by hannibal 20 Replies latest jw friends
Thank you Gopher, you are a good friend and alot better at conveying
what I am trying to say!First, I am sorry to heidi if i offended her this was not
intended.I was not trying to tye my question to Bill bowen to this case,it
just hit closer to home and got me think at the Big picture.Going back and reading my
orginal post I do understand the response, I guess the question got lost
in my post becuase of my inability to exspress my thoughts.
Sorry Heidi
I have talked to thousands of molestation survivors. Many speak of the pain and hardship caused by those who raised doubts or slandered them for trying to come forward and protect children. I believe them without question. The organization uses the shread of doubt to crucify people who are fragile to begin with. At silentlambs we support those who suffer and refuse to add to it by questioning the basis of them coming forward. If a certain survivor's story is shaky it will not end up as part of a lawsuit, but yet we would never question or doubt them in anyway. That is the basis for the abused lambs page, you read and see the truth. If someone is not truthful it can be seen and the reader can form their own opinion. At silentlambs our job is not to question or raise doubts, but instead to offer support, love and understanding. To fulfill that mission we never question when an abuse survivor comes forward.
So is any pub a good pub?
yes
As far is Heidi is concerned, she told the truth and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.
silentlambs
Edited by - silentlambs on 4 July 2002 14:27:35
Hannibal,
For what it's worth:
I understood where you were coming from from the beginning (although I was curious about what you might have to say about Heidi). On the other hand, I was never *that* interested in Heidi's veracity (or lack thereof) and saw that aspect of your post only as a side issue. I know how it is on discussion forums when the words you type don't come out exactly how you mean for them to.
I was more interested in the very valid point you made that Bill should keep in mind: as the pedophile issue grows and more people stand up, there exists the real possibility of fakers coming along to inhibit the progress of the "silentlambs" movement; as well as the unfortunate possibility of having real victims being disbelieved.
As much as possible, it is a good idea to know the history of people before buying into their story lock, stock and barrel -- only to find out that one has been taken for a ride.
Thank you Teejay
Han, I got your back,
Hannibles questsion came from a conversation we had the other day. I said that i hope there isnt alot of band wagon jumpers, that are going to come out aginst the wts, just for publicity reasons, and we wondered how much investigating was done before any accusations were brought out in public.
In no way is he defending the wts, rember what he said " my stepfather molested my sister, was never dfed" as some of you know Hannible and i are related. Child abuse and molestation has effected our familys. i say again in no way is he defending the wts in fact we are very happy that things are comming to light.
also he never denied what happened to you Heidi, just was wondering how much of a case was put togather beffore going public.
Heidi , I was a member of a congergation that is in your area, I know the lindelas. I am preaty sure i know you and mrs"Jane doe" as her family attended the cong. that i was in, I just want you to know that I am behind you 110% to lend support in any way possible, just e-mail if ther is anything i may be able to do to help
Thanks conversation stopper,
I appreciate your post>
Somehow , I missed your post Mr. Bowen, thank you for your
response and keep up the fight, Thank you.
Hannibal -
Didn't mean to get overly defensive. I need to learn to let some of these things go. Before I decided to go public, I had to have a long, serious decision-making process and determine whether it was going to be worth it if mud started flying. But, I do have the truth on my side, and that gives me a foundation strong enough to battle anyone questioning whether or not I am telling the truth or questioning my motives. I was asked when speaking to someone on public radio on Tuesday if this was related to the Dateline stories - ABSOLUTELY! The instant that my friend and I realized that there is a legal way to stop problems like this from continuing, we knew that we had to do it. I spoke with Bill Bowen the Saturday following the Dateline airing, and Jeffrey Anderson two days after that. One week after the airing of Dateline, I was sitting in Jeffrey Anderson's office with "Jane Doe" telling him my story. I will forever be indebted to all 3 girls who told their stories to Dateline, and to Dateline for airing it. "Jane" and I have kicked around the idea of trying to tackle this ourselves, but had no idea how to go about it. Once we saw that we had legal options regarding what was done to us, we immediately followed through.
I understand your skepticism about why there would suddenly be a bunch of people filing suits, but I think you're not understanding the reasons behind this rash of suits (as I believe more will be filing). I think that the more people see this is an organization-wide problem, not just something happening locally, they will feel compelled to tell their story. And they will feel safer in telling their story, knowing that others have done it before them. If that makes you skeptical about their motives, then you have every right to question their motives.
Personally, there are many people who have "known" me, or believe they have known me because they sat near me in a KH or at an assembly, and they will have drawn all sorts of conclusions about me. Some think nothing but good things about me, some think no good things about me at all. All of that is fine. I expect this reaction (though it does still hurt) and I especially expect it from people who are afraid to think that this sort of thing could actually happen within Jehovah's organization. I know they would rather point at me and recount every sin I've ever committed than look at the people they entrust with their spirituality and have to start doubting what kind of people they really are. People's reactions to what kind of person I am are really neither here nor there - I felt compelled to tell my story to protect others from suffering the same thing at this individual's hands, and to make other people who HAVE suffered through this feel like they absolutely CAN stand up for what is right. Even against the WTBTS.
Not Interested, now you have sparked my curiousity - email me with who you are if you're comfortable doing that. Thank you all for your kind words. Bill, a special thanks for quoting me in just the way I wanted! You gave me a lot of courage to speak that I may not have had if you hadn't been there. Thanks again!
Heidi,
Your e-mail is restricted (probably a very smart idea) If you want mine is in my profile.
N.I.
I realized that after I posted, but I've already sent you an email. :-)
