Febuary 21 2012 We could make a difference,if we want to. A World Wide Campaign sending letters to Govt. officials,newspapers, to Victoria Australia

by smiddy 13 years ago 92 Replies latest 13 years ago watchtower beliefs

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  Azazel 13 years ago

  Ok ABibleStudent here is the letter i have sent to every member of parliment in victoria from the list i posted here earlier in thread.It has who i am of course on the actual letter.If the borg catch me out well so be it! another story for current affairs!

  I didnt want to post it here because i would hate people to just word for word it and send it in.That would defeat the purpose as we are concerned individuals. My circumstance is different to others as well. But the intention of my letter is to:

  1. Why i have concerns( ie Parent, JW or ex-JW BUT dont be ultra negative just be concerned!)

  2. Commendation of the Law in Victoria.

  3. Concerned by WTS breeching this law in Victoria.

  4. Raise their awarness of the upcoming test of this law in court.

  5. Protection of children the ultimate aim.

  May God bless our efforts to protect children from Pedophiles.

  MY DETAILS

  January 2, 2012

  Dear :

  I am writing to you as a concerned citizen of Australia and as the father of 3 children. I currently am a member of the religious group Jehovah's Witnesses in New South Wales.

  My intention is to commend the State of Victoria for the Working with Children Act of 2005. This law in my view has the best interests of children in mind and would do well to be enacted in all states and territories in Australia.

  Sadly the religion I am a part of has a horrific record of dealing with cases of child molestation by protecting the Pedophile over the helping of the poor innocent victim. It pains me to have to say that. The Law in Victoria says any who have dealings with children must be checked for suitability to do so. To date the Jehovah's Witnesses have refused to comply with this law and in the time this law has been enacted there have been cases of child molestation that need never have occurred. This is deplorable if not criminally negligent by the Jehovah's Witnesses and their legal entity in Australia the Watchtower and Bible Tract Society of Australia.

  I ask you as a member of the Parliament to take an interest in the following court cases that are scheduled for the 21 st February 2012 at the Latrobe Magistrates Court Victoria. Cases being: B12083108, B12083367, B12083527, B12083833, B12082206.

  I personally have not been subjected to child abuse but have a close family member who was and the long term effects on him have been terrible. As a parent I would like to be confident anyone teaching my children is not a Pedophiles. Enforcement of this law would go a long way to keeping our children safe.

  Thank you for your support in this matter.

  Yours sincerely

  MY NAME

  Azazel

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  ABibleStudent 13 years ago

  Hi Azazel, Although I disagree with you about referring to the WTBTS as a religion - it is a dangerous cult -, I do agree with you about people need to word their own letters to politicians, government officials, and news organizations and to do some research to thank them (no matter how small the effort) for their contributions.

  I completed writing to the following Australians using information from Steven Unthank's email to thank them for supporting Steven Unthank's cases/cause:

  1. Mr Neale Burgess <neale.burgess@parliament.vic.gov.au>
  2. Hon Robert William Clark <robert.clark@parliament.vic.gov.au>
  3. Hon Edward (Ted) Norman Baillieu <ted.baillieu@parliament.vic.gov.au>
  4. Ms Colleen Hartland <colleen.hartland@parliament.vic.gov.au>
  5. Mr Frank McGuire <frank.mcguire@parliament.vic.gov.au>
  6. Mr Andrew Katos <andrew.katos@parliament.vic.gov.au>
  7. Mr James Anthony Merlino <james.merlino@parliament.vic.gov.au>
  8. Mr Russell John Northe <russell.northe@parliament.vic.gov.au>

  I basically used the following letter and modified it as necessary to thank them for their individual contributions:

  Dear Mr Russell Northe: Thank you for continuing to support Steven Unthank’s prosecution of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society’s (WB&TS) leaders and organizations for not complying with Victoria’s child protection laws and promoting child protection to members of parliament. Although I am not an Australian, many members of Jehovah Witnesses (JWs) Internet support forums, such as www.jehovahs-witness.net and www.jwsupportforum.com, are very interested in the outcome of Steven Unthank’s criminal cases against the WB&TS. From my personal experience of being exposed to the WB&TS’s doctrines and practices, I hope that more politicians and government officials will learn about the societal costs of dangerous cults like the WB&TS and enact/revise appropriate laws. The WB&TS is a dangerous cult that enslaves members to print and/or distribute literature and is not a religion, as promoted in the WB&TS's literature. I hope that the Public Prosecutors Office of Victoria will use its full resources to prosecute the WB&TS leadership and organizations to the maximum extent of the Victorian child protection laws. I also hope that Steven Unthank’s cases will inspire revising (or creating) laws to strengthen compliance with child protection laws as well as revise tax laws to exclude dangerous cults like the WB&TS from receiving tax exempt status or qualifying for government programs for charitable organizations. Thanks again for supporting Steven Unthank, and protecting children in Victoria. Sincerely, Robert

  I think that I will also write a couple of more emails to Queensland's Senator Sue Boyce and South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon thanking them for co-hosting a national conference on Cults in Australia on November 2, 2011 and to the Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria thanking that office for assisting Steven UnThank's prosecution of the WTBTS. Other than writing to USA politicians to revise the IRS tax code criteria for qualifying as a charitable organization and writing to news organizations to report about Steven Unthank's cases, do you have other ideas about who to contract?

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert

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  Azazel 13 years ago

  Good work with your letter and yes to sending to Sue Boyce and Nick Xenophon, i would also recommend to Mr Bob Brown the leader of the Greens party in Australi.

  Keep it it up

  Az

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  Band on the Run 13 years ago

  When I worked for the U.S. Senate, mass mailing campaigns were noted but not very effective. They like personalized letters. I would start by getting in touch with the offices of the legislators who proposed the present law that Unthank is using in his quest. They will likely be more friendly and more willing to tighten existing legislation.

  Letter writing works for legislation. I am not certain that it does anything for a judicial case. It might backfire. There is a point about keeping it free from apostate taint. Of course, the Society will claim that whether it is true or not.

  Australian votes will matter. I don't think letters from foreigners are effective. Amnesty Int'l was an exception. When I've lobbied members of Congress, they seem to only want to hear from constituents or major donors.

  It would be a good idea for someone to actually show a draft bill, tightening the requirements. Witness bashing will detract from the message. Ray Franz type letters would prob. work. I would struggle to find the correct voice b/c my rage is so high.

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  Band on the Run 13 years ago

  I would suggest re-formatting the letters so that the paragraphs are shorter. It may not make any difference on a printed page but short paragraphs are better for emails. Personalize the letters in some way. It makes a difference.

  Legislators will not want to appear to interfere with a pending court case. Perhaps you could state the courts are beginning to apply the law and you will be closely following the case to see if more stringent regulation is needed.

  Is it me or does this case seem endless? Unthank has accomplished so much already.

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  sizemik 13 years ago

  I think this is a poor idea (sorry smiddy)

  Interest from outside Australia from specific interest groups would be natural and expected. But a scattergun approach prematurely bombing politicians and officials with templated or similarly composed letters from all around the world will be immediately seen for what it is . . . a lobbying effort by individuals with an axe to grind. Viewed this way will make it appear weak, and it could have the opposite effect of those involved developing a more sympathetic view of the WTS.

  This case has not yet received media attention. That's because nothing has been proved and even details have not been made public. When it does become more public . . . that is the time to add voice to the undoubted reaction it will draw from the Victorian community itself.

  Be patient.

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  smiddy 13 years ago

  ABible Student,Azazel,thank you for putting forth your suggestions for the format of a letter/e-mail to the various authauroties.

  Band on the Run,yes I agree with you that" witness bashing" and labeling them as a cult will also detract from the message,but thats just my opinion.

  It`s probably good to keep in mind that the BOE have given instructions for the elders, pioneers,MS ? to obtain the required checks and how this may affect the case, or the attitude of the people we are writing to.

  smiddy

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  ABibleStudent 13 years ago

  @ Azazel: What would I compliment Mr Bob Brown for that is related to cults or helping Steven Unthank's case/cause? I read information about Mr Bob Brown on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Brown) and couldn't find anything related to either topic. Mr Bob Brown may be a maverick politician, but I need something specific to compliment him on, especially since I am a foreigner. It is a lot easier to compliment Senator Sue Boyce and Senator Nick Xenophon because they co-hosted a national conference about cults in Australia in November 2011.

  @ Band on the Run: I will try to shorten my paragraphs in future emails/letters. I was also concerned about contacting Australian politicians by email and that is why I contacted Steven Unthank by email to get his opinion. Steven Unthank recommended which politicians to write emails to and what to thank them about. I tried to follow a format like what Azazel recommend of complimenting the politician, identifying myself, explaining my personal experience, trying to seperate the WTBTS from religion by labeling them as a cult, expressing what I hope happens in the future, and then thanking them again. Since only Azazel, Smiddy, and I appear to be writing seperate letters, I don't feel that politicians will feel that they are being innundated by a letter writting campaign.

  @Sizemilk: I wrote to Steven Unthank to get his opinion about writing to politicians. I'm trying to follow Steven Unthank's advice that is in his email and I shared in this thread. If you read what Steven Unthank wrote about some politiicans, you may have noticed that those politicians have questioned public officials for not actively enforcing Victoria's child protection laws.

  @Smiddy: I do not like Witness bashing either and would never do that to victums. On the other hand I have no problem labeling the WTBTS as a cult to politicians to reduce their reluctance of appearing anti-religious to their constituents. Hopefully, what I wrote to politicians will peak their interest at following Steven Unthank's cases and they will make their own inquires of the Public Prosecutor of Victoria. If you read what Steven Unthank wrote about some politiicans, you may have noticed that those politicians have questioned public officials for not actively enforcing Victoria's child protection laws.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert

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  steve2 13 years ago

  Letter writing campaigns can - and do - backfire - sometimes badly.

  Scientologists from around the world bombarded the Californian legislative authorities a few years ago in response to a local court case against the chruch that would have had dire consequences for the official status of the church. I hear that the court rejected the duplicated letters as orchestrated and biased and rejected them in its deliberations. The court decision was in favor of the Scientologists.

  Many letter writers no matter how sincere do tend to come across as obsessed and vindictive and engage in emotional hyperbolic statements (e.g., making the world safe for JW children).

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  Azazel 13 years ago

  THATS WHY I BLOODY WELL SAID WRITE YOUR OWN SO THERE IS NO BOMBARDMENT OF THE SAME FRIGGIN LETTER TO MEMBERS OF GOVERNMENT!!!

  Band on the Run Mate! this is Australia so please dont compare our politicians to the what goes down in the states! Thank our Queen we are part of the Commonwealth and our system of government reflects that!

  steve2 dude my letter is as non obsessive or vindictive as you could get. Whats wrong with asking for a safer community for our children? My children who are in the JW deserve to be safe from Pedophiles. If you have anything constructive to add to why this shoudnt be spoken, then say so please.

  ABible Student Bob Brown is one of the best to write to because he was on the receiving end of an enourmous smeer campaign by the Exclusive Bretherin cult and has no compassion for cults that ignore Australian Laws.

  im just so tired of this shit

  Tired Az

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