Richard Oliver: You desire to be
factual on a very sensitive topic and that is not necessarily a good thing. For
instance, when I see news reporters reporting a horrible tragedy that befell of
some kid out there and they do it with a straight face, I sometimes wonder about
their humanity. Sure, news agencies try to be factual, but one of the best TV
moments recorded in history was when Walter Cronkite reported the assignation
while visibly shaken by the news itself. It made him human. It made him partake
in the overwhelming feeling of grief that was all around on that day.
Here, you are talking about kids molested,
many for years, while their misfortune was mishandled and often, worsened by
the religion of their parents. You cannot, and should not, remain entirely
factual. You should display some level of emotions about this; then be factual despite all the grief you should also
share in. Trying to be “professional” and not share emotions only makes you
less human, not more professional.
Kids were abused and we don’t know exactly how much the society is
paying. However, a fair assessment would be: “a lot”, “millions”. How much
exactly? No one knows. But to try to make it “not much” in the way you seem to
present the information sounds like you are rejoicing in the fact that the
guilty party is not being punished to severely.
Do you even accept as a fact that the Watchtower did mishandle a
shocking number of sexual abuse cases?
