Advise needed please (page 5)

Band on the Run

I worked in a Senate office. Personal letters are taken seriously. It takes time and effort to write a personal letter. Petitions are too easy. If one hundred voters write separate letters about the same issue, it is noted. Of course, with the modern word processing systems, I will write a letter about foreign policy and receive a thank you letter. The politican thanks me for writing about Medicare and lets me know all his recent work in the field.

Well, jgnat is talking corporations and I'm talking politicians. Neither policy may work for JWs.

Oubliette

EdenOne, I read your excellent series of articles on shunning. Since you generally do NOT agree with shunning as practiced by JWs, why on earth are you still as you say, " a Jehovah's Witness in good standing in the congregation "?

Crazyguy

I think your wasting your time, I sent them a letter a few months ago and all i got back was basically "what we publish is what we believe and if we change we will publish it"

skeeter1

Someone sent a letter for me, asking my questions. They got a response. It was not a reply becuase it didn't address the issues at all. It basically restated their policy and encouraged the letter sender to study with me becuase I was now asking questions!

Barbara Anderson tried very hard to change the Society on pedophilia, way before ever going on national tv. She got no where. The Society is not impressed with 'bottom up' communication. Even after court cases, they still keep the "2 witness rule" and the "3 year elder rule" that protects pedophiles. Not even multi-million dollar lawsuits sway these guys. Nor NBC.

But, you go ahead and try. But, if they put it together that you sent the letter, plan for the consequences.

rebel8

I wrote a letter under my married name to hq, with my return address at which I was never known as a dub. I said my mother was a dub growing up and I was harmed by the blood issue, and I wanted to know if it was true they secretly allowed use of factor infusions. I asked for a written reply and stated clearly not to visit me.

Elders came with letter in hand. I asked if they realized I requested no visitation and they said yes. I demanded they leave immediately.

That was my experience FWIW.

Bob_NC

Same for me rebel8. About 2 years ago I sent a letter to WT headquarters about some utter nonsense by well placed brothers that was making the WT Society look bad. I really was trying to get them to see how some brother's actions make them look ridiculous.

Within 2 weeks an elder came to my house by himself that I have known all my life. When he saw it was me, he invited me to the memorial. No way that was a coincidence.

When I was an elder, we always got letters from the Society that publishers had written. The Wt simply stuffed them in a larger envelope and asked us to handle it appropriately.

EdenOne

What I realize is the crux of the matter is to not give them the chance to "pay me a visit" back - only write.

Oubliette, I acknowledge what is the current "status quo" of procedures in the congregation. I know it makes a difference to the upper ranks to be in good standing or not in the way they handle these questions. That's all.

Eden

lisavegas420

I suggest a fake name and a friend that has a post office box.

If suddenly there was "new light" and the shunning policy was changed and my parents and siblings called me after 25 yrs of shunning me....
I don't know that I'd be ready or even want to just jump into a relationship with those strangers.

BluePill2

adamah & Separation of Powers:

This is exactly how this will go. I worked for many years in the Service Department (Branches, not HQ) and they get letters like that every day of the week. It will be sorted out, read by a Secretary in the Service Deparment (this is like 3 layers away from GB > Service Deparment Overseer > GB Secretary Service > GB). It will never reach them and they don't care! The SD will maybe try to pin you down - maybe - only if you are an interesting target. But the BOE will receive a standard template letter giving instructions. The SD works with pre-written, pre-approved templates. Problem X? Oh, open up Standard answer X. Done. Next.

Certain topics don't get answers at all. Waste of time and paper for them. They put those in the final archive:

konceptual99

Eden, you are in a no win situation.

Send it anonymously and it will be ignored.

Send it as a genuine concern and you will not get a response. But your elders will be alerted and if you are identified as having published it on the web then you will be stirring up a whole bunch of crap fro yourself.

They will NEVER change the DF process on the basis of any number of letters. The only slim, slim hope of any change in that department is if it (a) became a major, major global media issue and/or if (b) the law was changed in many places to make it illegal on the basis of human rights or if it brought into question the charitable status of the org. If it affected the numbers and the cash then expect change. But even then only after a major fight.

Just leave it up as another useful resource for people who are on the way out.

Advise needed please

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