Privacy Rights of Ex-JWs

by Scott77 17 Replies latest jw friends

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  Scott77

  Hi All,

  Iam writting to ask how do the WTS tracks Ex-JW's members who have moved from place to place or moved to out of state locations? In tracking them, is not this a violation of individual right to privacy? I know of an individual who have been tracked after he moved out of state after he was severally 'persecuted' for deciding to cut of himself off from the congregation only to find WTS groups tracking him once again to his new location. If Jehovah and Jesus ould not do this, how on earth is this possible with the WTS? Is this organisation above the law really? Where is justice?

  Scott77
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  apocryphal22

  The WTS does not track ex-JW's. Your friend probably has personal problems that go beyond being being ex-JW.
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  rebel8

  Individual elders have been known to do much crazier espionage than that.

  OP, what country is this person in? I see you mention a state but some of your spelling is UK-esque.

  Either way.....he/she should check the laws about stalking and harassment, and file police reports if he/she is concerned about a violation.
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  Lady Lee

  I suspect that in some cases the elders might be gungho on catching a person committing adultery so that a JW can be free to marry.

  It really isn't that difficult for the elders to track someone.

  Take me for example. Let's say I divorced my JW husband. He had been an elder before I left him. Let's say that he had no grounds for a scriptural divorce (he did but let's pretend he didn't). I have custody of our children. (they are grown now but let's say they are still minors) I choose to move to another city for work.

  He wants to remarry but must catch me in a compromising situation but now that I have left the home Cong he can't easily stalk me. But because we have children he has to know where I live. It is a really simple matter to get my address either from the kids or a lawyer. He does have rights to them so legally I have to let him know where his children are.

  Elders in his Cong contact the elders in the area I have moved to and the surveillance resumes.

  If a person contacts the cong where they now live they ask which cong did you come from. And they will contact the old cong to get your records. Especially if you were DFed they will want to get the scoop.

  Your record follows you everywhere.

  The WTS/JW don't believe in privacy rights. Let's face it the only rights they lay claim to are their own.
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  Mrs. Fiorini

  Lady Lee said, "Let's face it the only rights they lay claim to are their own."

  Absolutely correct. And they will fight tooth and nail for them, all while stepping on those of their followers and former followers.
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  kurtbethel

  Elders in his Cong contact the elders in the area I have moved to and the surveillance resumes.

  If a person contacts the cong where they now live they ask which cong did you come from. And they will contact the old cong to get your records. Especially if you were DFed they will want to get the scoop.

  Your record follows you everywhere.

  Very very creepy. A private intelligence gathering netwok of spies.
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  WTWizard

  Effectively, you become property once you get the knock on your door. Even if you slam the door in their faces and take nothing, they will still have your name and address. And it gets worse with each step beyond that--they have details about what your rank is, and what your standing is with them. They also know how many hours of field circus you have put in during the past 80 or more years--such records are never destroyed until the witless dies (and neither are the S-77 forms).

  And, they want to know everything you do. After all, they cannot control you unless they know what you are doing (especially those who develop atheist attitudes or contempt for Jehovah Himself). So they make attempts to track you and detail everything you do. Most of that goes on at the hounder level, because the leaders do not want the liability issues for themselves.
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  avishai

  It's called stalking and harrasment. There are laws against that. Use 'em.
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  Lady Lee

  It is interesting that in the 15 years after I was DFed the elders knew exactly where I lived at all times. It was on theo DO NOT CALL list on the territory cards. They couldn't exactly have a JW who knew me show up at the door where I could tell them what really happened regarding my DFing.

  In those 15 years the elders were supposed to contact me yearly to encourage me to come back. They never showed up once. They knew where I was.

  When I moved to another city I made it a point to NOT tell them my real name or where I came from. All they had to put in their recirds was that I was DFed and was now apostate. No record of the past.

  I'm now in another city. Using my legal new name. Been here for almost 5 years and never had a JW knock on my door once. I suspect that is now more a reflection that they don't go knocking on doors as much as they used to. I highly doubt they know who or where I am
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  Scott77

  I deeply appreciates everyone's feedbacks. I hope more will contribute to the same. I believe individual rights to privacy should be respected but it hurts to see that the WTS disregards this. Regardless of our former status in the congregation, we deserve the right to persue our lives free from harassment and stallking. I suspect that they are consumed by 'zeal' to spy on some brs and srs or those with questionable issues for the purpose of disfellowshiping him or her. While this may be religiously logical from their standpoint of view, it raises privacy questions especially from those who have requested to be left alone and not wanting to do anything with JWs or the WTS. I have read from this site of a lady who left the 'truth' a decade ago only to be tracked as if she was a criminal, then disfelowshed even though she did not like the stigma of being like that.