Pity Black History Month UK, assailed on all sides(四面受敌). Those on the right seek to end the celebration on the basis that it amounts to special treatment for a group that doesn’t deserve it.(右翼人士想取消这一庆祝活动，理由是它等于给一个不配的群体特殊待遇。) History should be colour-blind(色盲的；不分肤色的): society should not differentiate, they say. We are not racist, we just want fairness. But often, they are – and they really don’t.
可怜英国的“黑人历史月”，四面受敌。右翼人士想取消这一庆祝活动，理由是它等于给一个不配的群体特殊待遇。他们说，历史应当色盲：社会不应区别对待。我们不是种族主义者，我们只是想要公平。但很多时候，他们就是种族主义者——而且他们根本不是想要公平。
On the other side of the argument are the progressives, notably minority progressives, who say the idea of a month to consider Black history is demeaning(贬低人的) because it should already have a year-round(全年的) place in our teaching and consciousness. There is a further view that any beneficial effect the month once had has been diluted by unimaginative repetition and commercially motivated virtue signalling.(还有一种观点认为，这个月曾经有过的任何有益效果，都已被缺乏想象力的重复和出于商业动机的“美德信号”所稀释。) Players taking the knee(单膝下跪) in the Premier League? Been there, done that(早就经历过了): yawn!
争论的另一边是进步派，尤其是少数族裔进步派。他们认为，专门设一个月来思考黑人历史，本身就是一种贬低，因为黑人历史本应全年贯穿于我们的教学和意识之中。还有一种观点认为，这个月曾经有过的任何有益效果，都已被缺乏想象力的重复和出于商业动机的“美德信号”所稀释。英超球员单膝下跪？早就见过了，无聊！
I have long taken the glass-half-full(半杯满的乐观态度) approach. The ideal would be for Black history to be incorporated into the social and educational culture – and perhaps one day it will be. But in the meantime, I’ll take a mandated(强制规定的), month-long focus on the Black contribution to the way our society has evolved. And it seems very necessary this year, when the very notion of belonging in Britain and other major western countries has been so under attack.(而在今年，这似乎非常必要——因为在英国和其他主要西方国家，“归属”这一概念本身正受到猛烈攻击。)
我一直采取“半杯满”的乐观态度。理想的情况是，黑人历史被纳入社会和教育文化之中——也许有一天会实现。但在此之前，我愿意接受强制性的、为期一个月的聚焦，关注黑人对我们社会演进方式的贡献。而在今年，这似乎非常必要——因为在英国和其他主要西方国家，“归属”这一概念本身正受到猛烈攻击。