Github Replaces Vocabulary

[Thesauron]

I think he's saying that currently, "overseer" isn't used in much capacity beyond describing someone who managed slaves on a plantation.  The only context he ever hears the word "overseer" is in relation to things in our Organization.  It's not a word that is used in English very often - probably because of its historical connotation.
 
For myself, whenever I hear the word I automatically think of how it's used in our Organization... NOT related to slavery at all.  It just doesn't occur to me.  I rarely think about slavery.

Would someone in the field connect it to historicL slavery vocabulary or to an overseer at, say, a factory?

[carlos]

17 hours ago, M.J. said:

Is it just me, or is no one else bothered by the use of the term Circuir OVERSEER.

Technically the word is correct since it means someone who supervises others. But I am not in the US so I don't know about its current usage. Maybe you're right. A Russian brother told me they changed recently the term they have used for decades for elders/overseers in Russian because it transmitted the wrong idea for similar reasons.

 

The Spanish term for "overseer" is awful as well: superintendente. Although technically it's correct if you go to the dictionary definition, it's only ever used to refer to a director in the police, and even then, I think I have only heard it in American movies as a translation of "superintendent".

 

I think a great translation into Spanish would be "supervisor", which means exactly the same as in English. But unfortunately the brothers didn't see the need to make that change now with the revised translation. Maybe in the future.

[Qapla]

17 hours ago, M.J. said:

Is it just me, or is no one else bothered by the use of the term Circuit OVERSEER. I live in the US which has a strong history of slaves being owned by overseers. The only place that I ever ever hear the word overseer is in the kingdom hall.  I never hear this word being used anywhere by anyone, unless I'm reading a book about slavery.

 

No, I am not bothered by that term. I have never associated it with slavery.

 

I also live in the US - Florida, in fact

 

There was an episode of STNG that used the term and applied it to "gods". A Google search of the term gives this result, "An overseer, also called a supervisor or a foreperson, performs a job title that entails providing instructions, guidance and orders to junior employees. At the same time, an overseer is held responsible for the work and actions of his subordinates". 

[Old]

1 hour ago, Qapla said:

Back in the 1980's there was a move to change the names of hardware ...

 

They wanted to remove the terms screw, nail, nut, shaft, male and female (thread, plugs and such) and a few more I can't remember because they were "sexist" - all those terms are still in use

I recall the first time I heard of 'sex bolts'. My hardware installer said he was short of 1/4 x 2 sex bolts, used to install door closers in hollow metal doors. I misplace the sample he gave me so I would have to describe what they were.  At Eugene Fastner  I waited until one of our brothers working behind the counter was available and I described this two inch long screw with internal threads and he said "Oh, you want 1/4 x 2 sex bolts."    

[M.J.]

1 hour ago, Thesauron said:

or to an overseer at, say, a factory?

No, in the US, the word overseer is outdated and never used.

[Old]

 

11 minutes ago, M.J. said:

No, in the US, the word overseer is outdated and never used.

By what authority do you make the above claim? One having oversight.

As a construction superintendent I have been asked or directed to be the overseer for several periferal aspects of my employement. Overseer for a specific bid process; overseer for minority hiring and safety programs; overseer for the distribution of company policy and other activiies. I was the superintendent only as it referrered to my assigned construction project.

I did not realize I was outdated. 

 

[M.J.]

1 hour ago, Old said:

 

By what authority do you make the above claim? One having oversight.

As a construction superintendent I have been asked or directed to be the overseer for several periferal aspects of my employement. Overseer for a specific bid process; overseer for minority hiring and safety programs; overseer for the distribution of company policy and other activiies. I was the superintendent only as it referrered to my assigned construction project.

I did not realize I was outdated. 

 

I've worked as a supervisor, in an office setting, which is totally different from the construction field, but may I ask how long ago this was? Was your actual legal title on your company's paperwork "overseer" ? Or "construction superintendent"? And overseer was the colloquial term?

 

But as someone living in the US my entire life, I've never ever, ever, heard this term used outside of historical slavery context.

Edited June 19, 2020 by M.J.

[Old]

22 minutes ago, M.J. said:

I've worked as a supervisor, in an office setting, which is totally different from the construction field, but may I ask how long ago this was? Was your actual legal title on your company's paperwork "overseer" ? Or "construction superintendent"? And overseer was the colloquial term?

 

But as someone living in the US my entire life, I've never ever, ever, heard this term used outside of historical slavery context.

There is know question that the definition of 'overseer' is an aproppriate description for a brother serving in a position of oversight.

My documented title was Construction superintendent. 

Maybe the term is no longer giveen one who oversees of projects. I retired 20 years ago.

Question, how long is your ever, ever? sounds like a long time. My ever, ever is 82 years.

 

I guess this could be a probem of semantics. I was given oversight which made me conclude I was the overseer for that assignment, I was not a forman, nor a superintendent when it came to minority hiring procedures, safety procedures or bidding procedures and these three resposnibilities were brief, lasting only until I got back in the field again.

 On the other hand:

At onetime I was 'superintendent' one day each week for a extensive remodel of an assembly hall. That was the job assigned, not construction overseer for Wednesdays. It felt strange being a supt. for a theocratic project, would have preferred to be known as the overseer for Wednesdays.

[M.J.]

4 minutes ago, Old said:

Question, how long is your ever, ever? sounds like a long time. My ever, ever is 82 years.

You beat me by double. I'm 43....I think....I start forgetting since we don't celebrate... sometimes I go for months, blissfully unaware, until I need to fill out a document.

[M.J.]

2 hours ago, Qapla said:

No, I am not bothered by that term. I have never associated it with slavery.

It may not bother you, but have you had close association with black people and have awareness of what they find offensive or hurtful?

I think a lot of discussions about this are going on right now in the US. I'm not saying every argument is valid or that every word needs to be changed. I'm just mentioning a term I personally find strange. But really, it seems very few black people have commented here. It would have been nice to get a broader perspective.

[Katty]

This is really just virtue signalling, but it does look eerily like the tactic used by IngSoc in 1984. I find we're seeing a disturbing about of newspeak this year.

Also the statues toppling is something mentioned in 1984, as well.

 

[Katty]

1 hour ago, M.J. said:

It may not bother you, but have you had close association with black people and have awareness of what they find offensive or hurtful?

I think a lot of discussions about this are going on right now in the US. I'm not saying every argument is valid or that every word needs to be changed. I'm just mentioning a term I personally find strange. But really, it seems very few black people have commented here. It would have been nice to get a broader perspective.

To give a Native American perspective (or at least half Native American, but all the extend family I know is Native American), I'd be irritated if an organization got rid of terms like reservation, scalper, or even Indian Giver. Terms like that don't bother me. Kinda reminds me of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpGfyp6MxkM
The actress looks a lot like my mom when she was young haha.
I hope, btw, the clip doesn't offend anyone, btw. I think it's meant to make the point that all of us can find things to be offended by. It's easy because so much language can be triggering.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Katty

[M.J.]

51 minutes ago, Katty said:

This is really just virtue signalling

???

51 minutes ago, Katty said:

 

 tactic used by IngSoc in 1984

???

51 minutes ago, Katty said:

 

newspeak

??

51 minutes ago, Katty said:

Also the statues toppling is something mentioned in 1984, as well.

 

??

 

Amazingly,  I did not understand more than 50% of what you said,  LOL

Please give some context

[Hinata]

1 minute ago, M.J. said:

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Amazingly,  I did not understand more than 50% of what you said,  LOL

Please give some context

 

It’s about a novel by George Orwell — 1984.

 

In it, the world is governed by a society where even the speech are being limited by the government, as they removes offending vocabularies, called the “new speak.”

 

Which are, ironically, extremely similar to the current situation today.

 

[M.J.]

28 minutes ago, Katty said:

To give a Native American perspective (or at least half Native American, but all the extend family I know is Native American), I'd be irritated if an organization got rid of terms like reservation, scalper, or even Indian Giver. Terms like that don't bother me. Kinda reminds me of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpGfyp6MxkM
The actress looks a lot like my mom when she was young haha.
I hope, btw, the clip doesn't offend anyone, btw. I think it's meant to make the point that all of us can find things to be offended by. It's easy because so much language can be triggering.

The clip was funny,  I think we all know it's a comedy!

 

But do you yourself look Indian, or have experienced prejudice? If you haven't, maybe that's why the terms don't bother you.  Anyway,  just thoughts.

4 minutes ago, Hinata said:

 

It’s about a novel by George Orwell — 1984.

 

In it, the world is governed by a society where even the speech are being limited by the government, as they removes offending vocabularies, called the “new speak.”

 

Which are, ironically, extremely similar to the current situation today.

 

Thx,  I'm somewhat familiar with the book.

What is virtue signaling?

[M.J.]

This is really interesting,  the appendix of 1984 mentions Jehovah:

 

https://orwell.ru/library/novels/1984/english/en_app

[Katty]

9 minutes ago, M.J. said:

The clip was funny,  I think we all know it's a comedy!

 

But do you yourself look Indian, or have experienced prejudice? If you haven't, maybe that's why the terms don't bother you.  Anyway,  just thoughts.

Thx,  I'm somewhat familiar with the book.

What is virtue signaling?

I have experienced prejudice. White supremacists would consider me a mongrel. I find they're actually harsher to mixed race people than to one race people.

Plus we got it from both sides. My mom received prejudice from blacks who thought she was a foreigner and whites who thought she was inferior. I went to a mostly black school until high school, so occasionally I received racial discrimination as well. I often joke that I feel divided. Like I owe myself land my ancestors took from my other ancestors.

[Katty]

Also people have specifically made disparaging comments about my mom being Native, although I will admit, those were not all that common.
She still has a complex for having dark skin though. I always tell her it's a beautiful skin tone, and she should learn to embrace it. Most people I know find it attractive.

[M.J.]

1 minute ago, Katty said:

Also people have specifically made disparaging comments about my mom being Native, although I will admit, those were not all that common.
She still has a complex for having dark skin though. I always tell her it's a beautiful skin tone, and she should learn to embrace it. Most people I know find it attractive.

Open minded people love variety,  and the more different it is, the more exotic they find it. ♡

[daydream]

Quote

The actress looks a lot like my mom when she was young

Oh, she's must be beautiful looking. This photo of Kimberly Guerrero in Seinfeld.

 

[Katty]

2 minutes ago, Mclove said:

Oh, she's must be beautiful looking. This photo of Kimberly Guerrero in Seinfeld.

 

I saw a pic of my mom when she was in school. She was very pretty. She had a bit of a round face, but it was cute.

[Thesauron]

No, in the US, the word overseer is outdated and never used.

Here is an article about how the word is used, and also a picture of a typical modern overseer.

https://careertrend.com/list-7479900-duties-overseer.html

[Qapla]

10 hours ago, M.J. said:

It may not bother you, but have you had close association with black people and have awareness of what they find offensive or hurtful?

 

Yes, I have had close association with many black JW's ... including some black Circuit Overseers. I served for many years in a Congregation with a black couple from south Florida where they were raised in the "share cropper" area and used to pick crops. He served as an Elder on our Congregation and she a regular pioneer. They both had very limited education. She is nearly 80 and he died a few years ago. They were definitely raised at a time and in an area where they lived with discrimination. Before they retired, he drove a truck servicing portable toilets and she drove a school bus. They both experienced some prejudice on their jobs. However, they did not let that affect their relationships in the Congregation. They had put that kind of thinking behind them when they dedicated their lives to Jehovah. He never objected to being called an "Overseer" and neither did she.

 

This couple is just one example of many I have served with over the years ... Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Indian (from India) as well as Native Americans.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Qapla

[M.J.]

8 hours ago, Thesauron said:

Here is an article about how the word is used, and also a picture of a typical modern overseer.

https://careertrend.com/list-7479900-duties-overseer.html

Try doing a job search on Indeed.com, one of the biggest and most popular employment search engines in the country,  and search for overseer. Several jobs pop up, but no job has the job title: overseer.

It's only part of the job description.

[Thesauron]

Try doing a job search on Indeed.com, one of the biggest and most popular employment search engines in the country,  and search for overseer. Several jobs pop up, but no job has the job title: overseer.
It's only part of the job description.

Yes, in the same way overseer is also just a possible part of the job description of being an elder. They have oversight over the work being done in the congregations in various capacities.