Even if the WTS wins its appeals, it loses

sir82

The thought occurs to me that even if the WTS wins its appeals, it loses.

Suppose that Conti, Lopez, the other 8 cases tied to Campos, and even dozens more cases to come are overturned on appeal.

(1) The WTS will have built a reputation of secrecy & mishandling. A lone crackpot or 2 might file a case against a big corporation in hopes of getting something out of a settlement, but if there are dozens & dozens of litigants, most of whom prefer to go to court to air the "dirty laundry" instead of seeking a settlement, what does that say?

(2) It's not exactly an appealing message for the WTS to say "Ha ha! let's celebrate because victims of child abuse aren't getting any compensation!". So how do they repond publicly, other than trotting out their by-now hollow refrain of "we abhor child abuse"?

Even the brain-deadest of JW apologists will give pause if there are dozens of such cases in the years to come.

Separation of Powers

There is a law of averages. The more that fight against the positions of the WT regarding their CA policies, the more chance that someone will win and win BIG. Conti's case is taking longer than I expected. However, with regard to the legalities involved...THAT is a good thing. If she wins, the floodgates will open and the damage will be insufferable...

OnTheWayOut

I listened to the interview on the podcast about the lastest court case. Watchtower is defying the court's directions. They decide not to produce documents and not to produce their Governing Body member and then act like that's okay. Their appeal will go through the same courts that they defied. Now I get why they got such a high punitive damage against them and were barred from further participation in the trial. They were in contempt of the court.

They are not going to win an appeal on this case. At the best for them, they might get the award reduced, but still in the millions.

But they respond to the public the same way they would tell members- "That court refused to let us participate in the process." It's just like politics- tell a version of the truth and leave out all the relevant facts that hurt your position.

OneEyedJoe

If half of what the lawyer said about their behavior is true, I don't see how they can possibly win the appeal. At this point they're throwing good money after bad.

They're definitely earning a reputation for secrecy and obstinance that is unbecoming of the position that they claim to hold, though I somehow doubt that many JWs will be affected personally by the news. Even if they see it, they'll just assume its "imperfect men" in the congregaion and won't bother to read enough to realize that it's a systemic problem, or that it's their donation money that's going to pay these victims (and indeed their money helping to fight against compensating the victims). Sadly, I well know that if I had seen the headline "Jehovah's Witnesses to pay $13.5M to sex abuse vitim" I would've just assumed that it was a civil case against an individual in the congregation and the reporter made a mistake in using the plural "witnesses." I certainly wouldn't have bothered reading the article.

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think the average JW is sufficiently keyed into the goings-on of the world that they'll notice this at all. Sure, they'll lose some due to this, but I don't think the loss in membership will hurt as bad as the loss of money. I think these lawsuits need to win and bleed the org dry of money to have any hope of resulting in a rapid decline of the cult. Maybe I'm just in a pessimistic mood, though.

Edit:

I just thought of one caveat that might make all this have a much bigger effect. If the late-night shows pick up this news and make jokes about it, that will personally impact a lot more JWs than just having it on google news or CNN or whatever. People will turn off the news if they're not interested, but a 20-second long joke on letterman (that's over before you know it) will hit home and plant seeds.

JustVisting

OneEyedJoe: "I somehow doubt that many JWs will be affected personally by the news." The average JW does not keep up with current events and only glances at CNN or network news to check for a newsflash saying: "Breaking news from Rome, blue-helmeted troops move on the Vatican." Aside from that, they are oblivious.

DesirousOfChange

If the late-night shows pick up this news and make jokes about it, that will personally impact a lot more JWs than just having it on google news or CNN or whatever. People will turn off the news if they're not interested, but a 20-second long joke on letterman (that's over before you know it) will hit home and plant seeds.

Sad but true.

If David Letterman or Jimmy Fallon say it, you know it's true.

And that's about the most serious "news" program that the average person hears today.

Doc

Finkelstein

I don't think they will win based from their already acknowledged contempt for the court of this particular case.

Ironically they are hiding behind their own stipulations of how elders are to act with situations of pedophilia in the congregations.

Gerrit Locsh hasn't been seen for awhile anywhere and most people at HQ haven't seen him in his office either.

.

designs

How are Elders viewed legally by the Courts and by the Wt.inc..

Finkelstein

They are probably looked over because its realized that its the top organizational leaders that are stipulating the directives to the lower elders or clergy . ie Catholics.

Personally I think they should be brought up charges for concealing and abetting to a unlawful criminal.

ABibleStudent

I doubt the WTBTS's appeals will be successful. Appeal judges take comtempt of court very seriously and will probably adversely bias their perception of the Watchtower's appeals. The $13.5 million judgement could not have come at a better time to support Candace's lawsuit.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

Even if the WTS wins its appeals, it loses

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