JW Parents Prosecuted for Oppression

by AWAKE&WATCHING 20 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  TheOldHippie

  Going to prison for not supporting financially a child who is not a child anymore, but legally adult/grown up? Weird. All European countries have a social security system which enables each and every one who is without financial means, to receive support. Amount may vary, but all Europeans get financial support from the State if they are incapable of supporting themselves for a shorter or longer period. The Czech state has inherited the atheist outlook that was prevailing during the Communist era, and is THE most atheist state in Europe today, having the smallest percentage of its population claiming to be Christian, of all European countries, so this is just an attempt at hitting out against an already discriminated creed. The same they would probably have done against any smaller group apart from the Lutheran Church, which they dare not touch.

  Harsh and stupid parents - but equally harsh and stupid local authorities. What possible good benefits could come from legally forcing parents to support financially a grown up child? Do they think they can legally force good family relations to be the result?
• 

  flipper

  AWAKE & WATCHING- This is what my ex-wife ( a fanatic witness ) did to our son in 1998 ! As soon as he turned 18 she gave him an ultimatum- either go to meetings or she'd kick him out of the house ! Fortunately for him he had me his dad to live with ! But can you imagine ? I told him my love was unconditional and he could live with me anytime. My love didn't depend on whether he went to mind control meetings ! Jesus
• 

  TheOldHippie

  In the interest of fairness, though - this article of course tells nothing of how the girl is/was. Maybe - just for the phantasy of it - she is an eager Satanist, screaming and yelling at her parents all day long, having black clothed and gloomy friends come by all the time, burning Bibles, painting upside down crosses on the walls - maybe she is making life so miserable for her parents and voicing her oppsition so loudly that the home situation is unbearable? And - in all honesty - I guess all of you guys have read about cases where parents have thrown out their child because that one was becoming a JW, or had become interested in their teaching, had started going to their meetings etc.? Then in all fairness you should also condemn THOSE parents, yes? MY parents withdrew their financial support, emptied the fridge and in effect told me to make my own food, my own money - being a University student as I was, and having taken no loan to fund my studies because I was fortunate enough to live at home. But that abruptly changed, and I had to terminate my studies, and eventually move out. Now, was that correct?
• 

  sammielee24

  Well..the parents, according to that report, said she could stay at home IF she was a JW. That seems to indicate that it was not her behavior that was the issue. She is also still in high school, living at home and getting an education, so perhaps she's mid year and wants to be able to finish.

  I say good for her. sammieswife.
• 

  keyser soze

  Is it oppression only when JWs do it? I know of people who aren't JWs who display this same attitude. I've heard them talking about how as soon as their children turn 18 they're out of the house. And usually it's for no other reason than they don't want them living there anymore. Is it right? No, but it is their house.
• 

  sammielee24

  Again - in this case it is because of the religion. That is made pretty clear. If as a parent you simply want your kid out when he gets to be of legal age, then fine, do it. It's like a job - you might have a right to fire someone whenever you want because you're the boss but if you make up lies and committ fraud to do it, then you've broken the law.

  I say good for her.
• 

  keyser soze

  Again - in this case it is because of the religion. That is made pretty clear. If as a parent you simply want your kid out when he gets to be of legal age

  The issue is whether or not the child is of legal age, not what the parents reasons are for wanting them out of the house.
• 

  StAnn

  This could be sticky. For instance, when my oldest son was 19, I had to ask him to leave because he was bringing drugs into the house and doing them in his room and one of his friends and he got in a fight over drug money and the friend punched out the glass in my back door. It turned out well for him, because once he started having to pay his own bills, he didn't money for drugs anymore. He had a rough year of sleeping on friends' couches and such but he did learn his lesson and is doing very well now.

  So, if I lived in Czech, would it have been illegal for me to make my son leave, despite numerous warnings, because he had a drug problem? (And yes, he was in counseling and I was paying for it out of pocket.)

  St. Ann
• 

  Scarred for life

  We also had to ask our daughter to leave our house when she turned 18. It had nothing to do with religion. She was disrespectful, rebellious, and absolutely determined to do whatever she wanted to do while living at home on our dime. In our state, we had the right to do this. We checked into it. This lasted for about 3 1/2 months. She did come back home to live. She has since lived in an apartment for about 1 1/2 years and has lived out of the country twice. She is back at home again now at age 23. We have told her she can live at home for free as long as she is in school full time.

  I don't know what the laws are in the Czech republic and I am not defending their reasons for kicking the girl out but in the USA you can legally kick out a child at age 18.
• 

  sammielee24

  Actually this topic is pretty interesting..again, kudo's to the girl.

  Saturday, May 2, 2009

  All countries should have laws like this!

  Parents prosecuted for forcing girl to join religious group
  CTK
  30 April 2009
  Zlin, South Moravia, April 29 (CTK) - A Czech couple is prosecuted for oppressing their 18-year-old daughter for her refusal to join the religious society of which they are members, the Zlin police told CTK Wednesday.
  The parents reportedly urged the girl, a secondary school student, to join the Jehova's Witnesses grouping. After she refused to do so, they expelled her from home.
  If found guilty they face up to six months in prison.
  The parents left the girl without financial means. They told her she may return home only on condition she joins Jehova's Witnesses.
  "The daughter has already come of age, but she does not yet work to earn her living, therefore the parents are still obliged to support her," police spokeswoman Jana Bartikova said.
  She said the crime of oppression, when a perpetrator abuses the someone else's dependence or emergency situation to force him/her to dosomething, occurs only rarely in the Zlin region.
  Jehova's Witnesses present themselves as genuine Christians.
  The Christian churches generally consider Jehova's Witnesses a sect, oppose their interpretation of the Bible and criticise their totalitarian organisation and ways to spread their views.