At my first District Convention in Oakland, CA at the Raiders Stadium, I was eager to help out in anyway I could. Back in 1970 it was still easier to get assignments when you were just baptized or even before baptism. They did n't get as serious about assignements until aftyer the Elder arrabgement was announced in 1971 and employed in 1972.
It was 1970 ... mid summer ... July. I was baptized with my then Fiance' at one of the largest JW baptisms outside the big one in 1958. There were about 750 baptized, and it hit the San Francisco newspapers.
I was primed! Armageddon by 1975! We have got to get the word out man! As the Society said, times are urgent! So, what can I do as a newly baptized JW? Stay with my lovely Fiance' and enjoy my time with her? Oh nooooo! I have to volunteer!
1. I enjoyed three assignments. Handing out hand bills at the close of the day, the one where I was accused of spreading apostate literature by an idiot. The head of the attendant dept and lit dept finally straightened it out. The JW who accused me was an Attendant. He would not read the handbill to make sure it was from the Society. So he just assumed it was apostate. Why? No one told the Attendant Dept. that handbills were being handed out. I should have gotten a clue right then that this religion was going to be a problem.
2. I got to walk around with little tiny signs, holding them up to my chest, that said, "QUIET PLEASE!" and making the gesture of a finger to my lips which suggsted talking in a low voice or not talking at all.
Where do Pedophiles come in then?
3. When I was done with the Quiet Sign during the Session, I went to the Attendant Dept. and asked if there was anything else I could do. I was happey with the sign job, but I wanted to do something else in the next session. Soooooo ...
I asked to be an Attendant and do the count during the session. The Attendant head said that counting was a serious assignment that I was not ready for yet. Uhmmm ... I could count empty seats! But he said that was a job for brothers with more expeience in the truth, likely one who is already a Servant. Okay, is there anything else?
The Dept head said that I could Walk the bathrooms during session Walk the what? The bathrooms! You know what we mean don't you? No, I don't? Is that wherew I count attendance? Kind of like a less serious job than counting the larger seating sections. Fewer people, more likely that I will not screw up the count? He said no, that is not what we mean. Oh, then what do you mean?
We want you to count the number of feet in the stalls! Count feet? You mean I need a tape measure to count the available square feet of a stall? No, stupid, the number of human feet! Ohhhh, I see. And when I count feet, what do I do then? You report any case where there are more than two feet in a stall to the nearest Attendant! Ahhhhhh ...
And what does the Attendant do with this information? gee yu ask a lot of questions. The Attandant will go in and knock on the stall and see who answers and ask what is going on. Ahhh ... what could be going on beside the obvious number 1 or 2?
The Attendant chief said that sometimes it is a father helping a child to go to the bathroom. Sometimes, it is homosexuals doing things that should not, or someone trying to molest a child.
Molest a child at a JW convention? What? Bathrooms? Number of feet? You see, he said, sometime 'new ones' still studying and just getting started in Jehovah's organization do not fully understand the 'Truth' and may be doing things they should not. More likely, it is 'Worldly' people.
What do you do then? If the attendant suspects any wrong conduct, he ask the people to leave the convention and gets another Attendant to help escort them out. Nothing else? No, there is nothig else we can do!
I should have turned tail and run like hell, but I counted feet. I am happy to report that I saw only two feet per stall. But, even then, in 1970, the JWs were noticing a problem with peodphiles, and knew where they could possibly catch them. Although I did not see this, the Attendant head told me that the day before they caught a teenage couple having sex in one of the bathrooms. I guess that is what Francios meant about going to conventions to get laid.
1970! Over the years I served off and on between the Food Service Dept., Accounting, Attendance, and somtimes the Stage and SOund system when they had need for an electrical engineer and discovered that the Brother who was a car salesman was not as knowledgeable about some things as they thought.
Whenever I worked in the Attendant dept., they still mentioned counting feet from time to time. When I moved to the Pacific Northwest I don't recall feet being mentioned anymmore. That may have just beeen a California thing. But the whole issue goes to show that the WTS was at least aware of pedophiles at conventions, and had developed a way to handle it ... just nicely ask them to leave the conventnion. Why? because the SOciety likes to boast that they do not need POLICE at conventions. Let the pedophiles and purse snatchers in, but keep the COPS out! Might spoils our CLEAN IMAGE!
Amazing