The spanking room

by dgp 39 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  dgp

  I just got "The spanking room: A child's eye view of the Jehovah's witnesses", by William Coburn. The author says that their old kingdom hall didn't have a spanking room, so the spanking took place in the ladies' room. There was always a line, either for ladies wanting to make use of the toilet the way it was intended to be used, or for ladies waiting their turn to spank their children. Some people complained that they missed the meeting because they couldn't hear much when waiting to spank their children, or once they were in the bathroom in the spanking. So, when they got a new kingdom hall, they solved two problems: one, they built a room for the specific purpose of spanking; two, they extended the sound system into the new room, so the mothers wouldn't miss the meeting during the spanking.

  It gave me the goosebumps to even think of what those children had to go through when waiting to be spanked. I never imagined that an organization that calls itself religious would actually plan for a place for the spankings to take place. But it is even worse to think that some refined sadist would think of extending the sound system into the spanking room. It was conceivably possible for a mother to hear things such as "Love thy neighbor" or "turn the other cheek" at the same time she was spanking the child.

  It's not like I was never spanked by my worldly parents. I grew up in a place where spanking was common, and sometimes brutal. But we never ever would have even conceived a Catholic building with a room built for the purpose of spanking a child because he cries or gets bored during the mass. We would complain about mothers who took their children to mass knowing full well they interrupt the service. Perhaps we would have complained about ill-behaved children, but we would never suggest building a special room for spanking.

  Now that spanking has been made illegal in many countries, do Jehovah's witness still spank their children? Isn't it sad, and perhaps revealing, that Jehovah's witness children can now complain about beatings not thanks to the organization, but in spite of it and thanks to the worldlies?
• 

  jamiebowers

  During my time as a jw attended three kingdom halls. There wasn't a spanking room in any of them, but the was a library where spankings usually took place. Thankfully I didn't have children when I was in.
• 

  skeeter1

  Spanking took place. The woman's bathroom was used; as we rented our facility. We didn't have a sound proof spanking room. But, the whole congregation would snicker (he-he) when the bathroom door opened and a child's voice was whaling from pain.

  You see, as sick as it is, spanking is actually encouraged. The older JW women routinely tell a new JW mother not to spoil the child by sparing the rod. Spanking starts early, sometimes a tap on an infant's fussy butt. The JW women believe that they are doing a good thing by spanking their children. They teach that to spank a child will make him grow into a quiet child who respects the Kingdom Hall and silently listen for Jehovah's teachings. Learning Jehovah's Word is considered very important, as it means the child's eternal salvation. So, a spanking is considered as "Jehovah's blessing". It also proves that the mother takes the religion very seriously and respects others in the congregation.

  This was in an ex-JW book, and I can attest to it from my personal experience. As sick as it is, it is the mother's justification. I think most kids really hate the Kingdom Hall. At least, I did and counted down the minutes until a meeting was over.
• 

  dinah

  I think most kids really hate the Kingdom Hall. At least, I did and counted down the minutes until a meeting was over.

  Same here.
• 

  GLTirebiter

  We would complain about mothers who took their children to mass knowing full well they interrupt the service.

  The Catholic church I grew up attending (and several others I have seen) had a "crying room". There was a thick, sound-proof plate glass window facing the altar, piped in sound, and was located close to the bathrooms for convenient diaper changes. They tried to make it possible for mothers to attend mass without disturbing the service. During those baby boom days, building a crying room was a wise choice for any Catholic parish. It was popular and well used!
• 

  dgp

  Where I live we don't have such niceties. Mothers are simply asked to take the child outside. And, by the way, people would hate it if you spanked your child inside the church, even back then when spanking was a fact of life.

  These days, people are also asked to turn their cell phones off. The reason being the same.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I haven't read the book. I probably will. But I don't know if "the spanking" room was a slight exaggeration of the powder room or what. Maybe it was a metaphor for the purpose that some other room took on. Anyway, I was never in a Kingdom Hall that had a room whose purpose was to spank. The library, the washroom, or outside: that is where the spankings occured.

  Perhaps there is such a room in some hall this author attended.

  As far as the sound in the washroom, that was very common. As I look back, I remember men commenting on how that only encouraged sisters to stay in the washroom. So frigging what if it did? What were they missing? Especially when the sound was pumped in.
• 

  GLTirebiter

  These days, people are also asked to turn their cell phones off. The reason being the same.

  Yes indeed, the music minister makes that announcement before announcing the opening hymn!

  I believe the official name for the sound-proof annex these days is "mothers' room" instead of "crying room". They're trying to avoid any negative connotation I suppose, but it's still the same idea. It seems like such a logical solution to the problem, I wonder why more parishes don't have one?
• 

  Palimpsest

  We had a "diaper-changing room" in the ladies' restroom that was really nothing more than a spanking room. I spent some quality time there, usually for grave offenses like coughing during a prayer or asking to get a drink of water.

  I used to get yelled at a lot for turning around and looking at the clock during meetings. We even had announcements from the podium about how looking towards the back of the Hall was disrespectful to the speaker and therefore to Jehovah, which I'm sure were provoked by children (and a few adults) like me who just couldn't take it anymore.

  Every Witness I know is still adamant about spanking. "Spare the rod..." gets said way more than I care to hear.
• 

  rnicole76

  The spanking room is a bit exaggeration of what the restroom is used for. Yes a lot of mothers do be spanking their kids in order for them to sit and be quiet during the meeting. I think some take it too far. What do they expect when their kids are bored with nothing to do? Thats why you give books with lots of cute pictures to look at not no Book of Bible Stories when they are 3 years old. It is stupid to give your kids that kind of book. They don't understand those pictures and why people are being destroyed in the armaggedon picture.