The DAY AFTER [Dateline]

by biblexaminer 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  biblexaminer

  What will happen the DAY AFTER?

  I have a recent personal experience from "Field Service" that may shed a little light on this subject.
  First, I do believe that many of my "bros and sises" will see this. They are all Dateline watchers, and just knowing their personalities, if they are able, they will watch.

  Will they talk about it amongst themselves? Yes. In FS or among their cliques at party time. But only quietly and not so as to alert the "elders".

  What will be affected is FS. My recent FS experience will tell.

  I was doing RVs in an area where there are alot of kids. It's a lower income area and kids are running around all over. So, I was with brother elderly (not elder but old as the hills) and we had to do a few "calls".

  We walked on up, and as we approached a few dwellings, there were some kids playing outside. I heard a man's voice from an upstairs window, calling the kids to come inside, all of them, and saying "Mom wants you all inside right now! The closer we got, the more frantic his calls.

  Then, in the background and upstairs, I heard the Mom call out ...it's okay, they're not coming here."

  We passed by as we indeed were not going there, and the man stopped calling the kids. The children resumed their playful activity.

  Could somebody tell me what happened here? I KNOW... do you?

  What will it be like "THE DAY AFTER"?
• 

  individuals wife

  We had a programme on JWs in the UK a few years ago which was a less than positive look at the organisation.... can't remember the name but I do remember that we were warned from the platform not to watch it. Anyway, there we were the next day meeting up for field service and the subject of the programme came up and one brother asked what we could say in response to questions about the programme from householders - as none of us had watched it (yeah, right! We did and I suspect most of the others had too..) how could we respond to points raised about it?

  The response to the brothers question? Say 'no comment'.

  How would that have sounded on the doors? How lame! Surely if the points raised on the programme were false or misleading we would be able to defend any question the householder could bring up on it??
  Instead we had to stick with the instructions given by the service overseer and just sound stupid... 'no comment... but would you like our latest magazine on bleh, bleh, bleh...'. With a response like that we deserved to have doors slammed in our faces even more than usual!!

  I am sure that even as we speak the org. are working on damage limitation formulating more weak responses, maybe even working on literature to contradict the claims made against them. Somehow I dont believe this time that they will be able to pull the wool over peoples eyes...
• 

  wasasister

  This is actually quite interesting, and would make a far more interesting wager than the slam-dunk one You Know proposed. (No, YK, I won't tell you which way that one will go.)

  Who would wager there will be both a feature article on Child Abuse AND some unoffical gossip to discredit Mr. Bowen and Mrs. Anderson, perhaps before Dateline airs? They certainly have enough lead-time to accomplish both of these preemptive measures.
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  Skimmer

  Hello wasasister:

  I think you are right about a damage control article or two. Also, I suspect a few preemptive paragraphs in the upcoming Kingdom Ministries. I don't think there will be any attempts at slander, or at least none that can be traced to the elite for fear of further lawsuits.

  From the platforms, I expect that there will be further warnings against "apostate" literature and this will be expanded to include televised information. The sheep will be reminded that voluntary viewing or listening to opposer information is a disfellowshipping offense.

  The WTBTS may wait until after the airing of the program and measure the fallout to come up with more specific answers that will likely appear as letters to elders.
• 

  biblexaminer

  Page 2>

  30 min: Love God-Not the Things of the World. (1 John 2:15-17) Talk and audience discussion reviewing the circuit assembly program that was held during the past service year..... (2)"Lovers of Jehovah Hate What Is Bad" (w99 10/1 28-31) Having a relationship with God depeds on our hating what he hates-not only what is obviously wicked but also subtle wrongs ....do not spread harmful gossip, and remain loyal to God's organization. (4) Things Of the World-How Do We View Them?" ...(5)"Being No Part Of the World Safeguards Us."...We must discern and avoid pitfals devised by the devil.
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  COMF

  From the platforms, I expect that there will be further warnings against "apostate" literature and this will be expanded to include televised information.

  Excellent advertising, and free, too! What better way to get the word about the program out to the JW masses!

  COMF

  "Not unless fired upon, suh... not unless fired upon."
• 

  biblexaminer

  I know that the people of my fair city are going to get some "advertisement" about this.

  PS:On the backs of more and more of the territory cards, the list is getting longer of "Do Not Do's"... and I think it's going to grow exponentially.... in fact I know it will!:)
• 

  Jim Lad

  What pisses me off is that "Purple Triangles" was an independent documentary that they wanted to sponsor as it spoke positively about the JW's. Why won't they sponsor and distribute the Dateline episode at the local kingdom halls and watch with their bible studies??
• 

  blondie

  Just a comment, I have had some contact with Lutheran churches where this pops up...the situations I have been involved in, the victims and their families did not go to the police...except in one case where a law enforcement person was the accused molester (who is now in prison). The others in the churches could not believe that such a "nice" person could be molesting their own children or the children of others...

  It is a function of this type of crime that the molesters make sure they are well thought of and trusted in the religious community. If those in the JW congregations find it hard to believe...it is more a function of the psychology of the crime than that JWs are the only ones who put their heads in the sand.

  The important thing is to educate all people as to the nature of child molesters and what to do when uncovering such a crime. It takes courage, more courage than most people have ever had to exhibit in their lifetime or should have to. The victims and the family members that support them need all the support they can get. Most child molesters are very intelligent and have educated themselves to their rights under the law. Child molesters can be judges, police, lawyers, doctors, clergy, teachers, important business people, rich people...people that you would not readily expect to be such despicable criminals.

  The important thing is to protect the children, above and beyond and personal desire for revenge. I speak from experience...when I stopped trying to punish my abuser and started educating parents/adults and children to protect themselves and to help abusers without "power" to find courage, I felt I had accomplished more than if I had taken a gun and put a bullet through the head of my abuser.

  Pardon my soapbox.
• 

  Skimmer

  Wouldn't it be wonderful if this and some of the other real truth web sites were mentioned in the Dateline program or on their web site?

  To Simon: please consider measuring the access count to the board before and after and see how much of a change occurs, just in case the URL is referenced.

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  If Dateline is going to play on the angle of the WTBTS ducking its legal responsibility, I hope that they will pick up on the infamous secret oral instructions by the WTBTS to the elders on "what not to put on disfellowshipping forms." Maybe Dateline could also mention the Pay Attention book and how it is kept secret along with the unprinted legal evasion hints concerning plausible denial.

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  I'm not sure how much of an impact the Dateline program will have on the making of new converts in the field service, because the English speaking portion of the field service in the United States is pretty dead already. The big effect is going to be on current JWs who sneak a peek at the broadcast.

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  It is possible that the WTBTS might try to organize some kind of orchestrated grass roots response to NBC. That's okay; we can do that as well.