Thanks for the welcome to all who have replied so far, clearly this place is very active ^^
exwhyzee asked about how I accessed my files at Bethel. Some of the information is contained in my youtube vids, including a run through of many of the questions in the MTS application form, some of which are rather embarrassingly naive.
I am in the UK btw, just for reference. Regarding the Data Protection Act of 1998 I know there is no corresponding act in the States that allows people access to their files, sadly for many of you. I was greatly inspired by jwfacts account of his attempt to access his information (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/192176/1/How-I-obtained-my-personal-files-from-Bethel) and thanks to UK law I had very little difficulty in getting hold of copies of the documents they had. His thread above will give you a lot of advice and suggestions on how to phrase your own letter.
Having read jwfacts thread, which I highly recommend you do, I tried to cover every eventuality with my Data Subject Access Enquiry. I tried to be as nice as possible in the letter. I specifically requested that they did not use the existence of third party identities in the documents as a reason not to copy them, and that they should blank these out. Even though this is a specific legal provision within the Act and organisations are prohibited from using this as an excuse, I wanted to make clear that I had researched the matter and wanted them to adhere to the letter of the law. I refrained from making any attacks on the Society or apportioning blame to them for my situation. The goal was to access the material as efficiently and quickly as possible; once I received it I could do what I wanted after that. So I did my best to appear sincere and humble, nauseatingly so actually, but it was all tongue in cheek :D
After I sent the initial letter to Bethel containing my statement of disassociation and a relatively simple Data Subject Access Enquiry, I received the standard letter back basically asking for an administration fee of £10 which is the legal maximum amount an organisation can levy under the Act, plus some copies of forms of ID to prove I was the person I claimed to be. I sent the money (ironically it was probably the most money I have ever sent to Bethel in any fashion, one thing I can be glad about! I never had any anyway as a pioneer...) and I just added a few extra clarifications to ensure they would cooperate. For all I know they might be extra compliant anyway, as it is a legal requirement for them to fulfil these requests, but I wanted to make sure.
I was a good little drone so I hadn't ever done anything requiring judicial committees or reproof or anything, so I didn't expect to receive anything too distressing or negative. I know that has happened to a lot of people.
So I received copies of three documents:
- my regular pioneer application form
- my Ministerial Training School application form, all four pages including the fourth page filled out by the home congregation's service committee
- and the one I didn't know about which was my MTS Permanent Record, containing the instructors' recommendations and observations about you, your exam results during the course, and a report on both of your Personal Assistance sessions during the course. This was the best one for me as a) I didn't know it existed and b) it serves as a reminder that I did take it all very seriously and went through what is considered by JWs to be a fairly prestigious course. Of course I now realise it was simply two months of intensive indoctrination without any external stimuli to water down the effect, it was like taking witness crack basically. But anyway I can look back at these documents and remember what I did before during and after that course, so it's a memento.
I suppose that was partly why I wanted to access the info, to get some evidence of how I spent the first thirty years of my life. There was also a part of me that, as I put it in one of my videos, wanted to make some ripples in the pond before I hauled myself out of it. Not exactly major ripples, but at least cause them a slight problem, even if only for ten minutes. And thirdly there was a fairly major psychological aspect to it, one of role reversal, me exerting control over them just for that small moment, them having to subject themselves to the rules and do what I ask in this instant. It would never make up for the years of service, but it would allow me to leave it behind me knowing that I had regained control in some small symbolic way.
"We gotta take the power back" - Rage Against The Machine
I did send the same letter to my old congregation, who replied much later than Bethel did - of course they would have had to do the usual thing of send THEIR letter to Bethel to ask what to do, wait for a reply, yawn yawn - and they also levied a charge of £10 to access their congregation files, which would probably only comprise of my publisher record cards. As of now I still haven't pursued this, I don't really feel a need any more, plus I would resent paying the men I served alongside to make a few photocopies. They should feel morally obliged to be cooperative with a former shepherd of their flock... but as if that's ever going to happen!
If you have an interest in anything Bethel might have on you, if you have done anything particularly 'good' or 'bad' in the cult, I recommend trying it. It's a good way to let go... although it might take you aback if you get something negative from it. But knowledge is power, you will be wiser for it.
