by TakeOffTheCrown 36 Replies latest jw friends
Most of the general public have a preconceived notion who the JWS are , they come to people's homes proselytizing, they see them on the streets standing by literature carts now.
They perceive the JWS as some wacko religious cult.
That in itself is a probable reason why a mother might react strongly when the JWS come to their private homes asking for a teenaged daughter.
I know of a few mothers/parents who might react the very same way this woman did.
I don't think there is anything sinister here. Just a bumbling amateur hour show. But that's what you can expect when you send essentially untrained people knocking on strangers' doors. Sheesh!
The "brother" was accompanied by a "sister," albeit in the background. They asked for the girl, whose age they might not have known, by name. The man should have immediately identified who he was and that they were JWs. When asked by the parent, he should have immediately revealed how they got the girl's name and why they were calling on her specifically.
I would hope the man was trying to push the hysterical woman's camera out of his face and it just appeared that he "slapped" her. I would be very surprised if he intentionally stuck her.
I agree with others here who say the JWs probably came by the girl's name innocently. Most likely, she either lied out of embarrassment or someone set her up as a prank.
I think this a bunch of nothing, blown way out of proportion, maybe by someone hoping for some kind of settlement (ie., money).
Geez, guys, making a big deal out of this kind of thing tends to make people take us less seriously when there really is something to expose. "See! It's all apostate-driven lies!"
I doubt JWs care to mention what religion they're affiliated with at the door (I've heard this more than a few times - word is out re/the cult) so doors won't be slammed immediately, and they aren't going to blow a potential study/convert revealing the daughter's possible interest in the religion. I don't like the JW's aggressive behavior re/the mother's phone but he could be upset/angry in the event the daughter lied and put him in this negative situation and now he's dealing with a big issue. Regardless - he's the adult and she is just a young girl -- he could have used self control and conducted himself in a cultured way or just lost it if the mother was accusational, crazy/whatever.
I commend the parents being protective of their daughter especially if aware of the WT cult. They've hurt/scarred too many innocent people and haven't cared a bit about the victims or their welfare.
Because of the audio redactions, I'm not certain if there may have been an initial discussion between the 15 yo and the female JW. If so, then it would have been most appropriate if the female JW performed the follow-up call with the girl, not the male JW.
Security cameras and video doorbells are now common, so anyone passing by or approaching any home needs to anticipate they may be recorded.
The mother had a right to ask the identity and purpose for anyone asking to speak with any member of her family and she had a right to decline permission for her minor daughter, especially when the callers (plural) refused to identify who they are and the group they represent when specifically asked.
JWs have an obligation to identify themselves and the purpose of why they are calling. They are attending people's homes, the home occupant is not attending a clearly marked JW facility. A homeowner knowing they are JWs cannot be assured. While the male JW stated their visit was to share 'wonderful thoughts from the bible', they inappropriately did not state they are JWs or which congregation they represent.
Once permission was denied, we can assume the JWs departed peacefully and without incident or action. As all they did was simply to ask to speak with the girl and there was no suspected sinister or illegal purpose, there was no cause for the mother to involve police or TV news.
The woman obviously somehow learned they are JWs and the congregation as she later inappropriately and aggressively confronted the male JW within the KH's parking lot.
While pushing away the camera pointed at him may have been inappropriate for the JW, it was also inappropriate to unexpectedly have a camera shoved at him. He was likely taken off-guard by the aggressive actions taken the woman that accosted him while he was attending his place of worship.
Although we might assume it was the woman who is involving the police, perhaps it was the JW that called police due to the woman's actions.
The girl herself was mostly responsible for the brouhaha, she might have asked for a study through JWorg. then when the JWS arrived she denied doing so.
Young teens can behave in a erratic unsuspecting way.
The whole story was edited by the news company toward a bias for the mother and daughter .
Leaving out our personal bias against WT and the JW religion, there was nothing newsworthy here. This was a routine follow-up by 2 JWs regarding the name and address for a potentially interested person. JWs will use any leads to pursue a potential study.
The "brouhaha" was caused by the mother using video footage she created and provided to the TV station.
The daughter was not interviewed for her side so anything she supposedly said is hearsay. Maybe the girl was curious and accepted a tact from a JW cart, or asked a JW friend at school about JW beliefs. As suggested, perhaps her name and address were submitted to JW_org by someone else as a prank.
When the mother told the daughter a man was at the door asking for her by name to talk about the bible, the girl may not have known anyone by that description if she did not speak with him earlier. Perhaps the initial discussion with JWs, if there was any, had occurred sometime prior and the girl didn't give it any further thought.
If a similar situation occurred with someone asking for my minor daughter but didn't identify who they are, I would have denied access as I believe the mother did initially. I would not have initially involved police or TV news, and I would not pursue the guy after the fact. If the situation was repeated, I would likely become more assertive that the action would not be further tolerated, and if there was a third incident, police would become involved.
Perhaps the mother submitted this nonstory to the TV station as a means for 15-minutes of fame. While her concerns may have seemed somewhat reasonable initially, once she pursued the JW to his place of worship to confront him, she then came across as unbalanced. What did she expect would occur as a result of that confrontation?
No one seems to get it ...
The man should have immediately identified who he was and that they were JWs. When asked by the parent, he should have immediately revealed how they got the girl's name and why they were calling on her specifically.
You don't know these things didn't happen, they don't show the video so there is more than a good chance that they did. Evidence that they did identify themselves is that the woman showed up at the KH.
The "brouhaha" was caused by the mother using video footage she created and provided to the TV station.
The daughter was not interviewed for her side so anything she supposedly said is hearsay.
Exactly. There is so much missing from the video and the fact that it's missing allows you to fill in the gaps and dismiss it.
Someone wanted to be on the news and the news wanted to fill a segment.
