My appreciation e-mail to Irwin Zalkin Law firm ( Child abuse )

by smiddy3 13 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  smiddy3

  Hi friends ,I sent an e-mail to the Irwin Zalkin law firm in the USA ,I`m in Australia ,thanking them for going to bat for all those sexually abused in the Jehovah`s Witness religion.

  Just letting them know that what they are achieving is not going unnoticed by ex -JW`s around the world with the success they are having and hopefully will continue to do.

  That was yesterday .

  Today I received a reply ,thanking me for my kind words ,and that they are doing the best they can.

  It was nice for such a prompt reply.

  I just thought I would share that with you all.
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  Finkelstein

  The only way the WTS/JWorg. can impede pedophilia happening within the organization is make a stern direction to all congregations that any possible incidences of child sexaul abuse is going to be handed over to local law authorities and after the police have made a thorough investigation the elders will take appropriate action based upon the outcome of the investigation, to disfellowship if need be.
  
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  Vidiot

  @ Fink...

  Agreed.

  If I'm right, though, they can't (from their POV), because...

  a) ...the resulting investigations, arrests, convictions, and especially disfellowshippings would end up draining the pool of available, qualified guys too severely to keep the congregations functioning properly...

  ...and/or...

  b) ...the sheer number of said investigations, arrests, and convictions that can't help but end up "a matter of public record" (and thusly way harder to refute or dismiss as "apostate lies") end up disillusioning enough of the R&F that the resulting increase in membership hemorrhage would no longer be sustainable.

  Either consequence would cause massive problems for the Org.

  Personally, I think the WT leadership would literally sell their souls if they thought it could prevent them.
• 

  Finkelstein

  a) ...the resulting investigations, arrests, convictions, and DFings would end up too severely draining the pool of guys qualified to keep the congregations functioning properly...

  I dont know about that, after all its not a big problem in every congregation, there are more incidences of fornication and adultery than pedophilia among JWS.

  They need to make a clear mandate to this is what is going to happen and make it known.

  Hiding behind the two witness rule isn't going be something that is easily exploitable.
  
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  Vidiot

  Fink - "...I dont know about that, after all its not a big problem in every congregation..."

  Oh, I suspect it's big enough...

  ...after all, why else would they have quietly reversed the rule that a past offender could never serve as an MS or elder even if he wasn't a "known abuser"? We already know that they're scraping the bottom of the barrel more and more for willing guys.

  And the anecdotal numbers suggest an average of at least one offender per congregation, don't forget.

  The Org leadership bend over backwards to snuff out any suggestion that they're not actually "God's Earthly Organization", and a pervasive, institutionalized, and endemic problem like CSA - especially in the #MeToo era - calls that claim into question like nothing else.
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  punkofnice

  Well done Smiddy. Good for you, mate.
• 

  LoveUniHateExams

  Hi Smiddy - well done mate.

  Here's my email to the ARC that I sent a few years ago, entitled A few thoughts on the Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower Society):

  Dear Mr Stewart

  I've been watching with interest the recent testimony of Spinks and O' Brien before the Australian Royal Commission into the response of the Jehovah's Witnesses organisation (Watchtower Society) to child abuse.

  Both yourself and His Honour, Justice McClellen, are doing a great job of dissecting and analysing the response (or lack of it) of the WTS to the recommendations made by the Commission in 2015.

  I'm a baptised Witness who has managed a successful fade. I belong to an exJW discussion forum and faders like me are in a minority.

  People who don't want to be a JW anymore often experience shunning to some degree. Although I've faded, I myself experienced being shunned by a JW 'sister' whom I knew from a time when I lived in SE England. I greeted her, she refused eye contact and blanked me, saying nothing. Granted, this was mild and I'm lucky I don't have family 'in'. But most people aren't so lucky.

  Another thing: you and Justice McClellen asked "why do JWs shun people who disassociate?" ... and answer came there none. You were very close to the truth when you suggested "you shun disassociated people because the bible says so" - JWs shun disassociated people because the JW hierarchy says so. In this instance, unlike cases of disfellowshipping, there are no scriptural references, as far as I'm aware.

  There have been talks at the kingdom hall where the JW speaker (usually an elder) has held up a black bible and said "if the Governing Body told me this was red, I'd say it is red!" and nobody in the audience disagreed.

  The Watchtower Society has cult-like characteristics. Governments need to monitor and persuade this religion to make changes, the 'big three' being the issues of child abuse, blood, and shunning.

  The Australian Royal Commission is working towards this end.

  Keep up the good work!

  Yours sincerely

  LUHE
  

  I also sent a similar email earlier in 2015, using my uni email and received a reply from Angus Stewart's office. I don't have that at hand but I appreciated the reply at the time.
  

  I spelled Justice McClellan's name incorrectly but I'm sure that wasn't too bad. He does have one of those weird, Gaelic names, unfortunately. XD

  But he also happens to be an excellent judge and a fine bloke, as you Aussies would say.
  

  It definitely is nice when you receive a reply from these fine people.
  
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  Phizzy

  Finky's Post began " The only way the WTS/JWorg. can impede pedophilia happening within the organization......." and I agree with the rest of his Post.

  But there is a further way to impede Abuse of the vulnerable happening, and also having the benefit of stopping Litigation against J.W Org, and that would be for a simple programme of protection to be set up.

  This is something every Congregation, no matter what size could do.

  Nearly all Sporting Clubs and other Associations have adopted the following, my own small village Club included.

  Any vulnerable person, Child ( i.e under 18) or Adult has to be accompanied by a " Chaperone", either a parent or someone appointed by a Parent or Guardian. If this is not possible to arrange, the vulnerable person CANNOT attend a function or event or anything at the Club. Each Club has an appointed Officer or Officers in charge of seeing the Protection Programme is working, and that Members adhere to all advice, for example, when using a Washroom or similar, and a vulnerable person enters alone, any Adults must leave the Room immediately. There are other features to the Programme, but you get the idea.

  If little Village Clubs can do this, all Congregations of JW's can do it.

  Would you not think that "God's Spirit Directed Org" would be ahead of the Game on this,. not so far behind ?
• 

  Vidiot

  Phizzy - "...Any vulnerable person, child (i.e under 18) or adult has to be accompanied by a 'chaperone', either a parent or someone appointed by a Parent or Guardian..."

  Sure it would work.

  I don't think the WTS would (deign to) do it, though, particularly due to the degree of attention the media is giving to the problem...

  ...the Org and JWs have been so quietly contrarian for so long that they'd resist precisely because they're being publicly pressured, even if all evidence and common sense clearly indicates it's the smart and ethical thing to do. Many would, in fact, feel insulted and offended at the suggestion that it might even be needed, and - as illogical as it may be - resist for no other reason than that.

  Not to mention that even though there'd be no "Biblical" objection to the idea, too many hardliners would view it as compromising with agents of "Satan's World" (particularly in the "Last Days")...

  ...and as far as said hardliners are concerned, it couldn't possibly be an improvement over any method "God's Earthly Organization" would use (the same reason WT reps only paid half-assed lip-service to "Working With Children" checks in Australia prior to the CARC).

  I also guarantee you that there are also some rank-and-filers who (even subconsciously) suspect that there might actually be a problem, but don't want it to be true. Those folks would definitely resist the development of any circumstances that could indirectly confirm those fears.
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  blondie

  I don't why any jw or ex-jw would think they would have a pipeline into the cases in their old or current congregation. The BOEs I have known are very careful to cover this up. Who really cares outside the WTS, whether some jw has committed "fornication" or adultery. These are very common outside the WTS, in countries like the US, Canada, UK, and Australia, and Europe. But child sexual abuse, even the Catholic church cannot avoid the hammer coming down on their head and they have more resources to hide it, but not any more.

  Some elders or ex-elders might have a pipeline into their own congregation but individual congregations are not likely to air their "dirty" laundry to other BOEs.

  Even if this only occurred once in every congregation, how many children would that be, how many congregations are there now, in 2015, 115,400. So would 115,400 victims of child sexual abuse be enough to make it a big enough problem to do something about?

  There are quite a few ex-jws at the forefront of combating the WTS past and current efforts to hide child sexual abuse in their midst, getting info from all over the world and working with non-jw lawyers to reveal the extent of the problem.

  They know how extensive this is. If you wonder how extensive, contact Barbara Anderson and she might be able to give you the statistics.

  If have misunderstood anyone's position on the reality of child sexual abuse in the WTS, I apologize, but if you have diminished its reality, shame on you. You have become part of the problem.