What the hell is the MATTER with these people?

by mkr32208 115 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  tula

  I have a few things to say about it myself. This has not been covered because a certain distraction has prevented this thread from evolving into constructive commentary. Let me take care of it for you, and then, we'll carry on.

  Many years ago a JW mother and her little boy came to my door. The kid opened up with "bad things going on in the world" and I said something like "you shouldn't be worrying about things like that. And besides, haven't you been told that children should be seen and not heard?"

  I am sure he didn't know what the heck I meant. His mother did not seem too bright comprehending it either. But I went on to say something to her about it being improper for a child to usurp authority over an adult.

  Since the JWs believe that a woman is not to teach or instruct, how much more ludicrous is it to send a child to prostelitize to adult strangers? They don't even know what they are doing! This kid was probably about 7 years old.

  Perhaps if when we encountered such situations we could say something to put the parents in their place. And also something to the child to make him realize something is not right...like "why aren't you watching cartoons this morning? or building a tree-house? Or at the playground with the other children?" Maybe just maybe those words will ring to him and come to mind later when he is thinking about life.
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  The Oracle

  I get sad whenever I see a child out in the ministry, reglardless of the time of day or the location.

  When you take a step back and look at the big picture, it is actually a form of child abuse, whether the parents realize it or not

  The Oracle
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  kerj2leev

  Did any one stop to think that maybe this little girl does really enjoy street work and that maybe she wasn’t forced into it?

  She is SEVEN YEARS OLD! She is doing this cause its what her parents have taught her! She is doing this cause in her limited social surroundings, it's what pleases her parents and other adults! So until she can fully understand as an adult what she is doing, you really can't say she is "enjoying street work".
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  moomanchu

  It was not chid abuse and it was not reckless endangerment.

  Trying proving it to a judge, me thinks it not happening.

  It was ignorance and stupidity. No law against that. (to bad)

  Perhaps if when we encountered such situations we could say something to put the parents in their place.

  Amen.
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  WTWizard

  There is a BIG difference between having a child driving a tractor/getting on a bus/going to school in the dark, and handing out crapts to strangers in the dark. Children that drive tractors on the farm are supervised by their parents until they become reasonably proficient; tractors are quite predictable. Bus drivers and teachers are hired to protect children; usually the children are supervised by their parents until on the bus. Also, there is some benefit: food and education are the values produced.

  Sending children out by themselves to place crapts is worse. Kidnappers are not going to play by the safety rules like tractors are. In fact, one of the major safety rules is against approaching strangers gratituously without their parents being right there, lest they fall prey to getting kidnapped. And, in the parking lot, it is far worse since all anyone has to do is scoop up the child and stuff them in a van, and the parents will not be able to do sxxx about it. At least in the store, there is a bit of security and the kidnapper would have to carry the child out of the store before stuffing him/her in the van. And there is NO value being produced in placing those crapts.

  All Wal-Marts, to the best of my knowledge, have No Soliciting signs prominently posted. There might be cases where there is none, but usually that is because of vandals that like to steal those signs or deface them. Virtually all businesses of that size have "No Soliciting Or Distribution of Literature" signs, prohibiting them from distributing crapts (even if they are not soliciting funds) without the express permission of the establishment. You can get kicked off the property and even booked on trespass charges if you are caught. And if a small child is doing that, the parents could easily be charged additionally with endangering the welfare of a child. This is serious business!
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  oompa

  Wiz: All Wal-Marts, to the best of my knowledge, have No Soliciting signs prominently posted.

  I think the main reason they are a Wal-Mart is so the kids can get used to the idea of wearing a blue apron the resto of their lives..oompa
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  Mary

  Rosalee said: A lot of young mothers I know are dragging their tots to daycare at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. each morning. Should they be reported too?

  Spoken like the true brain-dead Witness that you are Rosalee. Slight bit of a difference between parents taking their kids to daycare that early in the morning, and parents making their kid distribute propaganda for a cult. What a surprise that you apparently cannot differentiate between the two.
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  purplesofa

  I work nights so when I get off I'll run by walmart to grab something to make for breakfast or just if I need something or whatever. This morning at 6:55 (I know because I looked at my watch) a little black girl maybe 7 years old came up to me BY HERSELF to offer me a tract... I mean COME ON it's still full freaking DARK out and this poor little kid is handing out tracts alone.

  I asked her "where are your parents." She was like "over there" and pointed to a couple of goobers about two tenths of a MILE away across this parking lot. I told her thanks for offering the tract but I really didn't want it. I was disguised though it was all I could do not to drive down there on my bike and slap the crap out of them. What a disgrace for parents that little girls should have been home in bed. Not out endangering herself handing out that cult garbage.

  Yesterday morning, my grand daughter was here at my house. She is seven years old. She is up at 5:30am every morning during the week for school. Yesterday she slept in until about 8:30, watched cartoons, I fixed her waffles for breakfast, she played school with her stuffed animals, colored with her new art set, and made paper cutouts pasting them, making cute pictures for me. She got her report card this week and made straight A's btw.

  When first reading this post yesterday, all I really saw was..........Wal-Mart, girl, 7 yrs old, dark, parking lot, "over there" parents 2/10 mile away.

  My concern was the safety of the child. It did not matter if she was black, her parents were JW's, that she was unattended while passing out tracts. So, I missed a great deal of the point of the post.

  My children were not out much in service. When they were with me, they came first. Their safety came first. I think if you want to spread the good news of the kingdom with children there are ways to do it in less harmful circumstances. There is just too much going on in a parking lot (which I posted in a earlier reply) I also was a JW that would not and did not bang on peoples door that had signage saying No Trespassing or No Soliciting.

  I have been hit by a car in a parking lot, and it hurts. It was the last day of school and I was looking at my report card and a car backed into me, hit my upper thighs which threw me onto the trunk of the car. He never saw me. I was not hurt up too bad, not a good way to start summer vacation.

  Now that I am older and have a few experiances to draw from, I have seen children grow up in the "truth". Very, very few seem to be well adjusted young adults. Even my own have their struggles.

  Maybe what makes grandchildren just so precious, is we as parents, can fix some of the decisions we made when raising our own.

  The times when we did not use the best safety, or the times we did not just let them be children.

  I know with all my heart, that yesterday was a huge day of learning and development for my grand daughter. And maybe this other little girl that was out at 7am in a dark parking lot passing out tracts to strangers spreading a message was a huge day of learning and development for her.

  I say whatever you do, do it with safety in mind, Your children come first. That stranger will be long gone 20 years from now, but whatever decisions you make/made concerning your children will always be here.

  Now, had I used better judgement in my posting yesterday, the entire way this thread developed would have been completely different.

  We all make mistakes in life, so glad for some of us we can rectify them. But always best to use caution.

  purps
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  mkr32208

  I tried to post this yesterday but the thread was already locked before I got a chance.

  I talked to the little girl for about two minutes. She said it was just her and her mom that later they were meeting some more people at the "kingdom hall". I asked her what a kingdom hall was and it was cute watching her try to say church without saying the "C" word. Anyway we talked for a few minutes. For the few minutes we talked I watched her mom she never even glanced our way. She was talking to some guy and never even looked around. Her mom was literally three quarters of the way across the lot I could hardly see her, just her head in fact. There is NO WAY she could have seen her little girl. It was DARK. People drive in walmart parking lots like maniacs. If I had asked this kids to come over to my car (I didn't in fact HAVE a car I was on my motorcycle but thats beside the point) she would have come with no discussion. At that time of the morning there are plenty of cars but few people. I don't care what your selling that is a crazy foolish risk.
  
  THAT was my point. Your risking your child for NOTHING.

  (when I said "a couple of goobers over there" it was a man and a woman but only the woman was with her the man was a potential convert, much much more important than your child!)
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  coffee_black

  mkr3328,

  I kept trying to point that out. The most important issue was that of safety of the child. A 7 year old child talking to a stranger in the dark and far out of reach of her parent is a blueprint for a tragedy. That mother has to be crazy! No child should ever be put in that situation.

  Coffee