Every now and then we find a newspaper reporter or a TV reporter who is favorable to our cause, and wants to help expose the pedophile and blood issue in the JW's. My question is, do we have anyone in the US Congress who is willing to do the same? Are there any state legislators who are aware of our issues and are willing to help?
Lawmakers favorable to our cause??
by Junction-Guy 10 Replies latest jw friends
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Mary
My question is, do we have anyone in the US Congress who is willing to do the same? Are there any state legislators who are aware of our issues and are willing to help?
Well, I can't speak for America politicians, but a law professor that I've had several discussion with about the problems with the WTS told me that one of the main (but unofficial) reasons that Canadian politicians aren't gung-ho about getting involved with the Witness problems is because they don't vote. Politicians rarely lift a finger unless they think it'll benefit them down the road. No votes, no help. I'll assume that American politicians view it the same way.
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blondie
I would suggest checking with the SNAP group. They are quite organized in the 50 states and have been actively working to change the laws.
Richard Ostling of AP (Associated Press) has been putting out articles on the abuse issue in the WTS for some years.
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Junction-Guy
Yes, thank you Blondie for reminding me about Snap and also Richard Ostling. Mary, the politicians would be doing this for XJW's who vote. The beautiful part about this would be that JW's do not vote, so the politicians dont have to fear about 1 million JW's in the US voting against them.
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sf
All my email work includes local politicians/ representatives, health and welfare agencies, coalitions for domestic violence, child abuse agencies, news corps, etc. I pretty much cover the bases in my work.
I have sent many mails. Rarely will I get a NON-AUTO reply. It gets frustrating because it seems the only way, and perhaps best way, is to go to these places physically, and present them the facts and such until they actually recognize the GRAVE CONCERNS.
~sigh~
Anyway, if the local politicians won't respond, go to your community town meetings and REPORT WHAT YOUR NEWS ORGS WON'T.
It is your right to do so.
sKally
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frozen one
A good way to find out if a politician is interested in any given topic is to write a letter or email. I've written several letters over the years on different topics and have always gotten a reply of some sort (sometimes the reply was just boilerplate). Find out who your Congressional Delegation is, two senators and one representative, and get in touch. If you ever hear of a meet and greet function go to it. You stand a pretty good chance of getting some face time with the politician. At the very least you'll have an opportunity to chat with a staffer. Remember to get that staffers name for future reference. Here's a link to help find your Congressional Delegation:
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Junction-Guy
Thanks sKally and Frozen One for your ideas.
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sf
Ditto on the thankx frozen one.
I did not think of the meet and greets.
Excellent idea. Making sure to have plenty of copies/ material of various NEWSWORTHY ITEMS OF PUBLIC INTEREST.
sKally
sKally
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frozen one
I forgot to mention something. Understand that politicians are shameless whores. A contribution, even a small one, goes a long way with politicians. Its amazing what as little as $100 will do to your status. You'll go from being just another citizen to SUPPORTER as fast as you can hand the check over. Be forewarned. If you do donate to politicians you can expect your mailbox to be full of pleas for more cash.
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blondie
The thing I remember is that the sexual abuse of children within religious institutions is not unique to the WTS, not even in covering it up. SNAP has formed many good contacts with legislators that are interested in changing the laws regarding reporting abuse and the statutes of limitations. All abuse victims and their families will benefit by these efforts and the more voices that join together, the more people will not perceive it as a Catholic problem, a WTS problem, a Baptist problem, a Hare Krishna problem, etc.
On the SNAP website is a list of each states representatives, state and federal. There are suggestions as what to say and where to send it. Bill Bowen serves on SNAP's board and gives input re the WTS so this shows he understands combining our efforts with theirs. I received a recent email from SNAP telling me that they are now working on getting records from the national Baptist organization on such cases.
There is no point in re-inventing the wheel if we can piggyback on the momentum that SNAP has started legislatively.
Blondie