Abuse Myth

by gravedancer 21 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  gravedancer

  When you have the "who is the poster you like least competition" I know this post will enable you to choose Gravedancer as a prime candidate but TFB here goes:

  It would seem as if everyone here is convinced that the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses is rife with molestors and they are raping kids at every juncture and every chance they get. Perhaps with the latest attention Silentlambs has been getting this issue is just more prevalent but the reactions of some seem so stooped in personal bitterness that they are willing to just blindly accuse any JW of being a molestor (even when they know nothing else about that person other than the person is a JW).

  True I agree 110% that the policy of the 2 witness rule needs to be changed immediately and victims should be encouraged to go to the police. That is not what this post is about. I truly am sympathetic to the victims of abuse and have contributed to their cause.

  But if I was a JW coming to a place like this and all these blind accusations were being thrown about that inferred all JWS are molestors I would just conclude that everyone here was totally looney.

  We moderate language here, but how about each poster trying to moderate reality too.

  GD
• 

  pomegranate

  I have seen no such inference that all JW's are molestors.
  
  Can you show me an example?
• 

  Seeker4

  Gravedancer -

  Good point. I agree with Bill and his concerns about how dismally the Witnesses have handled abuse in the congregations. I've seen it and my family has experienced it. And I know of brothers still serving who have been accused of abuse by more than one individual.

  BUT, having said all that, I know that it is the exception and not the rule among JWs, the same as it is among the general population. AND I know that there are false accusations of abuse among the Witnesses. Shortly before I stepped down as an elder a sister from another congregation approached me asking for help for SEVEN sisters in her congregation who were recovering memories of Satanic ritual abuse. Hell, there weren't seven cases of actual SRA in the entire country!

  So, like you, I tend to be a bit wary of the sensationalizing of the issue. I was reminded of that by Connie Chung's opening segment last night, about children being abducted. Christ, if you listen to the news right now you'd think children were being grabbed off the streets left and right. But according to her report, there were a total of 200 abductions in all of 2001 in the US. With a population of 285-300 million, you do the math. Extremely rare, and I'd be willing to bet that a large percentage of those 200 were abductions by a non-custodial parent. The problem right now is that we tend to hear about every single case in broadcast after broadcast, and the impression is that it's happening everywhere all the time.

  What I think is important to focus on is not the number of pedophiles in the congregations, but how the WTS and the local elders have handled this over the years. The Society's denial of any wrongdoing on its part in Chung's broadcast last night was sickening.

  S4
• 

  minimus

  I'll bet that the majority of the posters here know at least 1 person that's been molested that was a JW. Certainly not every JW is a molester!
• 

  Vivamus

  I agree.

  Yes there has been child abuse and yes, the Borg is guilty of awful things. I am pretty pistoff at them myself.

  BUT, we should not diminish our own credibly as apostates, by generalizing. We already have the name of being against the Borg, by the sheer fact of having been DFd or DAd. There already is a prejudice against us that we have spite and hateful feelings against the organization that kicked us out. We should be careful what we say, it should be nothing but the TRUTH.

  And the truth shall set us free (lets hope).

  Peace, Viv.

  Edited by - Vivamus on 15 August 2002 9:32:1
• 

  avengers

  I know right of the bat 3 cases.
• 

  Guest 77

  I'm with you 100% on this one gravedancer. I can speak from personal experience.

  Guest 77
• 

  morrisamb

  Someone recently asked me (who knows our story), the Elders didn't know you were abused for that long did they?

  "Three years. But isn't one day, one day too many?"

  I for one am thankful there are not more victims within Jehovah's Witness families than there are! Who'd want to make the number seem larger? Whenever I talk of Witnesses or am questioned about it, I never portray the Witnesses as "sexual abusers". My god, Witnesses can't even have premarital sex! It's the monsters who used the Society's system. And it's Elders who have a responsiblility to get themselves educated! I also think the Elders should never be talking to a child without a female present. Aren't most molesters of the male gender for godsake? There insensitivity is limitless but they have a lot of company. Society as a whole needs to get with the program!
• 

  ozziepost

  Yes...........and, no.

  Yes, it's true we should not generalise and make it seem as if every Dub is embroiled in molestation. That's fair enough.

  However...... never lose sight of the fact that thousands of children amongst Jehovah's Witnesses have been abused.

  This is not something new that arose simply because of Bill Bowen's stand.

  Here in Australia, we have a similar problem and we have had courageous elders who have taken a stand over this issue. For example, one elder in New South Wales for YEARS wrote to the Bethel about his concerns about how child abuse matters were to be handled. The issues he raised are no different to those which have been highlighted in the Dateline and Panorama programs. This elder was a long-standing elder whose stand led to the inevitable result; he was DFed.

  For each child left unprotected, scores more will be assaulted by the same perpetrator. This is established FACT. The "2 witnesses" rule only serves to facilitate these crimes against humanity.

  Cheers, Ozzie
• 

  cruzanheart

  Good on you, Ozzie! You put it best: the Society's stand (or lack thereof) on child abuse merely facilitates the abuse. That's what Bill Bowen means by a "pedophile paradise," not that it's happening around the clock but that it's easy to get away with when it does. And our children, if they are raised in that environment, have two choices: either they will be hurt or abused, or they will become the same hard, unfeeling characters who turn a blind eye to the abuse while piously admonishing the flock to "wait on Jehovah." And who will disown their own families, as Barbara Anderson's son did. As my husband's family did. I stopped going when I realized that, if these were the people I was going to spend forever with, everlasting destruction looked like the more attractive choice! Because, of course, since my butt isn't parked in the chair three times a week, I am doomed. Ha!