The Spanking Room
by jamiebowers 16 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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BabaYaga
Wow. I was afraid to click because of the title, but I am glad I did, due to this one quote:
"I'm successful. I'm happy. I have love and faith and hope in my life . . . I turned out fine. But I did not turn out this way "because" of the Watchtower Society; I turned out this way in spite of it." -
DoomVoyager
Anyone who was raised by two dub parents and DIDN'T get beaten as a kid? Anyone?
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Jeremy C
While I was in the organization, I noticed that many parents used severe spanking and slapping as a way to release pent-up anger and frustration. Many spankings that I saw had nothing to do with discipline; but had to do with parents indulging themselves in the act of releasing their anger.
I noticed countless times at the meetings and conventions that single mothers frequently gave children the worst beatings. I believe that single mothers are under enormous pressure to not only raise children on their own, but they get very little help; if any from anyone at the conventions. Getting to the convnetion on time and then trying to pay attention while keeping small, unruly children in check is just too much pressure for many of them to handle. Eventually, their pressure gets released onto the most convenient target.
I have noticed that most other Christian churches have day care provisions available at services and events so that parents can benefit from the worship; while small children are cared for by volunteers. Often, there are separate programs designed for the small children so that they get some benefits as well. The Watchtower organization has arrogantly and stubbornly resisted any kind of arrangements like this. No wonder so many parents are stressed out.
I believe that many parents thus subconsciously feel pushed, coerced, and pressured to dutifully perform the organization's outlined treadmill of works, while being told from the platform that they need to do more. All of this pent-up frustration tends to outwardly manifest itself in one way or another.
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Confession
Always love to hear of another successful escapee...but I have to be real here. An outsider reading this article will likely believe that the congregation he describes officially dubbed it a "Spanking Room." And we have to know that's not really the case. At nearly every congregation there was a place where parents would take kids. Sometimes just the restroom, sometimes the library, sometimes a special room. Yes, spankings were delivered, but this room also served as a place for mothers to nurse their babies, a place to let the kids decompress for a bit, or for the disfellowshipped, the shy and sometimes the latecomers to sit. I highly doubt that the Society, nor the congregation itself officially identified it as "The Spanking Room."
Is the Watchtower religion guilty of authoritarian abuse? I'm convinced that it definitely is. And even for those of us who don't today believe spanking is always the best policy, you have to realize that a very large percentage of families, who are not JWs, both spanked and still spank their children.
The fact that lots of people do it doesn't make it right, I understand. But I believe the perspective of the article attempts to spotlight JWs as being especially violent and abusive--as if they are substantially different from other families in this way.
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DoomVoyager
Confession, you are correct, they are officially called "nursing rooms".
Furthermore JW parents go far beyond simply "spanking"... I'm sure everyone has stories of having items thrown at their heads, being beaten on the head, in the face, on the back, whichever body part happened to be convenient, by enraged parents, being struck with a variety of household implements, etc etc. There's corporeal punishment - spanking, and then there's just furious parents beating the shit out of their kids for the most trivial of reasons.
Just look at this guy in the article, he was actually knocked unconscious on more than one occasion.
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Confession
Okay, well let me just give my experience. I was spanked. Never was anything thrown at me; none of the things you mention. Nor did I ever see any such thing in my growing up in and later involvement in the organization. I did hear of one man who used to beat his sons with a rubber hose--but this guy was a real piece of work, and had just recently come in. The other extreme versions of beatings, etc. that I came to know about were delivered by non-JW parents.
It does not surprise me to hear that there were abused children among JWs, but do you have evidence that it was clearly out of proportion with that which goes on in other so-called Christian religions or in Society in general?
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mrsjones5
When I was small the hall my parents went to didn't have a spanking/nursing room. Any spankings were done outside...from what I can remember it wasn't often.
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Mickey mouse
While I was in the organization, I noticed that many parents used severe spanking and slapping as a way to release pent-up anger and frustration. Many spankings that I saw had nothing to do with discipline; but had to do with parents indulging themselves in the act of releasing their anger.
I have observed this too. It's so sad for the poor children.
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lisavegas420
Paddle ball minus the ball was kept in my Mom's purse and used at nearly every meeting.
lisa
