Society's Press Release about the tragedy

by Esmeralda 30 Replies latest jw friends

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  nytelecom1

  JWs can't really and truly care about these poor victims being slaughtered

  u just made more of an ass of yourself than you could ever imagine
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  ianao

  nytelecom:

  I find it laughable that you make excuses for a religion you don't really even take seriously.
• 

  Bridgette

  Okay, just a side point: In my day (not SOOO long ago--well, just a little), Witnesses were not allowed to be firefighters or paramedics. Has something changed? Were they in good standing? NY telecom, help me out here.
  Curious,
  B.
• 

  larc

  nytelecom

  Did Bethel send in its medical staff to help the victims? Did they shut down the printing plant for just one day to help with rescue work? Did they open up the Kingdom Halls to the public for prayer and comfort? We are not talking about lone individuals here. We are talking about the considerable resources of an organization that were not used in any way to help the suffering.

  As far as the two JW fireman go, that is their job. It is not an example of the offering of charity, even on the individual level.
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  outcast

  On my last visit to Bethel, I visited with a few bethelites who were being sent to classes for paramedic training and to become firemen. To be certified they had to take the normal courses, and training in the city. This of course, after their certifications, they would work at bethel.
• 

  myMichelle

  The Watchtower's response???

  I watched the smoke billowing from Manhattan on tv last night, and even more tears fell as I heard about the loss of life amongst the rescue workers who had rushed to the scene.

  I did eventually wonder about the WTS opinion on the whole tragic event, but then I recalled the Feb 15, 2000 Watchtower. The billowing smoke from the articles picture and last night's telecast brought it to mind. A volcano had
  errupted in a different part of the world and this is the official light God's channel had to impart (from a thread I had posted at H2O when I first read this article)...

  on page six, the last paragraph under the heading “take refuge”. Apparently a dozen police officers and volunteer firefighters lost their lives when this volcano erupted. The author(s) called them “well-meaning men and women who are immersed in improving this world”, but then asked the question “is it reasonable to make oneself ‘a friend of the world’ by trying to save a worldwide system that God is determined to eliminate”.

  I am a daughter of a retired firefighter and this callous commentary just sickened me. I don't think that a similar article of yesterday's events will appear in the WT though. It would not be prudent to express such opinions, I don't think their fellow New Yorkers would appreciate them nor would the rest of the country, including some Watchtower members.

  Before I am jumped upon with individual examples, I know not all indivual JWs feel this way--I am speaking of the WT Organization's opinion.

  Michelle
• 

  nytelecom2

  Did Bethel send in its medical staff to help the victims?
  i dont know..call them up. until you validate this you cant
  say they did or didnt
  

  Did they shut down the printing plant for just one day to help with rescue work?

  
  i dont know, again call them up
  until you can validate should you be so critical
  

  Did they open up the Kingdom Halls to the public for prayer and comfort?

  
  we dont rely on a hall for prayer or comfort

  [quote]As far as the two JW fireman go, that is their job

  I will give you $100 if you go up to a New York firefighter and
  tell him it is just "thier job"
• 

  messenger

  Below is the press release everyone is referring to, it is interesting from the standpoint of how much humanitarian effort was actually expended toward the disaster. Let's see around three thousand bethelites in Brooklyn, many healthy strong young men, just two miles away from the disaster. How many were mobilized to help with the relief effort? How many offered to give blood? Which is now ok as long as used for fractions. How much money was set aside to provide food and suppplies for the victims? How many Watchtower trucks were mobilized to help with the relief effort? These are things that usually make a press release worth while.

  Giving something to drink to three victims who walk through your door somehow seems a bit shallow.

  Also did you notice the name change? J. Richard Brown, do we call him Richy for short, or just dick?

  For Immediate Release
  September 11, 2001

  9-11

  "I got rocked out of my chair." Timothy Eng was on the 83rd floor of World Trade Center's Building #1 and felt the first plane hit this morning. "At first I thought it was a really heavy wind, but then I saw one of the traders I work with; he was burned from head to toe. I rushed to put out the flames. People said a plane hit the building. All we saw was debris flying out from above. I helped the trader get down the stairs. As we came down it was dark and there was water and debris everywhere."

  Michael Wittick was on the 59th floor in Building #2, preparing for a 9 a.m. meeting. After a sudden loud noise, he saw that Building #1 was on fire, with paper and glass flying outside. "We were told to evacuate. When we got down to the bottom they were about to let us go back up, thinking that only Building #1 was affected. All of a sudden Building #2 shook. There was some other kind of explosion, then everyone started getting panicky." He relates that he'd never experienced anything like this in his life, "I was very scared. My knees literally started to shake."

  Both of theses men were survivors of today's tragedy, two of the thousands who made their way across the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges to escape the aftermath of this catastrophe.

  Linda was another survivor. She works on Wall Street and saw debris flying. Soon her coworkers and relatives were telephoning. "One of the tenants was trampled, but thank God she was all right. Others saw the second plane hitting the tower. Everyone was scared. . . . Hatred can do so much harm. So many innocent lives were lost for no reason. We pray we can assist others who were going through such a hard time."

  Reaching out to those hit by tragedy

  Arriving in the lobby of the Watch Tower buildings across the Brooklyn Bridge, Timothy, Michael and Linda breathed a sigh of relief. All three are Jehovah's Witnesses and so felt particularly comfortable in the familiar complex of buildings where they chose to seek refuge. They were able to join many others who sought shelter in these buildings. The billowing smoke across the river is a reminder of what they just survived.

  A volunteer brings Timothy a cup of water and offers him a chair. "You don't know how happy I feel to have made it to Brooklyn, coming down from 83 floors in the air." When he realized he really was out of danger, he added "I'm in the house of Jehovah now; I feel safe."

  Food and refreshments are provided to the people who streamed in the building. "They are looking for a haven," Jack, one of the helping hands, remarks. "There was some panic. A lot of people who work here volunteered to help provide whatever was needed."

  The Watch Tower buildings in Brooklyn were unaffected by today's tragedy, but the people working in them felt it deeply. As spokesman J. R. Brown expressed it, "Today's explosions sent a shock wave through the heart of New York and the rest of the world. Everyone will be touched by this tragedy. Comfort and cooperation are the necessary survival kit right now."

  Contact: J. Richard Brown, telephone: (718) 560-5600
• 

  julien

  JWs can't really and truly care about these poor victims being slaughtered

  u just made more of an ass of yourself than you could ever imagine

  Easy for you to say, but how can you reconcile sympathy for these victims with an active desire for God to do the exact same thing. This sort of scenario is exactly the type of thing that has been printed in WT pictures of armageddon. You can call me names all you want, but you know what I say is true.

  Please stop calling me names or I might have to leave the board in a huff.
• 

  larc

  nytelecom,

  If they had done any of the things I had asked about, they would have bragged about it in their press release. Their announcement makes it very clear what they did. The helped two or three survivers with rest and refreshment.

  As far as the Kingdom Halls go, I was not referring for their own needs, but the needs of the suffering victims and their families. Of course, they wouldn't invite them in for prayer and emotional support. You know that as well as I do.