Poster "dismissing servant" found this and posted about it here but I think it deserves its own thread.
Here's the video (scroll down to #22). I don't know much ASL and there are no captions, but it does look like he's making a rude gesture for sure. Can anyone confirm?
After the obvious hilarities, honestly I think this is one of their most epic lapses in judgement and clear evidence of them being a destructive cult.
As I was pointing out to my non-jw husband (who is no prude but called the video "vulgar")...normal churches have a homily on Jesus' love or something like that. jws have lectures on the evilness of touching your own body, which they call "self abuse", in mixed company with children present.
I find it disturbing they subject kids to inappropriate subjects like this. I recall not understanding what self abuse was for a long time, putting the pieces together and thinking it meant boys cutting their penises with knives. (I suppose if I saw it in ASL I might have caught on earlier. lol) It was really upsetting to a young child--especially one who lived such a sheltered life as dubs do.
I remember a friend of mine being publicly reproved, maybe when I was 12, and the rumor was it was due to self abuse. And I was wondering why he would do such a sick thing to himself--for what reason? Must be the demons, I thought.
And why people would tell a child (and the whole congregation) her friend did this...beyond sick.