The Sparlockian Voice is racist!!!

by rip van winkle 122 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  fizzywiglet

  I love the typical knee-jerk response in the comments section of berating their readers instead of going, "Huh, OK, you might have a point there...we didn't think of that; we'll fix it." Instead it's "If you don't like it, don't read! You're not our demographic, just move on! You're not allowed to criticize if you see something you don't like; that's our job alone! You know what, we're not even READING your concerns! Go ahead and write 200-word-posts; you're just trolls and we're not even READING your responses!"

  Great way to make people feel like you're a sympathetic ear. Or, god forbid, a professional taking into account the feelings of those you claim to represent.

  "Waaaaaaaaaah, nobody told us that being a public organization means people are actually going to look at the things we post and maybe criticize them!"

  But, you know, what are you expecting from the people who take pictures of themselves flipping off Kingdom Halls and call it "activism"? Yeah; these are the people who should be the voice of ex-JWs in the media.

  I also find Cedars' departure after all that crazycakes kerfuffle, after he did the flounce off JWN and trashed everybody who dared criticize AAWA's actions...so very hilarious.
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  slimboyfat

  I don't understand how this is racist. It is making fun of a fictional toy character, no?
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  fizzywiglet

  It's not the Sparlock thing. It's that there's a recurring column called "Engerish Prease?" It's a racist phrase used to mock Asians and was an insensitive choice, at best. Would be easy enough for them to go "Oh, crap...our bad. Sorry." But nope. Instead they gotta berate people who point it out. Nice.
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  slimboyfat

  Does the phrase have a meaning I am not aware of? Does it make fun of Hispanics or something? I don't even know how to access the column. I tried to open the newsletter but could only view the first page.
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  fizzywiglet

  It's historically used to mock the way Asian immigrants speak. It's kind of typically grouped with yellowface, Mickey Rooney playing a "Chinaman", and words like "gook" and "slanty eyes".
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  slimboyfat

  Oh right, I didn't know that. Maybe whoever created was ignorant of the cultural meaning too. Good luck correcting AAWA though.
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  fizzywiglet

  Yeah; would have been easy enough to say "We didn't realize; sorry! It won't happen again!" But instead they're shredding people in the comments. Lovely. Truly, they excel at the sensitivity and delicacy required to publicly represent an entire community. Beacons of wisdom and healing for us all.
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  rip van winkle

  SBF--No.. They knew exactly what they were saying. I pointed it out as offensive and they said it was light hearted and funny. I had no problem with the subject matter which was cognitive dissonance, but to have a column titled "Engrish Prease" is demeaning, unfunny and racist.
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  Shador

  This was very likely not intended to be racist. A major internet humor site uses the term, for gosh sakes:

  http://failblog.cheezburger.com/engrishfunny - a site making light of poor translations on foreign products.

  And as for the comic - Y U NO guy has nothing to do with race.

  http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/y-u-no-guy

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  This does not necessarially excuse the behaviour. AWAA should really try to be professional if they are going to claim to be some type of media mouthpiece for ex JWs.

  Incorporting internet humor into things intended for broader distribution is just asking for trouble. Most folks won't get it and a great number - as is being shown - may be offended.
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  james_woods

  Do not build a house on a foundation of sand...obvious enough after you have done it and watched it fall down.

  And should we assume that Lady Lee is still with them?

  I submit that Lady Lee, Cedars, and Barbara Anderson owe the exJW community some clear straight answers about what is going on with AAWA and why they are or are not still involved.

  I think that all this AAWA nonsense has done a significant amount of harm to the exJW cause and has accomplished nothing of any good.