Any reaction from Jehovah's Witnesses over the Evil Foster mother case?

by Gill 26 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Gill

  Has any JW said anything to you about the Eunice Spry Evil Jehovah's Witness Foster mother case?

  Are you in a congregation still and heard anything said by the Rank and File JWs?

  I visited my JW parents yesterday. Normally the days paper is out on the table. The paper was no where to be seen and I knew that the case was on the front page of their Daily Newspaper. I checked the living room. It was not there either. Rather odd for my parents house.

  I decided not to broach the subject with them.....for now.
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  Zico

  I saw a JW yesterday, who actually brought it up in conversation himself, he'd seen it on the news. Obviously, he was disgusted by it, though he did say he thought it unfair that the Media had revealed that she was a JW, because 'they wouldn't have done that if it was any other religion' He reckoned Satan had influenced the Media to do that. I didn't make any comments, I just wanted to get away before he asked me about my meeting attendance (or lack of)
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  Gill

  Hi Zico! The fact that this lady is a Jehovah's Witness is highly relevant to the 'story'. People expect or are led to expect higher standards of behaviour from people who claim a religion or faith.

  Also, the fact that one of the children had a label stuck on her while at a Kingdom Hall and no one interevened there was also relevant.

  The fact that she thought them possessed by the devil was relevant.

  The fact that she was protecting them from 'immorality', is a JW phrase and thought.

  The fact that she claimed it was her faith that demanded obedience from children was relevant.

  So, it was not 'unfair' to disclose that she is a Jehovah's Witness.
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  bernadette

  Hi Gill

  A witness and I were in a waiting area today and I picked up the guardian newspaper. I said to the witness 'what a cruel woman'. He was immediately interested, I read bits out to him. As soon I got to the bit that says she is a witness, he turned away and didn't want to know anymore.

  I shut up - the point was already made - she is discribed as a pillar of of her religious community in the paper.
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  Gill

  Bernadette - I can quite understand that reaction. I have to admit to being thoroughly ashamed of even having been brought up in that awful cult, where I think child abuse is far more rife than we care to admit. By NO MEANS is every JW a child abuser, but each and every JW is abused by the cult mentally and emotionally. It's hardly surprising that so many children end up physically abused due to their parents mental imbalance, fear and desperation brought on by believing total bull.
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  Zico

  Hi Gill, I agree with you. I also don't think that the Media only revealed her religion because she was a JW, I'm sure they would have done it no matter what religion she was part of, if she was devout, but this was the warped mind of a JW I was listening too. I've also remembered, that he said 'Saying she's a committed JW is really a contradiction because she'll have been disfellowshipped.' I'm not sure exactly what his definition of 'contradiction' is... and she was still a JW when she did the crimes.
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  bernadette

  In the article it mentioned that the foster mother has a biological daughter who is now 25 - this 25 year old had actually in the past thought about reporting her mother but had changed her mind. Wonder if she too is a witness? The article doesn't say.

  If she is a witness then deciding not to report would just be typical.
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  Gill

  Zico - The minds of many Jehovah's Witnesses will be doing some amazing rationalising and leaps of imagination to try to dismiss this case as just evil apostate propaganda.

  HOWEVER, I feel CERTAIN that many new JWs, Studies etc will stop and think when the recognise the words of Eunice Spry as those 'spoken' by the Watchtower and the JWs they study with.

  Eunice Spry may well have 'saved' many many people from the Watchtower trap, inadvertently.
• 

  Gill

  Bernadette - On the 'not reporting side', I left my younger sibling in a home where he was regularly kicked by my father. He was emotionally abused and regularly attacked by my hysterical mother. I had also suffered at their hands. I did not report them. I was afraid of the Congregation, Shunning and the consequences of 'saving' my sibling.

  I still see a counsellor and so does my sibling.

  Was I wrong not to report? Absolutely wrong and I remain ashamed. However, I was paralysed with fear. I have to forgive myself, or what would I do?

  However, the real blame is not with me and I will put the blame where it really belongs. Any child brought up from birth in the Jehovah's Witness sect is likely to be mentally and emotionally damaged and unable to act to protect itself from anything for FEAR of the monster JEHOVAH and bringing 'reproach' on his name.

  The fault likes with the Watchtower Society and the perpetrators of such abuse. Those so weak minded that they cannot empathise with the suffering of a child and actually see that what they are doing is Bad and wrong.
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  moshe

  All this news about JW pedophiles, JW blood transfusion bans, and now JW child abuse has probably been more negative WT news in six months than I have seen in six years. Perhaps the shame factor will get big enough that even JW's will begin to feel ashamed to mention their religion in public.