"Pilot Project" - Jehovah's Witnesses in Manhattan, with your new host... Robert Warren!

by cedars 32 Replies latest jw friends

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  cedars

  Yet another video effort by the Society to be apparently pulled off JW.org and given an audience on YouTube...

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBOHitd8GOI

  My observations...

  • Despite obvious attempts to garner praise, the feedback Robert gets from passersby is far from glowing. At best, it can be described as neutral, with none of those chosen to comment seeming to know anything about JW beliefs. One can only imagine how many negative reactions they had to edit out if these were the most positive reactions they had to choose from over a day of filming.
  • Robert seems to be having an identity crisis. The video makes it clear that he works in the "Office of Public Information" of the "World Headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses". In other words, the guy is a self-confessed Brooklyn-based Watchtower spin-doctor. However, he keeps referring to "the Witnesses" as though he is a neutral reporter commenting from an outside perspective. The first couple of times you find it slightly odd but overlook it, but as the video wears on it really starts to grate. It looks like Robert is making a silly attempt to get a positive media report on the JW "project" by pretending to be a real reporter.
  • It's also interesting how Robert makes a point towards the end of the video that this work is NOT intended to replace the door to door work, even though at least one comment from a passerby during the video seemed to indicate that it's preferable if JWs can wait for any interested ones to approach them rather than hounding people in their day-to-day lives. At least, that's how it came across to me.

  Thoughts?

  Cedars
• 

  nuthouse escapee

  Wife to Husband, "Oh Gawd these #$%^& people are everywhere, quick let's cross the street before they see us". Leslie
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  breakfast of champions

  Watched this and could only dream of what the outtakes were
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  scotoma

  The people interviewed are obviously JW's themselves. Who would identify themselves as a "conservative christian". They would more likely say what their denomination is. But a JW "actor" can't say "I'm Catholic or Lutheran or whatever". The words "Conservative Christian" are rather benign and fit JW's ala Theocratic Lying (strategy).

  Of course the info booth works better than going door to door. That's why that method has been used by many other religions. Can a JW sattelite be far behind? Broadcasting 24-7? Actually in this day and age everything works better than door-to-door.
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  JWdaughter

  News flash-Mormons and Christians have done this for years. Even JWs did it at the local fair and at colleges. It is a smarter approach in these times than the door to door work cause women are mostly busy outside of the home at work or just running around, not housebound as in earlier decades of the WTS. It is less objectionable for the "householder"(?) and less disagreeable to most JWs, I think. It is much more pleasant to have "interested ones" approach you than to try to find them!
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  minimus

  I'm in NYC Times Square often. I will surely engage "the Witnesses" next time I see them.
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  sabastious

  I hope the Watchtower turns into robot kiosks one day. I would much more prefer them as a software program. I cringed when the guy said it wasn't a replacement for the door to door ministry because it should be.

  -Sab
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  minimus

  They will have to fight with the Scientologists for a corner.
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  rather be in hades

  LMFAO

  this is bs and a half

  in the times square station, there's a table right by the steps going down to the 7 train, right by the 1/2/3 and right by the walkway to port authority. on that table are "christians" proclaiming doom and gloom. not much different than the jdubs. it's a table, there's literature, people sit there and you can approach 'em if you want to.

  NO ONE EVER GOES!!! at least i've NEVER seen anyone there and i go by there a lot.

  everyone avoids them like the plague.

  then there's the street witnesses in the sub stations. again, not much different really. maybe no display, bt the mags are there, they stand there and offer it annnnnd?

  everyone ignores them.

  things that make me go hmmm, i haven't seen any witnessing in times square, but i can't imagine many people talking to them, but i could imagine a LOT of people looking at them like they were wack jobs
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  slimboyfat

  Nice video.