March 9, 2015

"The Islamic State released a new recruitment video today with deaf fighters using sign language asking other deaf followers to join them."

"While one message is that being being deaf is not an excuse not to come and fight, I think there's a more subtle and deeper one...." writes Jeralyn Merritt at TalkLeft.
This isn't a blood and gore video designed for adrenaline junkies. It's a video aimed at those seeking acceptance and a family. Its message is "You have a home with us, we will welcome you and accept you and you will be one of us."

It's too bad the video is for ISIS. Otherwise it would be a great public service announcement for the hearing impaired, showing prospective employers that being deaf doesn't hold them back and they can do a job just as well as the non-hearing impaired, while at the same time showing fellow deaf citizens and the rest of us that the inability to hear or speak doesn't stand in the way of leading a fulfilling and joyful life.

48 comments:

Achilles said...

Why does the left always have nice things to say about ISIS, or communists, or whatever other enemy we may fight, but spends no small amount of time trying to tear down our armed forces...

tim in vermont said...

Prosperity is boring.

Lyle said...

The deeper, but less subtle, message of throwing gay men off of buildings is that gay men are verboten in the Islamic State. That would include gay, deaf men too.



MadisonMan said...

Bad link.

Here.

I think Talk Left should spend more time criticizing ISIS, and less time praising them.

Larry J said...

The issue of having deaf ISIS fighters is complex. On the one hand, they can't hear the screams of the people they're butchering. Depending on their mindset, that's either a plus or a minus. Some people get off on hearing others scream in pain and mortal fear.

Rob said...

ISIS isn't the first meshugana to use sign language.

tim maguire said...

Wow. Can't even unreservedly condemn ISIS. At least most commenters recognize this is BS.

Drago said...

Another left-winger finding something to praise about ISIS.

Did. Not. See. That. Coming.

I'll bet garage will be all over this with timely comparisons between the wonderful acceptance of the deaf by the delightfully eccentric ISIS-ites as compared to those brutish jooooos in Israel.

n.n said...

ISIS now has a policy to address selective discrimination of people with disabilities. Progress.

Sammy Finkelman said...

They can't really be after deaf people. There are not that many deaf people. (unless there is one particular one they have in mind)

It could be that the whole idea is to make people looking for terrorists to look everywhere for them.

Or perhaps some plot involves people pretending to be deaf

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Being deaf might have its advantages once you eventually get to the 72 virgins.

furious_a said...

And, another upside, the differently-abled ISIS executioners won't be haunted by the screams of their victims as they incinerate or decapitate them.

Should have said "decaptitate", as ISIS beheadings usually involve sawing or hacking off the victims' heads vs. a Mary-Queen-of-Scots' clean strike.

buwaya said...

I was never in combat, but I did take part in our military training, among others day and night exercises in the Cavite hills. At night hearing is a critical requirement. There are too many cases where a deaf soldier would be near useless and a handicap to his unit besides.
I cant imagine that deafness isn't a terrible handicap for a guerilla fighter too.
I guess they can still be suicide bombers.

Mary Beth said...

Aren't the sign languages in different countries different? Or is there enough overlap that most who know any sign language would understand?

Drago said...

Now would be a good time for our courageous left-wingers to once again bravely confront the evil of those Christian Crusaders from the middle ages.

rhhardin said...

Sign language is country-specific. It needs translation just like ordinary language.

Drago said...

Mary Beth: "Aren't the sign languages in different countries different? Or is there enough overlap that most who know any sign language would understand"

There are significant (and irreconcilable) differences between American Sign Language and other sign languages used throughout the world.

Having experienced this first hand (though I am no expert) it is amazing to watch.

There are different "dialects", syntax, etc as the signs often are representative of how a culture "thinks" and communicates ideas.

It's pretty wild.

Drago said...

For instance, the American sign for "gay" is vastly different than the islamic sign for "gay", though I have to admit that someone signing as they plummet to earth after being thrown off a building might be difficult to interpret and there really isn't a way to "follow up" on any inconsistencies after the fact.

This is, of course, the result of Christians getting on their high horse and most definitely not the result of islamist radical-murderers who simply lack job skills and opportunities to garner sufficient capital to purchase an IPad.

DKWalser said...

Studies show that it's easier to sneak up on a deaf soldier than it is a soldier that can hear. The same studies show it's even easier to sneak up on a soldier that is both blind and deaf. There are some things those who are deaf or blind cannot do as well as those who can see and hear. One of those things is fighting.

lgv said...

The deaf Jihadis will be the first to die in any battle. They will serve the greater by dying and dying quickly.

So, if we recruited the deaf to be used for risky drug experiments or testing the limits of radiation poisoning, that would be a show of inclusion?

Quaestor said...

Hire the morally handicapped.,

furious_a said...

...because Christians press-ganged deaf peasants into foot-soldiering during the Crusades.

D.D. Driver said...

It's too bad the video is for ISIS. Otherwise it would be a great public service announcement for the hearing impaired...

Aside from "that" Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

Drago said...

furious_a: "...because Christians press-ganged deaf peasants into foot-soldiering during the Crusades"

Worse, more "recently" British Naval personnel were busy impressing US Sailors into servitude aboard British war vessels.

So the obama admin will no doubt argue that ISIS is on firm historical footing here.

As they listen to the fabulous and "most beautiful sound in the world" "call to prayer" stylings of whomever the latest radical imam happens to be.

Abdul Abulbul Amir said...

Combat is not a job for the deaf. Or for that matter the blind. It is cruel to put such people into armed combat.

MaxedOutMama said...

"A fulfilling and joyous martyrdom?" Doesn't do the same thing for me - I did not contract a case of the warm fuzzies.

Anonymous said...

buwaya said...
I was never in combat, but I did take part in our military training, among others day and night exercises in the Cavite hills. At night hearing is a critical requirement. There are too many cases where a deaf soldier would be near useless and a handicap to his unit besides.


an Artillery Gun crew can start deaf or go deaf. Serving guns for 20 hours doesn't require much hearing... :)

pm317 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
traditionalguy said...

Does this mean a Religion offering inclusion into a gang of killers is powerful and cannot be stopped except by a better Religion?

A powerful religion....don't leave home without one.

buwaya said...

Oh, the artillery !
Why didn't I think of that ?
There is a job in the military after all.

Larry J said...

buwaya said...
I was never in combat, but I did take part in our military training, among others day and night exercises in the Cavite hills. At night hearing is a critical requirement. There are too many cases where a deaf soldier would be near useless and a handicap to his unit besides.


Deafness isn't such a handicap if your military function is to drive a suicide vehicle or clear mine fields by running across it. Being deaf while serving as cannon fodder might actually be an advantage. You can't hear the bullets and blasts near you.

Anonymous said...

buwaya said...
Oh, the artillery !
Why didn't I think of that ?
There is a job in the military after all.


but not Tank crews

Tank crews can not see each other and need to communicate via intercom at every step.

Gun crews on the other hand all can see each other at all times. There is a simple 20 step process to load a gun. repeated till you run out of shells or targets.

Jason said...

JOIN THE ARTILLERY!!!!!!!!

TCR James said...

Artillery can mess up your hearing but gun crew who can't readily distinguish between technical terms like Drop and Up, Grid or Shift (plausible, considering the noise inherent in an artillery or mortar battery), would be just as dangerous for friendlies as for the enemies. Same thing as the delicate matter of ensuring the rounds are appropriately charged. They could maybe carry shells around or pull lanyards / drop rounds, but I'm not buying the idea they'd be particularly useful there.

Bryan C said...

"It's too bad the video is for ISIS. Otherwise it would be a great public service announcement for the hearing impaired, showing prospective employers..."

ISIS is not a "prospective employer". It's a violent religious movement that recruits misfits, malcontents and fanatics to oppress people kill infidels.

If deaf people join ISIS it's not because employers haven't made enough sign-language PSAs.

If you want the widest possible range of employment opportunities, consider a cochlear implant or a hearing aid. If you want to be cannon fodder, join ISIS.

buwaya said...

Cannon fodder is a job too. A lifetime career, perhaps, but in any case a gig at least.

Hey, they get a salary plus benefits. Free housing, retirement package, free medical, uniform allowance, company car, slaves, etc.

Wince said...

It's too bad the video is for ISIS. Otherwise it would be a great public service announcement for the hearing impaired, showing prospective employers that being deaf doesn't hold them back and they can do a job just as well as the non-hearing impaired, while at the same time showing fellow deaf citizens and the rest of us that the inability to hear or speak doesn't stand in the way of leading a fulfilling and joyful life.

Considering the "job" is likely having a bomb strapped to them...

Tom said...

ISIS is doing a lot of things that are terribly wrong. But they're also, obviously, doing something right. They're fulfilling a need. We have no clue that need is. But, we didn't undetstsnd the need the NAZI's were fulfilling in Germany, either. I fear we may learn another tough lesson before this is over.

Quaestor said...

Should have said "decaptitate", as ISIS beheadings usually involve sawing or hacking off the victims' heads vs. a Mary-Queen-of-Scots' clean strike.

"The executioner placed a hand on Mary for a moment then cut off her head with two blows of his axe. When he raised up her head to show the crowd Mary’s wig came away in his hand revealing her grey hair was cut short to her scalp. The Earl of Kent called out, 'Such end of all the Queen's and the Gospel's enemies.' Mary’s small lapdog was found hiding under the dead queen’s skirts, soaked in her blood."

Clean? Two blows of the axe was unusual, typically beheading were much more brutal, witness the death of Thomas Cromwell who endured three or four chops to the head and shoulders before his head finally fell.

sinz52 said...

Tom sez: "We have no clue that need is."

I know what that need is.

It's a sense of working together on a great mission to remake the world and change history. A mission that, if successful, will restore the pride of one's people.

It was the same appeal that Hitler had in his earlier days.

And it was the same appeal that Soviet Communism had.

Compared to that, democratic capitalism is boring.

ISIS has already won one major strategic victory: They have erased the border between Iraq and Syria that was set by the Sykes-Picot agreement a hundred years ago.

ISIS touts that everywhere they go. For them, it's the end to humiliation by foreign powers, much as Hitler touted his tearing up of the Versailles Treaty.

Sykes-Picot is dead, and the old map of the Middle East may be dead with it. ISIS, hopefully, will be defeated eventually. But the status quo ante--the Middle East we remember from 20 years ago--is gone for good.

Drago said...

Tom: "ISIS is doing a lot of things that are terribly wrong. But they're also, obviously, doing something right. They're fulfilling a need. We have no clue that need is."

Of course we do.

We just don't want to admit what it is to ourselves because, let's face it, it is quite unpleasant.

There are millions of islamists who seek to establish their culture/theology as the governing structure for all the world.

They are convinced that they are correct in doing so because they believe the teachings of their faith.

That faith requires them to convert, enslave or kill you.

Their brutality and viciousness is precisely what attracts many many other human beings to their cause.

As it has thru time immemorial.

We, in the west, in the last 50 years or so, have developed a conceit that says we entered a "post-historical" time period wherein all the rules have changed.

The reality is none of the rules have changed as humans are still human (despite the pablum the lefties peddle).

There is no "rule" that says the West and it's values will emerge "victorious" from the continued and never-ending encroachments of world-views that seek to destroy it.

There is no "rule" that says that if the West does "survive" that it won't be as a vassal entity to other value systems.

And there is certainly no "rule" that says if the West does "survive" that the US will retain it's dominant cultural/economic/military position.

That doesn't mean all hope is lost of course.

There are "strange" movements afoot.

What country contains the most Christians, for example?

If you said China, you would be correct.

300 Million and growing. It will be a fascinating ride seeing how that culture/political structure deals with that growing body of Christ.

Cynicus said...

Did they steal the bit from SNL?

Bob Boyd said...

Pro Tip:
Don't park in a Handicap space in the Islamic State if you're not really handicapped....unless you want to be.

J. Farmer said...

"Sykes-Picot is dead, and the old map of the Middle East may be dead with it."

Yeah, seems like only yesterday McCain and the rest of the hawk establishment was eagerly trying to convince use what a great idea it would be to send arms to the ISIS fighters in Syria and help them to more quickly and efficiently collapse the Assad regime.

Paul said...

Deaf fighters?

Wonderful, what happens when someone shouts... "INCOMING"!

Michael K said...

Deaf members can't hear the screaming of the victims. Another advantage.

gerry said...

Mary-Queen-of-Scots' clean strike

Unfortunately for Mary Queen of Scots, the axman missed her neck on the first strike, hitting her skull. He then struck a fatal blow, but had to use a sawing motion to completely finish the job.

Some witnesses said that Mary's lips were moving, as if in prayer, when he held it up for them to view.

gerry said...

The reality is none of the rules have changed as humans are still human (despite the pablum the lefties peddle).

Remember the search for the "New Soviet Man" and the "New Soviet Woman"? 100 million corpses later, they never found either. And now that even Obama is condemning the brutal Venezuelan regime, the elusive perfected humanoid socialist continues to elude the leftist bloody grasp.