Comments about things I feel should be discussed regarding translation are not welcomed, not in the translators’ association I have been most active in here in Japan, Japan Association of Translators, and not in an online group of translators that is ostensibly not related to JAT, my problems with which being commented on elsewhere.
Rejoining Facebook demonstrated some of the problem.
Because JAT no longer has active online interaction between members, I recently reluctantly returned to Facebook with the sole purpose of rejoining a translators group that I understood was still active. I was told by the admins that I would need submit to being the only member to be moderated, as I was a “problem.” I was told not to criticize JAT, and I, amazingly, was given examples of acceptable and unacceptable forms of posts. I had never been subjected to this barrage of instructions when I was an active participant in the group before.
Perhaps the admins thought my leaving and returning would be a good opportunity to fix the “problem” with me. It was preemptive micromanaging at its worst. I have a copy of that exchange. The protection of the honor of JAT was probably a reflection of the emotional investment some of the Facebook group’s members have in that organization. That is an investment that is not paying off, but they are welcome to continue deluding and feeling hurt.
Mentioning of the futility of trying to continue to work for agencies (which is decidedly no longer a promising path for survival) is seen as particularly annoying. Yes, the truth is sometimes very annoying, but ignoring it doesn’t make it go away.
Fine. I’m gone from Facebook again. It took only a day or so to bring the message home: Comforting anodyne messaging is more welcomed than the truth.
People can believe what they want to believe. I am not going to spend any more time trying to dissuade people from their denial behaviors. It gains me nothing and doesn’t change anyone’s belief system. But, on the other hand, I will cease and desist in writing things that might hint that freelance Japanese-to-English translation is a promissing career choice; it certainly is not, and I should avoid being so deceitful.
I’m now deleting anything I have written anywhere about survival strategies that hints that I believe such strategies might be useful in helping freelancers. I do not believe that, because they are not helpful. That includes content on my website, this blog, and on the Pollyanna Paradise called LinkedIn, provided by Microsoft as a platform for mindless cheerleading and delusions of security.
Broker-dependent freelance translators can sit with their thumbs up their ass and enjoy post-editing work or perhaps learn how to give prompts to or teach AI. I have better and more enjoyable things to do than to try to dissuade them.
