The number of JW's is between 6 and 7 million people. Many ex-JW's would love to see the
news make a bigger deal of JW-related scandals and news items. We need to understand that
6 million people is not a big deal to most people and to the press.
To illustrate what 6 million people represents, a few facts are in order
Approximately 6 million European Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Various sources believe that
as many as 11 million people were killed, but 6 million were Jews. Certainly, this was of huge
importance 50 years ago, but long before all Holocaust surivivors could pass away, it was already
possible for many to deny the actuality of the event. (Let's not debate these numbers or issues-
the point is that it only took a few decades to minimize the importance of 6 million people.)
Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive and costliest natural disaster to occur in
the United States. Nearly 5 million people lived in the path of Katrina. An additional 1.3 million
lived in the New Orleans metropolitan area at the time of the hurricane. Although not in the direct
path of Katrina, New Orleans was devastated by a massive flood that occurred as a result. Government
policy makers need to understand the problems faced by these more than 6 million people as they try
to reconstruct their lives. http://hurricanekatrina.med.harvard.edu/
Katrina victims reconstructing their lives- just over 6 million of them. Sure, they got a lot of press.
They were all clearly victims. Still, a couple of years later- most people are tired of hearing about it.
What coverage is there of following up on these more than 6 million victims? Outside the U.S., is there
really much talk about them? Not gone, not forgotten- but not so important to most people after 2 years.
Baghdad is a city of 6 million people. In August of 2007, major portions of this city were without running
water for about 6 days while the temperature ranged from 115 to 120 degrees Farenheit. Since those
people are "in another world" to most of the world, was there an outcry about this. Did you even know
about this problem? If this happened to a population center of 6 million people in the U.S. or in Europe, it
might be a huge report. But it is largely ignored because it happened somewhere else.
In March, Microsoft announced that more than 6 million gamers worldwide are using Xbox Live for the Xbox 360.
That doesn't sound like a big deal to everyone else, does it?
Similarly, Nasonex says that more than 6 million people used their product last year- who really cares about that?
In April, 2006, 5.7 million (nearly 6 million) unique visitors visited the official World Cup soccer tournament web site
hosted by Yahoo. Again, who really cares about that?
Last year, it was announced that "World of Warcraft" (an online multiplayer role-playing game) reached 6 million people
as customers. Do most of us even know what that is?
In April, 2006, it was reported that since President Bush took office in the U.S., agents have apprehended and sent
home more than 6 million people entering the country illegally. Doesn't that seem like a drop in the bucket?
The actual number of current illegal immigrants in the U.S. is largely disputed. The 2000 Census estimated that there
were 8.7 million, while the U.S. Immigration Services put the number at 7 million in 2003, growing by as much as
500,000 per year since then. The number is greatly disputed between 7 and 20 million current illegal immigrants in the
U.S. now. The point is that there are plenty to replace the 6 million sent home, so they are not really missed.
The current issue is covered often in the press, but the stories are dropped whenever a celebrity dies or accidentally
reveals their butt while climbing out of a car.
It is estimated that 6 million Americans have bought prescription drugs online. That is significant, and it is a fast-growing
number. It is just starting to be a significant number.
Much of what I report here, I do from a U.S. prospective. In the U.S., there are only 1 million JW's and much less in other
countries around the world. While many groups contain much larger numbers of people, they are greatly forgotten also.
I think the point here is that NOBODY REALLY CARES ABOUT SUCH AN INSIGNIFICANT GROUP. We have to remember
that when we scream at the top of our lungs about the problems. Other ex-JW's care, but the world doesn't.