I've never done this before, but I wanted to be involved with the informal campaign to call the headquarters on or around the first day of each month. I haven't even spoken to a witness since I DA'd. I had very modest goals for this call. I wanted to get a better idea of how they handle calls and I wanted to get over some of my irrational nervousness about talking to people who think I'm an evil apostate who will soon be destroyed by God.
I first got an operator and said that I'm looking for a public statement about the Jehovah's Witness view of the UN. He was pretty abrupt and transferred me to an operator at Patterson. I repeated my request and she transferred me again. I tried to be pleasant and just said that I was doing some research on your religion and was wondering if you have a public statement about your opinion of the UN. I said that I couldn't find anything on their websites. He paused for a little bit. I got the feeling that he didn't know were I was coming from and was wondering if he should say good things or bad things about the UN. Then he mentioned a series of articles in the September 8, 1991 Watchtower. I asked if this is the most recent information on this. He said their view has basically stayed the same since then. He read a few very neutral quotes about the UN until one hinted that there might be something better.
I pointed out that this was shortly before they became an "associate member of the UN Department of Public Information" so that's why I was wondering if their official view of the UN has changed. He reaffirmed that their policy hasn't really changed. He then said they became a NGO to get a library card and when they found out that they probably shouldn't have signed those papers, they quit. I was very surprised at this. I expected that he would say that the papers changed and then they quit. This was the closest I've heard them come to admitting they they made a mistake on this. I said that I understood that the associate members of the DPI were required to support the Charter of the UN. I asked if they ever supported this charter. He hinted again that it was a mistake and their position on the UN hasn't changed. Then he mentioned the Revelation book published in 1988 (I didn't point out the irony that it was published even earlier than the first reference.) He said it discusses the UN and is being studied at their book studies. He invited me to attend. I thanked him, but said that I would have to do some more research, before I did anything like that.
I then thanked him for his help and mentioned again that I would be doing more research on the matter so he would know that his responses would come under scrutiny.
It wasn't anything earth shattering, but it went better than I expected. I may have planted some questions in the minds of three people and if they receive more phone calls today on the same subject it may have a greater than usual effect. I'm also happy because I got over some of my nervousness and I really wasn't angry at the person. I just felt sorry for him having to try to defend the indefensible.
Well, that's my experience. If you called too, please feel free to comment here if you don't want to start your own thread. I would also like to hear suggestions on how to handle these calls. I think it's good for them to hear many different approaches, but some may work better than others. I realise that some people have serious concerns about this campaign. They don't want to see us waste our time or cause more harm than good. I value your input. You probably won't discourage us from doing this, but you might be able to help us refine our techniques so more good can be accomplished.