WERE JW'S REALLY INVOLVED @GROUND ZERO?

crittersitter

my currently devout jw sis told me how "proud" she was of the bro's at the wtc and how they fed , and comforted all those ppl...this told at the meetings i suppose.
well, did they really? or was this just spin? I think i read (was it here) that the doors of HQ got locked up so outsiders could not come in....
did they really get involved" or was it enuff to make them look good?
i cannot imagine that they were not affected by fear and they had to wonder if this was the BIG A starting up.
all of the JWs iv'e ever known pretty much keep to themselves and only help those who are jws...even then you may not get the help you need if you are poor or unpopular in your cong.
i'd like to know the "troof"..
critter

Seeker

This has been discussed numerous times, and here is basically the upshot of it all:

On 9/11, as thousands of New Yorkers were walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, just yards from Bethel, they did absolutely nothing to help. There were a few JWs among those walking across, and a few of them walked up to Bethel. Once they identified themselves, they were let in and given water and rest. A press release was sent out that day talking about how Bethel helped those JWs who showed up to their doors. Then the press release was taken down, and a new one was put up that had the same information, except this time it did not identify those being helped as JWs, making it sound as if they helped worldly people even though they didn't.

Since then, there have been numerous emails reported here that claimed JWs went over to Ground Zero to help. In fact, a few select JWs did go to various locations in the city to provide a message without literature. Whether or not they got to Ground Zero is debatable, but doubtable. We have a regular here ("Patriot") who is one of those who has been working at Ground Zero, and he points out that you can't get there unless you are working or otherwise volunteering under very strict security. Possibly some JWs were preaching on the periphery, but it is doubtful that they were actually at Ground Zero as they claimed.

Another report had President Bush being preached to at Ground Zero. That is a total lie, as not only Patriot was just a few yards away from the President at the time and saw nothing of that kind happen, but the entire presidential visit was shown on TV and at no time did he speak to JWs.

There was another report that Bethel was ferrying firefighters to Ground Zero, or letting them sleep at Bethel. No independent confirmation has been found for this, and is probably an exaggeration of what did happen, something like a few firefighters were given a lift one day, or the like.

In short, there is some truth to these rumors in that some JWs have been preaching in the area. That's it. They have not helped, not volunteered, not worked at Ground Zero, not given blood, probably didn't give money, nothing. Most of the email information being floated around, as well as announcements at meetings and at assemblies have been either exaggerations or lies.

jschwehm

Hi All-

My JW relatives are being told how the Society has done a lot to help the rescuers and workers in NYC.

Jeff S.

Seeker

Jeff,

When the JW grapevine gets done with it, it will be Bethel as the chief heroes of the day, and the police and firefighters will be handing plaques to the Governing Body for their assistance, without which the firefighters would have been helpless...

It just amazes me, now that we have the Net, to see false stories get turned into accepted JW rumors overnight. We all knew JWs think the whole world is watching them, but now we get to see this organizational-level paranoia in action in real time.

nytelecom1

the wts society donated
various material supplies as requested by the mayor

masks
gloves
hardware
etc
vehicles for transportation..society drive of course
the policeman at the have made use of 90 sands
crashing on the couch

but what do i know...i am only 8 miles from bethel and one
of my elders works in warehouse

normie67

Heres a recent email I received. I do not know if its true or not!

Here is another report from G-Zero for our brothers

>subscribed to Our JW Newsgroup. From Brother Dunne's

>Newsletter, we at bethel read the following:

>

> It truly is amazing how Jehovah's spirit is directing

>our efforts in the ministry. At a time when we thought

>the apathy we face in the ministry could get no worse,

>we are now receiving an abundance of favorable

>responses in the ministry here in NYC.

>The most amazing response was received on September

>18, 2001, just one week after the WTC incident. An

>elder from one of the Brooklyn congregations, Brother

>Gargolaz, and his wife, lives 12 blocks from Ground

>Zero. Brother Gargolaz and his wife started witnessing

>early on 9/18 working their way closer toward Ground

>Zero. This faithful brother and sister found that

>comfort and a hope for the future was what everyone

>was looking for.

>Now a crowd of policemen and firefighters began to

>gather around curiously.

>They could not understand why there were so many

>smiles being created. Now on this day, President Bush

>was to visit the World Trade Center wreckage.

>While viewing the heinous consequences of the attacks,

>George Bush noticed the group of people that had

>gathered and also wanted to know why and how so many

>people could have smiles on their faces at a time like

>this.

>For security reasons, the Secret Service was sent to

>investigate.

> The SS responded to the President that there were

>comforters giving comfort to all of those affected by

>the incident. The president found it odd that the

>comfort was coming to the people instead of the

>people looking for the comfort. What a great idea he

>said. I would like to meet these comforters.

>After searching the Brother and his wife for weapons,

>they were escorted to the president where he commended

>them for their efforts, and asked them what their

>message of hope was. That is when Brother Gargolaz

>could do no more than pull out the book "Knowledge

>that leads to Everlasting Life". The president gladly

>accepted the book and promised that he would begin

>reading it on his flight back to the capital.

>Let us never give up in our ministry due to the apathy

>of the world.

>This experience goes to show that changing

>circumstances in one's life really can change the

>attitudes we face in the ministry. Remember, Brother

>Gargolaz watered, but it is Jehovah who will make it

>grow.

> With all our love, Bethel Family

>

normie67

closer2fine

I hate them and their duplicity.

closer

RunningMan

And the batteries. Don't forget the batteries.

I heard they donated a couple of packs.

expatbrit

6000 people dead?

Oh how wonderful! It'll reduce some of that nasty apathy!

Bastards!

Expatbrit

Room 215

Loyal JW lurkers, judge for yourselves the WTS response in the aftermath of the September 11 horror:
It would seem fair that the adequacy of its response by the following criteria:
(1) The historic magnitude of the tragedy;
(2) The extent of the Society's Brooklyn resources (in manpower, equipment and bulding space), all uniquely positioned in perfect logical proximity to Ground Zero;
(3) Their insistence that they are the only genuine followers of Christ on the whole globe.
As I said, judge for yourself.

WERE JW'S REALLY INVOLVED @GROUND ZERO?

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