JW's and the Vietnamese...

by james_woods 6 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  james_woods

  This got inspired by some private conversations over the past few days...and because my life companion and her kids are Vietnamese.

  I had witnesses specifically call at our door a while back; they were an older Vietnamese man and a young teenage girl. The girl asks me if someone in the house speaks Vietnamese - I assumed that they were just Mai's friends from the local Vietnamese community.

  They were in fact JW's. They were not going door to door - they had specifically targeted us and drove right up to our house. We think they found us because Mai's kids had an upstairs phone with their Vietnamese last name and showing a street address. It is fore shore gone now, of course. Mai does not know very much about my 30 years ago religious horror, so I had to explain to her who these morons were and why we needed to steer clear of them. (She got kind of pissed off at me at first because I sent them packing when I saw the magazines...the Vietnamese are very polite as a general custom.) She could have easily talked to them and let them influence her if I had not been home.

  A friend recently told me that in fact this is common practice - they are specifically targeting Viet immigrants, especially ones who have limited English and probably with low education levels. They do in fact hunt through the phone listings for Tran, Nguyen, etc...also, if a Vietnamese family is found in ordinary door-to-door they are immediately passed on to the Vietnamese speaking hit team.

  Well, needless to say, I think this just sucks. And, I am going to do something about it. Mai has extended family and friends in San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, LA, Oklahoma City, and Boston. They are a politically influencial family in their community. I am personally going to let all of them know who these fanatics are and try to get a warning out to innocent new Vietnamese citizens that they are being viewed as easy pickings for these predators. It might not hurt to compose a letter in the language to pass around - and I am looking to see if something can be published in their ethnic news papers.

  If anyone is with me on this, give us a post if there are any better ideas on the subject...

  James
• 

  blondie

  The WTS uses this technique for all language groups including the deaf community. Even if they show no interest, they will use this to make up a "territory" card even if the person indicates no interest in JWs.

  ***

  km 9/99 p. 2 Announcements ***

  When in the ministry, you may meet a person who is deaf. If there is a sign language group or congregation functioning in your area, you should follow the direction provided in the Society’s October 15, 1998, letter to all congregations in the United States. It explains: "The Please Follow Up form will be used to make a note of people, whether in your congregation’s territory or not, who speak another language, including sign language. Generally, it should be used for this purpose even if the individual does not show interest in the Kingdom message. . . . After filling out the Please Follow Up form, it should be given directly to the congregation secretary or placed in the box for field service reports at the Kingdom Hall." With each publisher being alert to cooperate in this way, sign language congregations will be able to compile a list of deaf people located in their area.
• 

  Elsewhere

  I grew up in Port Arthur, TX where there is a substantial Vietnamese population along the southern portion of 9th Ave. You are correct, the JWs do in fact target the Vietnamese names by sending Vietnamese speaking JWs to specific doors or to areas where the Vietnamese population density is high.

  They even have a Vietnamese version of the NWT.
• 

  mustang

  My significant other is Chinese. She knows nothing about Western religion and could care less. I found that immensely refreshing.

  OTOH, she doesn't understand why I get pissed when they bother us.

  I'll PM you.

  Mustang
• 

  james_woods

  Well, I reread my own rant so let me qualify it down a little...

  Of course, they (Vietnamese speaking JW) are free to talk to whoever they want. Same for other languages.

  What I think is grossly wrong is the obvious potential for sucking unwary vulnerable needy people into something of which they have no way to understand.

  It's like handing out free crack cocaine over the fence at the Jr. High until you get them hooked and then start charging them the money.

  (well, Ok, maybe still ranting some...)

  James
• 

  fullofdoubtnow

  This happens a lot around here as well, but with the Asian community. Several years ago, quite a few brothers and sisters took Punjabi lessons from an Asian brother, and there is Punjabi - only territory nowadays in most areas. I don't remember many coming in through it though.
• 

  rebel8

  How to Reduce Unwanted Contact with JWs