[Businessmtg] GEA districting feedback summary from - 'Japanese Language Online AFG'

[Steve Rankin]

Hi Anne,

Thanks for posting Naoko's share in the GR forum.  I agree it is well
thought out, well written, and in particular focused on Al-Anon principles.
While it is only one group's feedback, it is none the less, better thought
out, better written, and in particular more focused on Al-Anon principles
than much of what I have seen heretofore.  And coming from a minority group
should not be ignored nor trivialized.  

Naoko commented "Our group prefers to adhere to the Al-Anon principles as
originally written instead of adopting a modified version."  Could you ask
her to elaborate on this?  Many of us old-timers are concerned about the
fellowship in general as well as the leadership's drifting away from
Al-Anon's principles as written in an attempt to appease special interest
groups.

GSOs vs the WSC.  About the Japanese group & the effect of the pressure to
operate within their GSO vs having an active and genuine role in the GEA.
There is a difference.  While the GEA has little more than a puny voice and
vote in the WSC, the GSOs around the world have only an occasional voice and
no vote in the WSC.  NOTE:  The WSO, BoD and the World Service Conference do
NOT represent the WORLD.  They only represent the USA and Canada.  The GEA
is the ONLY Al-Anon service structure that (a) represents the world, and (b)
has a voice and vote in the WSC.

About our puny vote.  Yes, it is puny.  Compare the single vote of the
entire community of electronic meetings around the globe to the 23 votes
given to WSO staff.  

UNITY.  Naoko said "... mixing up various platforms and languages by
districting based on UTC meeting start time could generate exchange of
various views, which in turn fosters understanding and unity."
I respectfully disagree.
A.  Viewpoints on Al-Anon principles and their application have nothing to
do with platforms or language.  Different viewpoints come from individuals
and groups that have different perspectives on Al-Anon principles and their
application.
There is no correlation between the platform or the language and a group's
viewpoint on Al-Anon.
Therefore, mixing up platforms and languages does NOT contribute to unity.
A district dominated by English-speaking Zoom groups will likely reach a
consensus quite easily on most issues, however that consensus more likely
represents the dominance of the majority than it demonstrates unity. 
B.  Instead, mixing up platforms and languages dilutes the potential
strength and cohesiveness of a district made of groups speaking the same
language and coming from similar backgrounds.  This serves neither the
district nor the groups within the district.  However, it could serve the
GEA leadership with a districting structure that creates a large majority of
districts comprised of the same basic assemblage of groups.  

LANGUAGE.  I don't recall hearing anything about a GEA policy of using
English as the default language.  While I agree that English should be the
default language for the GEA meeting, documentation, etc., it should NOT be
construed to mean that English is the default language for the groups or the
districts, or any other service entity within the GEA.  Apparently, this
needs to be made clear.  

TRIAL BASIS.  That might sound good, however, as I mentioned previously the
districting structure as described by the Task Force is largely arbitrary
which will result in many districts with no natural connection other than
what time of the day they meet.  It is important to note that an early
morning meeting in Connecticut is in the same UTC Time Zone as a Lunchtime
meeting in Los Angeles.  Ditto for an afternoon meeting in Manhattan with an
evening meeting in Wyoming.  
The real problem with trials is that they develop momentum that suits the
majority OK, while not serving the various minorities within the fellowship.
The result is that a trial very quickly becomes solidified and codified as
the way it is done and becomes next to impossible to change until or unless
something drastic happens that changes the course of history.  Such as
COVID.  In other words, Al-Anon's practice of calling something a "trial" is
anything but a trial.  
Historically, Al-Anon has never failed to make a "trial" quite permanent.  
My point is that the GEA has an opportunity to do much better now, so why
don't we?

Love and SERENITY,
Steve





-----Original Message-----
From: Businessmtg On Behalf Of Anne 
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2024 7:27 AM
To: steve at serenitysys.com
Cc: ASP Business <businessmtg at asp-afg.org>
Subject: [Businessmtg] GEA districting feedback summary from - 'Japanese
Language Online AFG'

This GR was enthusiastic about having me share this with our group and was
interested in hearing from us as well.  So to Jerry's point, I do believe we
want to prepare something as well.  My apologies for not focusing on this
topic until this week due to my personal schedule.

I think sharing our thoughts on minority platforms and Area concerns can be
and will be a necessary part of the process as the GEA moves forward with
this incremental move towards districting.

Yours in Service,

Anne

____________________________________________________________________________
_____ 

Our group, Japanese Language Online AFG, started in late 2021 because Japan
GSO had a policy not to have electronic meetings despite the
shelter-in-place situation in pandemic.  Electronic meeting under WSC
structure was the only place we were able to have meetings.  Currently, we
are the only one Japanese speaking group.  Our group membership is
approximately 50% Japanese/English bilingual and other 50% Japanese speaking
only.  

With that background, we had a following group conscience opinion on Task
Force's recommendations.  We love to hear points of view from other foreign
language groups.

 

Japanese Language Online AFG agrees with the recommendation of districting
based on UTC meeting start time, with some reservations described below.

*	*        Districting based on UTC meeting starting time seems the
most realistic way as of now, though it may not be the most ideal way for
building a link of service in an inclusive manner for minority foreign
language groups and minority meeting platforms.

*	*        The option of overlay district benefits only foreign
language with large number of groups.  

*	*        We agree with the Task Force reasoning that mixing up
various platforms and languages by districting based on UTC meeting start
time could generate exchange of various views, which in turn fosters
understanding and unity.

*	*        We don't agree with the idea of designating English as a
sole operational language for district business.  Although English is the
official WSC language and it may be practical to start up district business
in English in the ramp-up stage, setting English as a permanent and sole
operational language alienates foreign language groups, which make up about
20% of GEA (based on the Thought Force presentation in May 2023).
Considering our group's bilingual population, our group can participate in
district business in English.  But we think that speaking English should not
be a pre-requisite to participate in a vital link of Al-Anon service in GEA.
Tradition Three states "The only requirement for membership is that there be
a problem of alcoholism in a relative or friend."   Let's remind ourselves
that English speaking is not a requirement for Al-Anon membership.  If we
make English speaking a pre-requisite, we make it harder to  move toward
Task Force's vision of unity through mutual understanding.

*	*        In the past assemblies and townhall presentations, there
was a voice to recommend foreign language groups to join GSOs of their
pertinent languages instead of staying as WSC electronic groups, because
accommodating foreign language members with interpreters is very costly.
Although we understand the fiscal concern is a reality, it was a
disheartening comment for our group.  We had no place to go but here in GEA
in order to sustain our Al-Anon recovery.  Besides, the practice of Japan
GSO is not the same as that of WSC, especially the way 12 Traditions are
practiced.  Our group prefers to adhere to the Al-Anon principles as
originally written instead of adopting a modified version.  In addition to
the group like us, there must be foreign language speaking Al-Anon members
(or potential members) who are without GSO or an evolving structure.  For
those, electronic meetings under WSC structure are a precious opportunity to
connect with expatriates and diasporas of their language worldwide.   We
think that not encouraging participation of foreign language groups would
deprive Al-Anona a vital opportunity to practice Al-Anon Declaration; "When
ANYONE ANYWHERE reaches out for help, let the hands of Al-Anon and Alateen
always be there. And let it begin with me."  Expensive live simultaneous
interpreter is not the only way of communication among members of various
languages. If a closed caption language interpretation app on Zoon is not as
effective as we wish, we can conduct district business meetings by
overlaying written minutes review session with translation, which could be
done by various translation apps. We think there are various ways of
communication we can explore and experiment.

*	*        If our area is going to implement the districting based on
UTC meeting starting time, we think that it is important that GEA
establishes strong guidelines and support for districts in order to foster
inclusive communication and ensure unity.  

*	*        Lastly, our group thinks that, if it's voted for,
districting by UTC meeting start time should be implemented with a trial
period of several years and be reviewed at the end of such period. We are
trailblazing.  Trials and errors are inevitable.

In the end, I would like to add that our group is posting this comment not
to stir up controversy but to provide a varying point of view as an input so
that we, as an area, can trailblaze together with a better understanding of
each other.

Love in service,

Naoko M.

GR for Japanese Language Online AFG

 

 

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