Jehovah's Witness Elder, Ron Felt suing Jehovah's Witness he disfellowshiped, for "Harassment"- Broadcasting a recording of JW Ron Felt......

by Balaamsass2 25 Replies latest social current

  • steve2
    steve2

    To me this is a no brainer:

    If a JW in good standing had done to Mr O'Hare what Mr O'Hare had done to the elder, Mr O'Hare would sue. This man is an arch hypocrite - and typifies the organization's own unfortunate stereotypes of disfellowshipped members; sometimes the worst most superifical stereotypes hit the jackpot!

    Mr O'Hare is either being deliberately willful or is naive in the extreme to assert he did not think his public actions would cause distress. No kidding?!

    Whatever we think about the Witnesses, they are as entitled to provisions of civil law as anybody else. As for the charge that JWs harass other people, for God's sake what special pleading that is! If a JW refuses to leave your doorstep upon your instruction to do so, all you have to do is ask two more times and if s/he still refuses, you have grounds for tresspass. You are as protected as any other citizen against harassment.

    There is only one way for Mr O'Hare to go from here on in - and it ain't pretty.

  • DT
    DT

    O'hare's actions might have been inappropriate or even illegal, but I have doubts about the wisdom of charging him with harassment.

    Laws on harassment are good for protecting people from stalkers. They can be especially useful for victims of domestic violence. Unfortunately, they can also be misapplied to by the police to prevent lawful demonstrations.

    I think the crucial factor here may be the the JW was handing out literature in public. I view that as a public demonstration that is advocating for the views that are present in the literature.

    Many would find those views to be offensive, especially since they are critical of other religions and lifestyles. Still, that kind of demonstration should be allowed by the Government. However, I think it's going too far for the Government to try to shield one public demonstration from other public demonstrations that express a different view. If one person or group advocates an opinion publicly, then those with alternate views should be allowed the same freedom, provided all groups do so in a lawful manner. The Government certainly shouldn't use harassment laws to pick and choose which demonstrations it wants to allow.

    I think it would be fair for the local Government to have laws limiting the use of sound systems in public. If O'hare broke that kind of law, then he should be prosecuted for that, rather than harassment.

    If O'hare followed the JW around while he was engaged in private activities, then I think a good case could be made for harassment.

    Misapplying harassment laws could also cause JWs all sorts of grief. I probably won't feel sorry for them if that happens, but I would be sad to see the erosion of basic human rights.

  • was a new boy
    was a new boy
  • was a new boy
    was a new boy
  • Biahi
    Biahi

    Great find, new boy! 👍🏻😀

  • dropoffyourkeylee
    dropoffyourkeylee

    In the US, one of the <relatively few> Supreme Court cases that the JWs lost in the 1940's was the one involving sound cars and their claims of free speech. The Court ruled against the JWs, saying that local governments could regulate the use of sound equipment. After this loss the JWs quit using sound cars.

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