"Recruiting the Deaf" a new "Freeminds" article by Barb Anderson

Dogpatch

The worldwide recruiting attempt of Jehovah’s Witnesses to bring their religious message to the deaf using sign language can be viewed as something of a mixed bag. While they strive to communicate it using the right methods, they convey an illusionary message that is detrimental in countless ways.[1]

Jehovah’s Witnesses international “deaf ministry” as directed by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Inc., is no small feat because there are over 200 distinct sign languages in the world. It’s their “deaf ministry” in the United States and the United Kingdom that this article focuses on. Both countries share the English language, but each country’s sign language is markedly different although the recruiting method is basically the same. Just as Watch Tower translators around the world look to the English version of book, article, or scripture in their work, the sign language that most of the Society’s sign language teams around the world look to for guidance is American Sign Language.

Investigation has revealed that this religious organization has not spared any expense to get their message out to the deaf, although, overall, hearing members directly bear most of the costs. The Watch Tower Corporation provides low cost DVDs filmed at their headquarters that feature expert volunteer sign language translators signing the Bible and Watch Tower literature. But expensive electronic systems are installed in places where Witnesses congregate to help the deaf understand the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses with equipment costs paid for by local Witnesses. Moreover, scouring the cities and countryside looking for deaf persons and conducting personal Bible studies is done by Witness translators at their own expense.

The charitable attitude of the Witnesses to aid the deaf to learn the fundamentals about God is commendable at a time when it is estimated “…that only 1 percent of American deaf children will attend church as adults and less than 7 percent will ever have the gospel presented to them in a way they can understand.”

Link removed (original article replaced with malware)

Cadellin

Awesome article, meticulously detailed as per Barbara's style. Thanks for the link!

One noteworthy observation she makes is that the recent edict forcing sign-language translators who are sisters to wear headcoverings all the time (well, all during the meeting) was a consequence of the heightened involvement by the GB and Translation Services. As Barbara documents so clearly, it was repeatedly stated in various QFRs that signing sisters did NOT need a head covering. Then, lo and behold, "new light" just as the ASL groups really get rolling and the hierarchy takes a renewed interest. Sour grapes on the part of someone high up who can't bear to see wimmin' start thinkin' too much of themselves.

Also interesting was the "fudging" of the whole submission mandate in the way they translated the word "submissive."

Again, thank you for posting this.

OnTheWayOut

As I started reading this article, I wasn't so sure about the tone. I would love to find fault with all things Watchtower, but at first I felt that this article was a bit harsh with WTS. I felt that they were doing a good effort in Sign Language and the only thing screwed up is the message itself.

I say I felt that way at first. As I read on, I saw that these early problems were mentioned not to find fault with all things Watchtower. Rather, they were mentioned to show how their successful recruitment of the deaf went so wrong over time. I fully understood why Barb needed to point out some of their early problems. By the time they switched departments for Sign Language and got the "men in high places" making decisions for a group they didn't understand, all things Watchtower in this were at fault.

Good job Barb. I can definitely verify that as they switched to almost exclusively signed public talks, the ingathering of "hearing" elders who had to learn and memorize sign language enough to "get by" really showed in their talks and meeting parts. Many elders could "get by" on that, but really were not understanding the comments from well-seasoned deaf and interpreter-trained members. I can verify that the attitude of the organization was that the deaf would appreciate the efforts of the poorly-trained elders, and the long-time deaf members did that. But I am sure that any educated deaf would be put off by the same. Of course, WTS's main goal is to go after the not-so-well-educated people, no matter the language. I also know that well-meaning people used many shady methods to obtain home addresses for the deaf.

Thanks to Barb.

Mad Sweeney

I don't know of any educated Deaf people (Deaf with a college degree) who have come into the Borganization. Granted, I don't know ALL of them, but if I had ever met any who were college educated, I'd have noticed.

And I concur. More GB involvement leads to more capricious decisions, enforced conformity, and less joy.

wasblind

Hey there Mad, on my daughters college campus, they have things

specifically geared for deaf people, also for people to learn sign language.

personally though, I don't know of any deaf person with a degree either

I'm thinking the WTS wants to recruit more deaf people because they think

deaf people are the least likely to go to college, and can be easily controled

emphasis on the word think

jgnat

I am so pleased that Barbara addressed this issue. I only have level 2 proficiency in ASL (not translator level) but even I could tell that some of the translators at the Conventions (and the speaker at the one deaf congregation we attended) were jerky English speakers (that is, they translate each word from English to sign, with no regard for ASL grammar). They both also happened to be male. This was also the first place where I saw the practical application of the head-covering rule with the female translators.

I could see where the deaf community could be a vulnerable group, and not because of any perceived disability. The deaf culture and ASL went underground until recently. Because of a tragic national policy towards deaf English training and "cure" over the past hundred years, the deaf community has suffered significant assaults to it's culture and intelligence. The deaf community would consequently have a native distrust of clinical authority and government.

The relative dearth of college educated deaf can also be explained by this policy. Deaf children intensively trained to voice a language they will never hear, naturally suffer in their education on other subjects. There were more deaf college graduates a hundred years ago.

Barbara also mentions also the isolation experienced by the deaf, because of our mutual communication differences.

I also concur with the relative difficulty to hide meaning and emotion in ASL. It is a very direct language. As a personal example, on announcing the death of a loved-one, I was able to maintain my composure at the office...until I announced it to my deaf colleague. In ASL, the emotions of the face must match the words being signed. My sadness could not be hidden, and I broke down. Unsurprising, that many WT concepts won't translate well in ASL. I wonder how "disfellowshipping" could be signed as "loving"?

sir82

I love this paragraph:

The Society reaps what they sow; they have discouraged higher education, and so in areas like translation competence, the burden falls on a few competent individuals to choose the publications, translate them, and attempt to train team members and the wider Translation Department.

And that's pretty much the whole of JW infrastructure in a nutshell.

Aptitude, skills, capability, innovation...all take a backseat to "spiritual qualifications". And "spiritual qualifications" mean

-- Write down 10 hours per month on your field service report

-- Show up to virtually all meetings

-- Give acceptable answers during said meetings

-- Obey without deviation any printed direction "from above"

...and nothing else.

So you get DOs, COs, elders, MS.s....all up and down the line, who are mean, nasty, incompetent, stupid, petty, egomaniacs, sociopaths....but they have "spiritual qualifications" so it's all A-OK.

Mad Sweeney

To clarify: I know several normal Deaf people with college degrees. Just no JW Deaf people.

There are three significant postsecondary educational centers geared toward Deaf people in the USA, along with dozens of other programs of various sizes. Gallaudet University, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Cal State-Northridge are the biggies. Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota also have decent sized programs, and there are other places I'm sure I'm missing.

truthseeker

This is very interesting.

I attended a sign language class for some weeks sponsored by a local congregation. The language course lasted about 3 months.

It was expected that after the class finished, those in attendance would make the effort to join a deaf congregation.

We learned specialized sign language for theospeak, that is the signs for elder, ministerial servant etc.

I remember seeing a big shot elder who came all the way from Florida to tell us how marvellous this loving provision from Jehovah was.

There was homework given at the end of each class. We started with letters and eventually progressed towards introductions for use on the ministry. Each class was about two hours long, then we would spend about that time in the ministry, but only witnessing to deaf people.

The search for deaf people was vigorous - they would use telephone directories and other sources of information to build a list. If the witnesses saw a "Deaf Child" sign on the street, they would call at every house on that street to locate where the deaf child lived.

Mad Sweeney

Do you still sign, truthseeker?

You can answer in PM if you don't want to spill it here.

"Recruiting the Deaf" a new "Freeminds" article by Barb Anderson

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