O.K. So I had about had enough of reading JW's excuses online about WT child abuse and the Candace Conti Nightline ABC video about her case. This is a really deep burning topic to me as I'm sure it is to many of you. So today the gloves came off. I took the law into my own hands.
For weeks the JW cart people have been sitting in a little noticeable park area in our little town right near the highway entry on the main street in town. Their sign was up as I was on my way home from work and I was armed with News printouts about the Conti, Lopez, and Oregon ex-JW's child abuse WT lawsuits with informative articles from major news outlets.
I approached and saw 3 middle aged JW's ages about late 50's to late 60's sitting there watching the JW cart about 10 feet away. Two ladies and one man . I took a Memorial invitation off the rack and one of the ladies ( more talkative than the other ) approached me and gave me a magazine. I asked her, " Who are you with again " ? She said, " We are Jehovah's Witnesses ". I said, " Oh, I see . I have some relatives that are Jehovah's Witnesses. I'm curious, can I ask the 3 of you a question ? I' ve asked my JW relatives these questions and I have some real concerns or worries about some issues I've seen and heard of recently ! " So I go stand in front of all 3 of them.
I immediately share information about the ABC Nightline news report about Candace Conti ( remember I'm still standing there with WT literature in my hands ) and tell them the story of how the elders in their church apparently knew Kendrick was a child molester before but assigned him out into door knocking with Candace Conti anyway when she was a girl. The talkative JW lady immediately interrupts me and states , " Oh no ! THAT would never happen ! Our organization disfellowships child molesters. " She continued, " In fact I know of one JW child molester who served time in prison and got reinstated and the elders make him listen on the telephone to the meetings. He's not allowed to even come to the Kingdom Hall ! " I commended her elders saying, " Well that's good that your elders DO that to protect the children- however- that isn't practiced everywhere. In Kendrick's case with Conti the elders KNEW beforehand that he had molested his wife's granddaughter and they STILL allowed him to go out door knocking with her. " I continued, " And in these 3 child abuse news releases it talks of OTHER child abuse victims who were molested by elders who were appointed in SPITE of the elders and WT Society knowing these elders had previously committed child abuse. " Talkative sister " had a stunned look on her face. I had just apparently fired a shot across the bow.
I tell " Talkative Sister " that I'd like to leave these 3 news printouts with her to give her information and " skinny elder brother " ( who I think is her husband and an elder ) speaks up loudly to her as she is reaching out to take my news releases, he says, " Don't take that information from him - it's Apostate ! " I tell him , " What do you mean by " apostate " ? This information is from major news releases on the Internet . " " Talkative sister " interrupts her husband and says , " I'd like to read this because I want to be informed about WHAT is going on and being said about Jehovah's Witnesses ! " So " skinny hubby grandpa elder " sits back down and pipes down - although I can SEE him simmering like a percolating coffee pot !
All the while I'm keeping my composure and staying calm trying not to trigger these people. As " talkative sister " thumbs through the news releases she states , " THERE you have a clue right in the title of the article it says " FORMER Jehovah's Witness charges WT Society with child abuse. " She continued, " Well THAT explains everything. Candace Conti is a FORMER JW who has an axe to grind with the WT Society and she's probably been disfellowshipped and is seeking revenge against the organization ! " So I immediately ask her, " So are you telling me that if she was a CURRENT Jehovah's Witness being molested you'd be more apt to believe it ? Are you questioning her truthfulness and her motives because she is a FORMER JW ? " Talkative Sister starts backpedaling a bit saying, " Well- I haven't READ the article so I don't really know her motives but why would she wait so long as an adult to do something about it ? " I state, " Because she saw on Megan's list that Kendrick HAD molested another child AFTER her and he was still committing child abuse in her former congregation. So Candace felt guilty about this and wanted to protect other children from harm. " I continued, " You'll see this if you read the article. "
The " Talkative Sister " says , " Well , I will look it up online when I get home and research it Because I really want to know. " I told her that we cannot ASSUME somebody is untrustworthy JUST because they are NOT Jehovah's Witnesses. Dishonesty happens with people of ALL ilk and faith. I briefly explained that my JW father who is an elder warehoused my JW mom into a shoddy care facility trying to commit welfare fraud as my mom had $ 340,000 in the bank and had the right to an A+ rated facility - but my JW dad and older brother TRIED putting her in a welfare facility and when the authorities got involved - only THEN did my dad and brother put her into a better care facility. I continued, " Point I'm making is Jehovah's Witnesses CAN be dishonest just like you are saying any non-JW can be dishonest , people are people and you have to take each situation as it comes. "
At this point as Sister Talkative tried to hand back the News releases to me- " skinny husband grandpa elder " JUMPS UP off his bench and GRABS the news releases and throws them into the trash ! LOL. He says, " THAT is where this APOSTATE literature deserves to be ! It's just BS that's all it is ! " I calmly said to him, " Sir, you are sure being hateful - I took your WT literature and am willing to look into it , why are you being so destructive towards my material ? " He says, " Because YOUR material CANNOT be trusted ! " I ask him, " How do you know that I can trust YOUR material - the WT material ? " He says, " Because it comes from the Bible ! " Then he says, " You are probably an apostate too ! " I said, " I've never been a Witness. "
So I finish by stating, " Look- I'm just trying to share concerns I had in the news with you. If you don't want to hear it, then that's your right, but then THIS is how I feel about YOUR material and message as well. " I walk over to the trash can and tear in half the Memorial invitation and WT magazine and throw it away. I walk away and say, " You have a good day- just keep ignoring the fact that child molesters are in your Jehovah's Witness congregations and keep letting them get harmed. I've informed you. "
It felt very empowering doing this and even though " older elder skinny grandpa " was vitriolic towards me- I feel that his wife WILL do some research on the child abuse. That's all I was trying to accomplish, Just get the word out and then perhaps JW's will start discussing it among themselves. I stayed respectful- but I did NOT let myself get run over either. Stood up for what I believe in. And that is about spreading the REAL truth. As always look forward to your comments, any suggestions you might have for next time if I do this again ( which I plan to do ) and observations. Take care, Peace and love to you all- a big Peace out ! Mr. Flipper