F ormer US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was invited to speak at a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee last week. Unruly protesters interrupted the meeting by calling Kissinger a war criminal for his role in the secret bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War. As chairman of the committee, McCain had the guts to take tough action against the protesters. He ordered the police to remove the protesters and said to them: “Get out of here, you low-life scum.” I was a journalist in Washington DC for six years and attended many committee meetings of the Congress but had never heard any committee chairman use such strong language.
The word “scum”, as I explained in a previous column, is the layer of dirt that forms on the surface of liquids, such as gutter water that is not moving. The slang American expression “low-life” is used to refer to bad people, such as criminals, alcoholics, and people who sell drugs. If you combine the word “scum” with “low-life”, it becomes a very strong expression that can be used to rudely insult people. Tsang Yok-sing should translate “low-life scum” into a Cantonese slang expression which he should use to scold unruly protesters in Legco. Does he have the guts to do that?
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立法會主席曾鈺成大可從美國參議員約翰．麥凱恩那裡學習，如何強硬對待那些難以駕馭（unruly）的示威者。麥凱恩是美國國會參議院軍事委員會主席，他於上星期的委員會會議期間，處理那些難以控制的（unruly）示威者時，就展現出無比的勇氣（guts）。相對於麥凱恩，曾鈺成面對粗暴的（unruly）示威者時，就顯得甚怯懦（gutless）了。像長毛梁國雄與陳偉業的泛民派，常常以粗暴的（unruly）示威打斷立法會會議，尤其是當特首梁振英出席立法會時。身為立法會主席，當立法會議員向特首扔擲物件或粗暴喝罵時，曾鈺成好應有膽量（guts）像麥凱恩般強硬，但他處理這樣的示威時，卻相當膽怯而非強硬了。
前國務卿亨利．基辛格獲邀於上周的參議院軍事委員會上演說。難以駕馭（unruly）的示威者中斷會議，罵基辛格是戰爭罪犯，因為他在越戰時期秘密轟炸柬埔寨。身為委員會主席，麥凱恩有膽量（guts）對示威者採取強硬行動。他命警察驅趕示威者，並對他們說：「滾出去，你們這些低級人渣（low-life scum）！」我曾於華盛頓擔任新聞工作者六年，出席過大大小小的國會委員會會議，卻從未聽見任何一位委員會主席用過這樣強烈的措詞。
正如我在以前的專欄中解釋過，scum是液體表面的一層浮渣，例如在靜止不動的排水溝之上。美式俚語low-life尤指壞人，例如罪犯、酗酒的人和毒販。當你將scum和low-life合併，便組成了一個語氣很強硬的習語，用以粗暴地侮辱人。曾鈺成好應將low-life scum譯成廣東話俚語，用來責罵立法會上難以駕馭的（unruly）示威者。不知他又可有膽量（guts）照做？
mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=318757§ion_name=wtt&kw=126