by Trilobite 18 Replies latest jw friends
Outlaw and others,
The WTS has set things up so that it cannot be sued easily in such matters. The local elders carry the can. That is why threatening to sue THEM is so effective. Most elders can barely afford the shoes they walk around in.
That is the point.
T.
Wouldn't the society just LOVE for badwillie to just <"walk away and enjoy the rest of your life!">
humphf!!!!
Dungbeetle...so much dung, so little time...
Trilobite,good point,maybe he can make the bastard`s pay!If he could it would be worth it.
I'd leave the broke elders alone. They can really piss you off sometimes, but they are victims of the system. If you really want to take a shot at those responsible, use the press.
They are overly concerned over their public image and a well written article is their biggest nightmare.
Path
If elder`s are victim`s,they are victim`s of an orginisation they support.How merciful are they to the people they victimise,in the
name of thier own decietful organisation?
Trilo & Path,
I am in 2 minds over this. First of all I do sort of want to get on with my life now that I have come to terms with all that has happened.
I was indoctrinated starting at the age of 10, baptized at 17 (1984), and I am now 34 years old. I have a lot of living to do now that I am free. I also have a beautiful 1 year old boy now too.
But also, the "BadWillie" side of me really does want to SCREAM OUT my side of the story for the whole world to hear. In the last month, since I started discovering the real "truth" about the WTS, I have had to internalize so much anger. I have driven home from work many nights shouting curse words at the GB! But, I still am not sure how many people at the even the top level are acting in a devious manner. In fact, Ray Franz even says this in both his books. So, aren't most of the members of the WTS victims themselves? How bad is the corruption at the top? As I said, I really would like to expose this if I thought I could do it without bringing too much harn to my family.
- BadWillie.
Hi Trib: I mention some of this to badwillie on his Thread. The Watch Tower Society, like any religion, is free to have its own church government, and its own rules, within the law. And courts are reluctant to overstep this separation tradition. However, a Church must abide by its own rules and publish these to all members for fair disclosure. The actions the Elders took in Badwillies case do not match any Watch Tower rules that I am aware of, either in the Elder's manual, Shepherds of the Flock, of the Organization book. I have been away for a while, but I imagine that they would not have ruled on this type of activity that Badwillie and his wife engaged in.
So, I do have some contact with a researcher who was interested in the JWs Judicial Committee process, and he is a legal expert and I believe that he is an attorney. He was able to document cases where various Jewish people were improperly disciplined under Jewish Synagogue rules, and as a result of taking these issues before the civil courts, won a reversal of religious decisions.
Whether this could be effectively done in the case of JWs wrongfully disciplined by Elders is another matter to be tested, but case law is there already to be drawn upon. But even with case law available, if Badwillie lives another state, then where the case law was established, it can weaken his case because each state has different rules. But case law can be used across state lines as an effective way to make oral arguments. And judges will consider those rulings when making their own ruling. Nonetheless, nothing is a guarantee, and Badwillie could spend a lot of money - or donated money - and end up with little or no success.
Amazing
Amazing,
Good points. Anything that can be done to stop the elders taking official action, in any way, is a plus. The threat, if issued seriously, of legal action might head them off. Thoughts?
Given the WTS's case that's going to the Supreme Court on "Freedom of Speech" and its behavior with the UN, a case like this would at least attract attention I'd think. Further, I don't see how the WTS's basic de facto argument that "you must believe everything we tell you and you are not allowed to question it" can be considered a legitimate religious rule, as you also note. So I'd bet that if we got enough donated $ together the elders, and by extension the WTS, could be put into a very embarrassing situation. My guess is that the elders would just drop the whole thing.
I know of one case where an exMS left his wife and is openly living with another woman. The elders leave him alone because he threatened to sue them. This guy also physically abused his wife and still they backed off. They claim they can't DF him because they have "no proof."
T.
