A regular poster revealed how an elder confided in an ex-Jehovah's Witness from Norway who in the past has always insisted he is trustworthy. I even recall him becoming outraged on H2O a year or two ago at the mere suggestion that he would turn a trusted private email correspondence into public fodder, or "out" any Jehovah's Witness who confided in him.
AlanF | Greg Stafford's New Book Has Shipped | Apr 7, 2002 05:28Need I say more?
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=25201&site=3
AlanF wrote:
This brings to mind another situation. Several months ago Randy Watters and Kent Steinhaug published a bunch of correspondence on the blood issue between an elder named Jensen and the Society, where Jensen pretty clearly disagreed with the Society's blood policy. Does anyone know if Jensen was disfellowshipped for having his private views publicly exposed? Usually if the divergent views of a JW become known to the JW community, they're immediately brought before a committee, even if the person had no intention of not keeping them private. And knowing how fanatically anal the Society can be, it wouldn't surprise me if they went after Jensen and accused him of any number of nefarious activities.
This reiterates what I have been "preaching to the choir" all along. WHY WOULD ANYBODY CONFIDE IN INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL SIMPLY EXPOSE THEIR PRIVATE EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE and "out" their identities? Family men (like perhaps this elder?) are at the greatest risk, because many with wives and kids simply cannot afford the social consequences of getting disfellowshipped.
Thank you Alan for having the courage to expose publicly at risk to yourself and family the devastating truth about what many on the inside already knew was going on.
On the internet the core values of trust and confidentiality are considered nostalgic sentiments from a bygone era.
Derrick
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
-- William Blake (Auguries of Innocence)