So what opened my eyes? One of my first experiences that challenged this way of thinking was during the 2000 presidential elections. Through a college prep program, I was able to take part in the National Youth Convention in Philadelphia. My particular group\'s focus was on youth violence, and having been the victim of bullying for most of my life, this was a subject in which I felt particularly passionate. The members of our group came from many different walks of life. One day toward the end of the convention, I found out that one of the kids I had befriended was Jewish. Now, it had taken several days for this detail to come to light, and I realized that there was no natural animosity between the two of us. I had never had a Jewish friend before, and frankly I felt a sense of pride in having been able to overcome a barrier that for most of my life I had been led to believe was insurmountable. Another major turning point came when I found a summer job at Busch Gardens, an amusement park. There, I was exposed to people from all sorts of faiths and cultures, and that experience proved to be fundamental to the development of my character. Most of my life, I\'d been taught that homosexuality was a sin, and by extension, that all gay people were a negative influence. As chance would have it, I had the opportunity to work with some of the gay performers at a show there, and soon found that many were the kindest, least judgmental people I had ever met. Being bullied as a kid created a sense of empathy in me toward the suffering of others, and it comes very unnaturally to me to treat people who are kind in any other way than how I would want to be treated. Because of that feeling, I was able to contrast the stereotypes I\'d been taught as a child with real life experience and interaction. I don\'t know what it\'s like to be gay, but I\'m well acquainted with being judged for something that\'s beyond my control.
什么让我开了眼界呢？ 某次经历 挑战了我思考的方式 发生于 2000 年美国总统竞选期间。 在预科期间， 我参与了 在费城举办的全国青年大会。 我这组的话题是关于青少年暴力， 作为倍受欺负的受害者， 这个话题我很感兴趣。 组员都有着不同的生活轨迹。 大会临近结束的某天， 我发现我的某个朋友 是犹太
人。 我也是过了几天 才知晓这件事情， 我认识到，我们之间 并没有与生俱来的仇恨。 我从未有过犹太朋友， 坦白地说，我为此感到骄傲， 能够跨越 我人生绝大部分时间 认为是不可能逾越的障碍。 另一个转折点是， 某年暑假，我在布希花园 这个主题乐园打工。 我见识到有着不同信仰， 来自不同文化的人们， 这样的经验 对我的人格发展 是至关重要的。 因为在过去的日子， 我接收到的教育是， 同性恋是罪恶的， 据此推断， 所有的同性恋者都有着 消极的影响。 在我打暑期工的时间里， 我有机会和同性恋演员 一起合作， 我很快发现，很多同性恋者 是我所见过最善良， 最自由开放尊重他人的人。 在儿童时期被欺负的经历 教给我要对他人的遭遇 感到同情和怜悯， 对我来说， 我会善待那些 对我好的人。 因为这样的感受，我能够 用真实生活和交际经历来 抵挡从孩童时期就被灌输的成见。 我不知道作为同性恋者的感受， 但我熟知那种被 无法掌控的事物所评断的感受。
Then there was honest with myself about my own bigotry and helped me to realize that a person\'s race, religion or sexual orientation had nothing to do with the quality of one\'s character. He was in many ways a father figure to me when I was in desperate need of one. Inspiration can often come from an unexpected place, and the fact that a Jewish comedian had done more to positively influence my worldview than my own extremist father is not lost on me.
接着，有个“每日秀”的节目出现了。 每一晚，乔恩·斯图尔特催促我 诚实面对自己的偏见， 帮助我认识到一个人的种族， 信仰和性取向 对这个人的人格没有任何关系。 某种程度上说， 每当我迫切需要一个父亲的时候， 他就在那里。 鼓舞人心之事 往往来自你无法预知的地方， 事实上，一个犹太裔喜剧明星 积极地影响我的世界观， 比我那极端的亲生父亲 多得多。
One day, I had a conversation with my mother about how my worldview was starting to change, and she said something to me that I will hold dear to my heart for as long as I live. She looked at me with the weary eyes of someone who had experienced enough dogmatism to last a lifetime,
and said, to hold that hatred inside of you.
某天，我和母亲谈到 我的世界观正在改变， 她对我说， 我将在生命里 一直带着尊重的心。 她用疲倦的眼神看着我， 她受够了 被教条主义侵占的人生， 说到：“我不愿憎恨他人了。” 瞬间，我意识到，在内心里承受憎恨 需要多么巨大的负能量。
Zak Ebrahim is not my real name. I changed it when my family decided to end our connection with my father and start a new life. So why would I out myself and potentially put myself in danger? Well, that\'s simple. I do it in the hopes that perhaps someone someday who is compelled to use violence may hear my story and realize that there is a better way, that although I had been subjected to this violent, intolerant ideology, that I did not become fanaticized. Instead, I choose to use my experience to fight back against terrorism, against the bigotry. I do it for the victims of terrorism and their loved ones, for the terrible pain and loss that terrorism has forced upon their lives. For the victims of terrorism, I will speak out against these senseless acts and condemn my father\'s actions. And with that simple fact, I stand here as proof that violence isn\'t inherent in one\'s religion or race, and the son does not have to follow the ways of his father. I am not my father.
