Happy Birthday to you! Life's definitely not over for you.
So glad that you are here.
Mrs. Flipper
many of you don't know me or won't remember me.
i left the jw's and my husband and my home last september - forging a new life in a new town.
i haven't posted here for many months, but have been reading most days.
Happy Birthday to you! Life's definitely not over for you.
So glad that you are here.
Mrs. Flipper
there's a lot of criticism surrounding the jw's handling of chiild abuse within their ranks with a lot of it being well deserved.
but i'm interested to know how people on here think child abuse allegations should be handled.
there's a few scenarios below, the first couple are easy then it gets a bit more complex.
In ALL cases of child abuse within the JW organization or elsewhere- the police authorities should be contacted FIRST - before elders or the WT legal department are contacted, end of discussion, period mark, exclamation point. The protection of abused children is FOREMOST- not the JW " reputation " or " financial concerns " - child abuse is a felony crime with long years of prison time as a penalty- child abuse is not just a " sin " - it's a serious crime and it's not within elders, priests, or religious leaders of any faith's place or power to absolve or " forgive " or PREVENT justice and laws of the land to punish these child molesters. Peace out, Mr. Flipper
there's a lot of criticism surrounding the jw's handling of chiild abuse within their ranks with a lot of it being well deserved.
but i'm interested to know how people on here think child abuse allegations should be handled.
there's a few scenarios below, the first couple are easy then it gets a bit more complex.
Oh, for Christ's Sake. It is totally obvious when someone wants to deflect attention from what's really going on. Like the examples stated in the op.
I just get a feeling in my gut about these guys who do this. Y'all know damned well we are talking about REAL pedophiles, not statutory rape.
It seems the possibility of more lawsuits makes some people pretty nervous.
I don't have the patience to dance around it.
Mrs. Flipper
8 months df'd.
loving a life of freedom.
however, my family are all shunning me.
PALE EMPEROR- I feel for you as well. Your friends here on this board and my friends here on this board are right- it's time to not let these JW relatives hurt us anymore. Just being in their presence can be toxic to our existence. Like 3rdgen, my dear JW mom died in early December and since her funeral I've heard nothing- notta- zilch from any of my older JW siblings or even my adult JW daughters to see how I'm doing. I've called some of them to see how they are holding up- but I get nothing in return. Silence and shunning.
It's like JW's only put on a good outward " appearance " when someone dies- then after that we are pretty non-existent to them in the aftermath after " necessary family business " . Or " dead " to them in their eyes. Who of us needs THAT kind of treatment ? Nobody deserves that kind of treatment. I agree with others here- dealing with the hateful JW family you have is damaging to you, limit or just avoid them. I'm having to do that with my JW family as well , it's just too exhausting being played by them as it puts you on an emotional yo-yo. One day the yo-yo gets slammed into the wall and we break into pieces. I understand that you are tired of it, me too- I'm totally exhausted when I'm around any of my JW relatives - one reason I'm rarely in their presence- for my own sanity. Please know we are always here to offer our friendship, hang in there and take care, Peace out, Mr. Flipper
in another thread a poster has been in a pitched fight with others about the results from the arc.
trying to explain away the results and minimizing the damages.
what he has failed to understand is that the society had and still does have certain policies in place that hide the sexual abuse of minors.
Thank you, Giordano, for this thread.
There are some rather determined efforts to derail threads about the WT's legal troubles over their disastrous handling of child abuse. Some are from posters who identify as ex jws.
Maybe there fear behind it - of what could come out of more legal action against the WT. Someone who was an elder or ms may have looked the other way back then when abuse was being covered up. They may have disagreed and even been disgusted about it, but followed orders. This could come back on them.
My good friend LITS has been trying for years to protect the children in her area from some really bad ex-con pedophiles who are protected and befriended by idiotic elders - some who see themselves as spiritual mentors to the pedophiles, a few who seem to be afraid of them. These guys may now be really worried.
She has gotten a whole lot of discouragement not only from the elders but from others. Some major gaslighting and downright harassment. However, the children may have been protected - the elders' fear for their own interests may be the thing that gets them to watch the pedophiles. So keep the information coming.
She is not alone, just more outspoken.
Mrs. Flipper
at least, that is how i see it... the article "the judge of all the earth always does what is right".
paragraph 6 & 7 .
6 consider the experience of willi diehl.
BLUES BROTHER- Very interesting article, thanks for sharing. My take on this is the WT Society is continuing the indoctrination to rank & file JW's that the WT Society is NOT infallible , but there's a catch to it. The quote " Eventually, the mistaken view regarding marriage that prompted the injustice was corrected, and Brother Diehl's privileges of service were restored . His loyalty to Jehovah was rewarded. "
Translation : " We the WT leaders or Governing Body may due to imperfections mistakenly may render injustices by taking away privileges temporarily- but we always follow Jehovah's holy spirit and CORRECT these injustices and misunderstandings - so Jehovah will reward you if you just stay patient, keep your mouth shut and respond to the discipline - for " whom Jehovah loves he disciplines " . This is how I see the WT Society putting out this info. They may screw up- but no big deal in their view - they think they'll get it right and rank & file JW's need to remain patient and endure suffering WHILE the GB tries to get it " right "
lucius annaeus seneca, roman statesman, 4bc - 65ad: "religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.".
this comes to mind as trump has been throwing the word "god" around.
there are a lot of outwardly religious people in this government.. benjamin franklin: "the way to see faith is to shut the eye of reason.".
Hey, all, thanks for the great comments. I worked all day in the snow yesterday , my brain has just thawed out.
Ruby, that's interesting about Seneca and the Romans. Something to read up on.
Religion scares the crap out of me, it seems to be a wired in part of being human. So many people who leave religion go to something similar like multi level marketing or fanatical political groups.
It's important at a time like this to become active about the craziness in our government, at the same time I feel the need to stay under the radar.
Mrs. Flipper
jehovah's witnesses cannot do a lot of things.
i remember pioneers having to quit their jobs because they could not work in a convenience store and sell cigarettes.
i know of a young man who was offered a scholarship to any college or university if he wanted to go to because of his football abilities.
As a teenager my high school coach wanted me to go out for the baseball team- as I had some good skills at the time- but my staunch elder dad would not allow me to go out for the team as it conflicted with Tuesday night meetings.
And I always loved music, collected it since I was a kid . But in my early 20's I wasn't allowed as a JW to be in a band- so years after I left the Witnesses I took up guitar and the last 6 years or so I'm making up for lost time writing songs and just finished producing my 3rd album. It's been a really healing experience for me and it's one thing I didn't let the JW cult rob me of- my music. Pursue your dreams now folks- don't wait another day
a bit of an update, last weekend was my great grandmothers funeral, now, she was never a jw, and never was going to be, no matter how hard my mother, and grandmother tried to preach to her, she was the type of person that would kindly accept a wt or a book, but she wouldn't bother reading them.. anyways, she was a great wonderful and inspiring woman, the funeral was extremely sad, she had been a school teacher for over 35 years and a member of various clubs, so there were a lot of folks besides family that attended.. well, anyways i was there and so was my jw mother, stepfather, and grandmother, we were cordial, didn't talk about anything jw related because, it was great grandmothers funeral, not really a time to discuss how i am an evil sinner, or how i've escaped the org by avoiding df'ing, right?
wrong, as i'm sitting waiting for the service to begin, a lady shows up, now- i have known this woman for a long time, apparently she baby sat me as a small child, (like i remember?
) so she isn't someone i was ever close with, but knew of her or when she was around would say hi to and make small talk.. to give you a tid-bit on her personality though, she is one of those crazy jw's.. she claims to have been possessed by a demon, very very wacky on the prophesies, or gb talks, etc.
RAVEN- My deepest condolences to you on the loss of your great grandmother- she seems like she was an astounding woman, sorry for your loss.
As regards this wack job of a " sister " bugging you- it's SO like JW's to not honor boundaries like this, totally inappropriate though when you are mourning your dear great grandmother's death . You handled it really well by just kind of ignoring her and letting her fester in her own emotional juices. No amount of reasoning will stop these types of JW fanatics from thinking that we are " doomed " - so the best thing is to not get into any contact with her at a later date. Totally avoid her intrusion into your life as she will try to make you miserable by what she perceives as " saving " you. In reality you'll save YOURSELF by rejecting any of her intrusions on your personal boundaries. I feel for you- I've dealt with JW wack jobs like this- it's disconcerting to say the least. You are handling it well. Keep on keeping on. Take care, and I'm sorry for your loss
this is a little long, but stick with me.. if you recall, when the building work was in full swing at the new lakefront villa (warwick), wt was having workers come and they would put them up for a year, or more, while they were providing "volunteer services".
with that, and the impending need for hundreds and hundreds of new khs in the usa territory, the congregations were abuzz with the need for "continued construction volunteers".
recently, as many of you know, wt headquarters has sent pretty much everyone home, and is no longer needing workers at the new warwick site, as the building is mostly complete, with the dedication coming up later this year.
Interesting thread. Thanks for sharing. And really sad as well. Just like the GB member Ted Jaracz stated in the early 1980's - " the needs of the organization take priority over the individual needs of the brothers and sisters. " Or something like that.
So your experiences you related prove testimony to that fact. WT Society will throw any of it's members under the bus if the " needs " change with WT leaders priorities. And at this time and moment in WT history- the needs and priorities involve saving $$$ so the WT Society can pay off child abuse lawsuits. As well as storing billions $$$$ in their offshore bank accounts . Pretty disgusting. More lives are wrecked from this organization and it's leaders - numbering in the millions worldwide