TOPIC RECAP SHEET N°4 : US Protest movements, whistleblowers, post-truth Content/ Documents : Pictures : anti-trump protests Texts: 5 US protest movements Synthesis : truth and lies Translation : post-truth is elected word of the year Video: Pardon my Whistleblower : Chelsea Manning’s sentence commuted Audio : A trip back in time : Inauguration day Civilization / culture : all of the above
Picture(s) (description & meaning) Description : • JFK Airport (Trump Protest) : masses are gathered at JFK airport (NYC). They are demonstrating with placards. • March for science : A poster informs that a march for science is organized on April 22nd, 2017, on Earth Day • Women’s march : On January, 21st, women marched in Washington to make their voice heard. Meaning : Just after he took office, Donald Trump decided to reduce the budget for science during his term in office, a decision that scares many people. Furthermore, he banned people from 7 Muslim countries to come to the US. But Americans are demonstrating against these measures to let him know that even if he is the president, he has to listen to the citizens, they will not let him do what he wants.
Vocabulary English A misnomer To gather To storm The lack of To undergo change To spearhead
French Un abus de langage Se rassembler Prendre d’assaut L’absence de Subir des changements Mener
English Definitely not A Harbor To chuck/to throw To spur To grant The ‘fairer sex’
To lead (led-led) Peaceably/peacefully An outcry A rally Nearby Small-scale To bail out banks To avoid To date back (several years) Unlike Formerly
Être à la tête/mener Dans le calme Un cri de révolte Un rassemblement À proximité À petite echelle Renflouer les banques Éviter Remonter (à plusieurs années) Contrairement anciennement
Masses Nationwide Involvement Greed To craft a motto To gain momentum A column To matter To admit/acknowledge
French Pas du tout un port Jeter Être à l’origine de Accorder Les femmes / le ‘beau sexe’ Foules Dans tout le pays La participation La cupidité Inventer une devise Prendre de l’ampleur Une chronique Compter Admettre
To surrender Nonetheless
Se rendre Pourtant/néanmoins
A leak Free speech
Une fuite La liberté d’expression
To whistle A surveillance society
Civil liberties
Les libertés individuelles Réduire/bafouer Des informations (personnelles) Incarner Les effets durables
DNA database
To erode (Personal) details Embody The lasting effects
To monitor To record
Siffler Une société sous surveillance Une base de données ADN Surveiller Enregistrer
To brace Furthermore
Se préparer De plus
Recent events, historical & cultural references mentioned in the documents, questions raised by the topic, debates: (+ anything you think is necessary to add, personal knowledge and /or comments for example) -The Boston Tea Party – 1773: Inhabitants of the “future” US (colonies) destroyed a cargo of tea in order to fight against the tea tax (tea coming from India); it’s the beginning of the emancipation of the US from England. -Women’s suffrage – 1848/1920: Women asked for the right to vote with meetings and demonstrations; Congress ratified the 19th Amendment. -Civil Rights (March on Washington) – August 20th 1963: All minorities (but African Americans in particular) protested against segregation, 200 000 people were at the march (famous speech of MLK “I have a dream”); Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964: end of segregation. -Anti-war demonstrations (Vietnam war) – 1967/1975: People all around the world (not just students and hippies) protested against Vietnam war, 500 000 people marched on Washington in 1969; No effect on the president in 1969 but the movement didn’t stop until the end of the war in 1975. -Occupy Wall Street – September 2010: 99% of the US population were in financial difficulty, they were angry because government helped the remaining 1% (banks and wealthy people) more than them, in order to protest they occupied a park near Wall Street (Slogan: We are the 99%); the movement had a lasting effect on inequalities and distribution of wealth. -Chelsea Manning’s sentence commuted – 2010: Manning was charged of treason and espionage and was sentenced to 35 years, the longest punishment ever imposed for a leak conviction in the US. After spending 7 years in prison, Manning will be freed thanks to the commutation of her sentence by Barack Obama on May 17th 2010. -Protest against Trump – 2016/2017: Inauguration Day, The Women’s March (January 21st 2017), Airport protests, Oscar ceremony, March for Science.
Key expressions (grammar, syntax, translation difficulties) - Nul n’a eu plus d’importance que : None was more important than - Le plus grand rassemblement politique : The largest political rally - Elle a duré 6 ans de plus : It went on for 6 more years - D’ailleurs : by the way / besides / indeed - Son usage a progressé de 2.000% en un an : its use increased by 2.000% in a year - Bien plus grave : far more serious - Mettre le téléphone de quelqu’un sur écoute : to tap somebody’s phone - Faire entendre leur voix : to make their voice heard
mica ☺
