by sir82 26 Replies latest jw friends
1) When confronted with evidence of child molestation, doing the bare legal minimum is not enough morally
2) A carefully honed and managed reputation can be destroyed literally overnight if immoral actions / inactions are brought to light
3) No matter how "high up" someone is, he is still accountable for his actions / inactions, and will have to pay consequences for wrong choices
4) Protection of children always trumps protecting an institution
Any others?
Those guys don't plan to take the fall their busy arranging things so that when it hits the fan the local elders will be holding the bag. Kind of like the old mission impossible the tape self destructs and if you get caught we'll disavow any knowledge we'll say you acted on your own. It's just another way to use "THEOCRATIC WARFARE".
Elders beware
I definitely thought of the how JWs handle child abuse cases when I read this in my local paper:
"When an institution discovers abuse of a kid, their first reaction was to protect the reputation of the institution and the perpetrator," said John Salveson, former president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
http://fbcjaxwatchdog.blogspot.com/
THis guy blogs about the same thing, in relation to Southern Baptist churches. He's written some powerful posts on this topic.
Very true. Any organization that doesnt protect a child, thats only considered about the organization, coperation, etc, is just as guilty as the accused.
SNAP has been fighting child abuse since 1988. That had this release:
Posted by Peter Isely on November 08, 2011 · Flag
If Joe Paterno resigns as the head football coach at Penn State, it is a good start. However, it is nowhere near enough. Voluntarily giving up your high-paying, prestigious job under pressure isn’t a sufficient penalty for endangering the physical and mental wellbeing of children and won’t do enough to deter such cover ups in the future.
This is an opportunity for Paterno and others to learn from their failure to protect the most vulnerable members of our community and model personal and public responsibility.
It is encouraging if Penn State holds Paterno accountable and makes him resign his position. It is necessary, however, that Paterno hold himself accountable and takes the steps above as well as other steps to help these victims heal and to prevent similar abuse and cover up in the future.
Paterno’s career as a football coach may be over soon. But his time as someone who can do something to protect children in the future should just be getting started.
Finally, whenever his career ends, let’s all show some sensitivity and compassion for those kids who were hurt because of his mishandling of the Sandusky case. Let’s not rub salt into their wounds by waxing eloquently about Paterno’s professional achievements. His on-the-field success is now sadly and appropriately dwarfed by his off-the-field failure.
http://www.snapnetwork.org/a_paterno_resignation_would_a_good_start_but_not_enough
Good thread...
I was thinking about this as I watched CNN's coverage last night. As well respected, liked, revered as JoePa was, once this scandal came to light, there was no saving him. A lot of people are going down because of their inaction. Sandusky is the evil predator, but by their inactivity, whether to protect the school's rep, the football program's rep, or their own position, each of the men up the chain who knew, including McQuery, are criminally and/or morally negligent (I can't figure out why McQeury hasn't been fired. If Paterno goes, so should he).
If I was an elder and was watching this scandal unfold, I'd be nervous. When an accusation occurs, the first order of business is to call "The Branch" for direction. If state law requires it, the Branch will direct them to call the authorities. If not, they will not direct them to call. Everything will be handled in-house.
McQuery and Paterno are like JW elders who called the Branch. The Branch did not direct them to call the police. Later, after the predator continued to harm others, it comes to light that they knew he was a predator and did basically nothing.
Real JW elders need to take notice and heed. Even if they follow the WTS guidelines, they can still be held accountable. As the OP noted, just following the bare legal requirements is not morally enough.
If you're an elder and an accusation is made, and the Branch notified and they don't direct you to call the authorities - and you don't - you're no better than McQuery, Paterno, the AD or the school president. While you may not lose your job, or get raked across the coals in a media spotlight, you are just as immoral as these men were. They didn't speak up to protect school/football/own ass. You're not speaking up to save the WTS.
Even if there is no legal repurcussions, you owe the members of your community, the local congregation of JWs, an explanation and a warning: A predator is in your midst. To cover up his crimes and not alerting the families with children who come in contact with this person is the same as the Penn State people who kept the news on the down low and did little or nothing to let others know.
The entire Penn State thing is disgusting and revolting. Now multiply that by dozens, if not hundreds, of congregations across the US and world that have dealt with child abusers and the Penn State situation pales in comparison. One predator is bad enough, but how many cases has the WTS covered up? How many predators have gotten away with their crimes because of the inactivity of the local elders and the Branch?
But don't expect the GB to take a lesson from all this. The main difference between Penn State and the WTS is that Penn State has a board of trustees that when shit hit the fan knew it was time to act. The WTS has the GB... men who will do anything to protect their ivory tower and reputation, including lying and covering up.
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/stor...
"....If you look at Penn State as the Catholic Church, and Paterno as the pope, and Sandusky as a cardinal, then what was McQueary — a graduate assistant on the football team at the time — supposed to do?
Maybe McQueary’s whole world, whole belief system, whole future was in jeopardy. Who was going to believe McQueary? His own life and future were on the line. And if people did believe him, then the church of Penn State could come crashing down.
Now, Paterno comes off as the Great Hypocrite.
That’s because he turned Penn State into a church, basically. And it is such a dangerous, yet accepted, thing to treat football as a religion.
McQueary grew up worshipping that Penn State church. Now, he’s in hiding.
Paterno followed the rules, didn’t he? His legal obligation was to inform his superiors. That’s what he did. It wasn’t enough.
It is particularly galling in the NCAA, where the path to righteousness is supposedly based on following an NCAA rulebook that is wholly flawed. We have too many examples of coaches reaching legendary status by following rules and, as a result, getting a pass if they fail to exhibit the kind of behavior we should really expect.’
It is so easy to compare this scandal to similar allegations that the Catholic Church has battled. In both cases, you can’t get past the question of whether people may have covered for someone they knew did wrong.
“In both cases, they are powerful, popular institutions,’’ Clohessy said.“Rigid, mostly male hierarchies. They focus on public image rather than public safety. They have a desire to handle things quietly and internally, rather than handle it appropriately and externally.
It felt like a wake. And while it was touching, it also was an insult to the victims.
In the end, protocol and rules were followed. People say we are a nation of laws. But Paterno lives trapped in his home. And McQueary is in protective custody, real or figurative. All for following the rules."
Nebraska 17-14 FINAL
JOE-PA UNDER HOUSE ARREST. Graduate Assistant in protective custody. Cardinal Sandusky free on bail.
As pagan America honors the PIG(skin) on Yahweh's Sabbath
Missing DA Was Tied To Sandusky Case
".......Fox 29 has confirmed the FBI has an open file on Gricar but it’s unknown if the case is still active.
But a missing person's poster for Gricar is still on the FBI Web site, even though Gricar was legally declared dead in July 2011.
So what happened to Gricar?......... "
