Protesters at conventions / assemblies...

by garyneal 27 Replies latest jw friends

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  garyneal

  First off, I can happily say that this year I did not attend a single day at this years District Convention.

  On Saturday during the convention, my wife asked me to drop her off after lunch and later pick her up when the convention was over. While I was dropping her off, I noticed a single individual holding picket signs protesting the convention. It said things like, "Was the ransom sacrifice worth it?" and gave links to various websites. Two of them I recognized were http://www.4jehovah.org/ and http://www.carm.org.

  Recognizing that these were Christian based websites made me wonder who amongst the witnesses that would even bother to look up those websites would be swayed by them. I found in the past that witnesses simply believed that they had the correct Bible interpretations and would often ignore or try to counter other interpretations (leading to Bible ping pong). I figured, though I could be wrong, that these protesters would've been more effective with links to jwfacts or freeminds and other websites that tend to hang the watchtower with their own words.

  What do you all think?
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  dreamgolfer

  I remember a fervent group of Protesters in WA State, they really hit it big time in Tacoma,

  i used to think why do this? I realized they dont golf . But haven't seen or heard of them for awhile, and then I thought..."maybe they took up golf"
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  trailerfitter

  Hi Gary... glad I caught you. Got an email from you a while back and it wouldn't open... Hope everything is going okay for you?.
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  wallsofjericho

  the best I saw was a small group of protestors with a sign that read "millions who will never die are dead" I got a chuckle out of that... of course being a believer at the time I just told myself they had misunderstood what that talk was about. and of course as it turns out, no, it was I that had misunderstood
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  Flat_Accent

  There's been a few, and though it's not an approach that will ever work, its quite funny.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W0EMyMKbgQ&feature=plcp
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  Nice_Dream

  I think signs with jwfacts would be more effective too. If there was a sign that said "Two Witness Rule Protects Pedophiles" I hope I would have been curious enough to take a look.

  Most witnesses feel like they are being persecuted by Satan when protestors show up. There was a group of protestors outside our convention who showed up every year, but people dismissed them as being "not all there," and thought they were lying about being molested. :(
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  ruderedhead

  Maybe it would cause someone studying to look it up, or some teens with their smartphones. Perhaps save them a lot of wasted years. One website can lead to another, you never know!
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  NewChapter

  Okay---I agree that is not the most effective tactic---but LMFAO! Were those sisters actually shielding their faces (witness protection program) with a SPARLOCK video? That was just priceless.

  But here is something that occurs to me. As he is yelling, he is addressing victims and future victims. They are not going to say anything there, but perhaps something got through. Some of those people could have had their cases brushed under the carpet. Some will. And if that is true, what he was saying did get through, and now they know they are not alone.

  So while I'll never scream like that ouside a convention, I am not convinced it is totally ineffective. Information sometimes works in layers. Maybe something said will cause someone who is hurting to look closer.

  NC
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  dreamgolfer

  Good Point NC, that is what happened to me - that's how I started to "look around"
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  Flat_Accent

  There's a possibility NC. But in Witness mode, I wouldn't have listened to him. I'd have said he was either possessed or just someone who took an issue with the WT.

  Still, I think it's funny that they are so proud about their proselytizing, yet when others would do it to them they are told to get a life or f*** off xD. Wonderful double standard.