by laverite 69 Replies latest jw friends
LOVE IT!
You Wont die at Armagedon....Help for former Jehovahs Witness www.jwfacts.com
How many in My Congregation are ALREADY Online? www.jehovahs-witness.net
they are all great ideas...it is true the die hard older set will veiw this as persecution. However the fringe younger group that live in a constant state of depression...they are questioning...only holding out for their folks, once I came online....it was OVER!
WTG!
These billboards are meant to inform the public about a human rights injustice, not to help Witnesses out of the cult.
Should no thought be paid to the consequences of those actions on others, though? Is there not a way to raise awareness that does not simultaneously risk pushing others deeper in? I feel there are plenty of creative, thoughtful people around here who ought to be able to come up with something more effective than a billboard -- they're cheap advertising because they're bad advertising -- and less polarizing.
I respect the opinions of others who have posted on this thread and I hope my opinion will be respected. I'm all for trying out billboards to see the reaction, not from JWs, but "from the man/woman on the street or in the car." These billboards are meant to inform the public about a human rights injustice, not to help Witnesses out of the cult. I've been asking some of my friends and close associates about the billboard idea and all the replies were in favor.
Barbara Anderson
Should no thought be paid to the consequences of those actions on others, though? Is there not a way to raise awareness that does not simultaneously risk pushing others deeper in? I feel there are plenty of creative, thoughtful people around here who ought to be able to come up with something more effective than a billboard -- they're cheap advertising because they're bad advertising -- and less polarizing.
Palimpsest
I agree with Ms. Anderson and with Palimpsest. I have noticed that some people dislike the idea of billboards because they fear that would make witnesses feel persecuted. I can imagine that some billboards could achieve just that - depending on the wording.
My humble suggestion for a billboard would be something like "Shunning causes unnecessary pain". And then, as a subtitle, something like "Awake! July 2009. No one should be made to choose between their beliefs and family". It should be possible to have an image of that very Awake!. I believe this would inform people outside, and might also help those inside.
This is not only a matter of not looking bad, or not making it look like the witnesses are being persecuted. I think it is safe to say that we all have someone inside we deeply care about. Wouldn't it be great if they could share our lives, even if they were to die as witnesses? I think it would. I am sure that many a witness would really want to hold a disfellowshipped relative or resents having left the worldly family behind. I guess it's all a matter of showing that an injustice is being made against everyone.
dgp, I *seriously* like your "creative" suggestions for a billboard.
Barbara
Thank you, Ms. Anderson. I hope it helps.
Some great ideas! Thanks to all who have responded. I like the general direction DGP is going. I would be careful to avoid any copyright infringement, so a picture of the Awake magazine is probably not possible. Love the ideas. I'm looking into the scheduling aspect of the billboard. Was told they were booked for some months but may go ahead and get something scheduled with a deposit. I need to find out deadlines. Barbara, since you are well connected, I would love to be able to run whatever we come up with past you so you can get and give feedback.
Laverite, I very much understand your wanting to avoid copyright infringement. I suppose that the WT lawyers would get every penny they could out of you, and that is not what anyone wants. Except, possibly, them.
But, let me dream on, will you? This could be a battle worth losing. Their suing for copyright infringement could backfire. All they could claim would be that you didn't have the right to put that image on the billboard, and would want it removed. But, their very taking action would mean that indeed, they printed that Awake!, and, indeed, they did say that no one should be forced to choose between religion and family. It would lend legal credibility to the claim that shunning is not something people do on their own. And then they could not prevent you from REMOVING the image from the billboard and putting something like "removed for copyright infringement" instead. They could not prevent you from finding a friendly journalist to report on the issue. I don't think this is what they would like in terms of Public Relations.
This Brazilian billboard reads (top to bottom, left to right):
Jehovah's witnesses sentence their former members to social and family death.
"Mom, if you won't go back to Jehovah, I won't be able to talk to you anymore".
"Clara, for as long as you don't go back to Jehovah, I can't be your friend anymore".
"Carlos, our marriage ends if you don't come back into our religion"
Applause to the Office of the Public Prosecutor for denouncing this hate crime.
International Movement of Former Jehovah's Witnesses
January 21st, National Day Against Religious Intolerance.
