I have been thinking about this a lot.
My family treats child molesters better than they treat me. My sister-in-law's father was accused of child abuse by her sister. Since there weren't two witnesses to this terrible violation, he is still in good standing in the congregation to this day. My family never really stopped speaking to my sister-in-law's father at the meetings or at any of our family gatherings. But they stopped talking to me when I disassociated. They even stopped talking to my grandfather when he was disfellowshipped for chewing tobacco.
It's really amazing when you consider that most people consider few crimes worse than child molestation. Even convicts in prison look down upon pedophiles as absolute scum, and in a recent case one pedophile priest was murdered in prison.
But it isn't just my family. Most Jehovah's Witnesses treat child molesters better than they do exJWs. Every time they let a child molester go unpunished, don't report him, support him through his trial (if he comes to trial), and continue to associate with him, they are treating a pedophile better than they treat an exJW. In my old congregation one man served jail time for having sex with his little granddaughters, and the elders gave him public reproof. I have seen other people disfellowshipped for less. I have seen other people treated worse far by the congregation than this pervert.
They treat pedophiles better than those who left their stinking cult, were disfellowshipped or disassociated for celebrating Christmas (automatic disassociation), enlisting in the armed forces (automatic disassociation), for taking a life-saving blood transfusion (automatic disassociation/disfellowshipping), for smoking a cigarette, for masturbation, for having premarital sex, for having oral sex with their mate, for not crying out while being raped. These are actual reasons that people have been disfellowshipped or disassociated.
A very believable accusation of child molestation was made against one of the high ranking leaders of this organization. In reading about the enormity of this crime, and how it extends into the highest ranks of the JW organization, it becomes apparent why child molestation is allowed among Jehovah's Witnesses. Their very leaders are pedophiles, so naturally they are going make rules that favor molesters and allow cover-up.
In the meantime, we become pariahs for something as noble as serving our country or allowing our injured, dying child to receive a life-saving blood transfusion. It makes me so angry I could scream. Maybe that is why I feel so obsessed lately with the idea of getting my family out of this rotten cult.
Tammy