of my peers or I could do
ou que eu pudéssemos fazer
que concordava com ele
of our future employers.
de nossos futuros empregadores.
on college campuses,
no campus da faculdade
is that it's worth the discomfort,
que vale a pena o desconforto,
not weaker, because of it.
não mais fracos, por causa disso.
with uncomfortable learning,
com aprendizagem desagradável,
to change the values
mudar os valores
that I've been a part of.
da qual faço parte.
interactions that I've been able to have
individuais que podemos ter
the work that I'm doing
e se sentem desafiados por ele
and who do not support it.
mudar os valores de uma comunidade,
the values of a community,
from individual interactions.
com as interações individuais.
with John Derbyshire
me envolver com John Derbyshire
do convite pelo reitor,
with Charles Murray before his talk.
antes da palestra dele.
would be difficult.
a deeper understanding of his arguments.
entendimento dos argumentos dele.
believed in creating a more just society.
na criação de uma sociedade mais justa.
of what justice entailed
do que a justiça exigia
to understand the issue,
e abordar o assunto da desigualdade
to approach the issue of inequality
of issues like welfare
social e política de cotas
libertarian and conservative beliefs,
crenças liberais e conservadoras,
their presence in our society.
a presença delas em nossa sociedade.
his viewpoints eloquently,
de vista de forma eloquente,
with a deeper understanding.
in the face of adversity,
perante a adversidade,
understanding of humanity.
mais profundo da humanidade.
com a profundidade das visões
the depths of the views
profundamente,
of everyone they're representing.
de todos aqueles que eles representam.
involving constant learning,
envolvendo um constante aprendizado,
to add value down the line
de acrescentar valor no futuro
and understanding
empatia e entendimento
com perspectivas não familiares.
with unfamiliar perspectives.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Zachary R. Wood - Crusader for dialogueAs the head of a student group called Uncomfortable Learning, Zachary R. Wood made a point of engaging in conversation with people he disagreed with.
Why you should listen
Zachary R. Wood wants to encourage open conversations about hard topics. He is a Robert L. Bartley Fellow at The Wall Street Journal and a class of 2018 graduate of Williams College, where he served as president of Uncomfortable Learning, a student group that sparked national controversy for inviting provocative speakers to campus, from John Derbyshire to Charles Murray. Wood's defense of such conversations led him to give Senate testimony in the summer of 2017.
His recent writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Times Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Jet and SLAM Magazine. In 2018, he'll publish Uncensored, a book that tells his own personal story to enrich and deepen his work as an advocate for difficult conversations. You can reach him at zachwood2448@gmail.com.
Zachary R. Wood | Speaker | TED.com