A victory indeed to fight at all costs ($) this Supreme Court battle over door-to-door permits. Who now though would volunteer to work that territory. Of course, the fight was for a higher issue that protects anonimous callers in general, but I couldn't help commenting on what the "air" in the Village of Stratton must be like today! Tar and feather now, ask questions later?
Win Fight - Loose Battle ? - Stratton, OH
by Naomimara 7 Replies latest jw friends
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invisible
Hello Naomimara
I just did a search in Google: stratton ohio jw's
Up came a list of sites carrying the news story and the latest ruling.
May I suggest well constructed dessertations be sent to these carriers explaining the real problems / issues at hand here, it might do some beneficial good for the real picture, not the WT official line, giving the residents there a fuller more clearly understandable picture of what the potential threat is when unsolicited JW's pose when calling at the door uninvited?
'Celtic' Mark
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dungbeetle
all across the country, the DO NOT CALL lists are going to explode in size BIG TIME, thanks to all this publicity.
Stratton has done a good thing, because it gave us a chance to advertise the 'Rapists at Your Door' policy Jehovah's Witnesses have engaged in IN PRINT since at least 1967. One wonders if the Justices would ever have heard of it otherwise.
Now EVERYONE can know...
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mrs rocky2
There was one Justice who dissented. He is concerned with a potential for crime and violations to personal privacy. To read the entire court opinion:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
Click on opinions, latest slip opinions, then scroll down to Watchtower Bible and Tract Soc., etc. It is in .pdf format.
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patio34
Hi Naomimara,
It was on the front page of our local rag today. But one thing that stood out was the arrogance of the WT attorney in his statement:
Eight justices of the Supreme Court saw the importance of our public ministry ... and that it deserved all the protection the First Amendment could provide."
Surely people will notice that that is not what the ruling was about: their insignificant, annoying recruiting tactics. What garbage "the importance of our public ministry"! The only ones it's important to are the boys in Brooklyn.
Pat
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Sunspot
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
I am SO irritated by this decision, I can hardly stand it!!! GRRRRR
I "campaigned" SO long and hard when this "appeal" was being heard, I wrote a personal letter to the Stratton OH lawyer with lots of "ammunition he could use, on Watchtower "tactics" that he may not have been familiar with (never got a response or an acknowledgement of any kind).
Some of this "ammunition" included graphic examples of what the WTS REALLY teaches, (courtesy of Tom Tally's hard work and terrific website!) and I posted this over and over again to local OH forums, newspapers, etc.
I made it quite clear that JWs are expressly proud of the fact that they "always follow the laws in their communities" and consider themselves to be "model citizens" no matter where they live, despite the fact that they don't "give back" anything TO those communities. I then made mention of the long list of "they don't's" such as vote, donate to charities, salute the flag, celebrate any holidays, attend weddings or funerals that aren't strictly JW....and so forth.
I was hoping to make an impact on those who DIDN'T have a clue about JW beliefs.
From what I understood, Stratton was fairly small, made up mostly of Senior Citizens living in gated communities, and also many factory workers who were "day sleepers"......neither of which relished the visits of JWs.
Under the "Solicitor's Law", JWs would STILL be able to "preach their important message" with absolutely no restrictions (other than the time frame of no later than 9:00 PM, I believe) so this contrived crap of how their "RIGHTS OF FREE SPEECH" were being affected, is SO maddening!!!
They were only expected to register with the local authorities as to who they were and what their purpose would be, as they went through the area. Does that sound threatening????
It was also mentioned at the onset that NO ONE who had registered had EVER been turned down, and there was NO fee charged....it was just a precautionary measure for the safety of the residents of Stratton.
I was totally shocked when I heard the news on CNN.........and extremely disappointed at the decision.
And don't we ALL know that the congregations everywhere will view this as a "blessing" from Jehovah, to further his preaching work and his purpose, as they do their "happy dance"....I could just barf!
Ya gotta KNOW this will be fodder for a Watchtower article, the KMs will milk it dry, and Public Talks will be including this at every turn........the gloating has surely begun.
With all due respect to the U.S. Supreme Court......WHAT were you THINKING??????
Annie
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Naomimara
Hello all,
You know that pride is before a crash.
I was amused at patio34's offering the quote that the 'Supreme Court Justices saw the importance of the public ministry'. I heard a few of the remarks of the Justices at an earlier time and I don't think they were much concerned about the 'ministry'.
And Invisible's encouragement to give Stratton a fuller picture. Surely many, beyond Stratton's village limits are getting a fuller picture.
Perhaps this is Jehovah's direction all in all. To strain out the gnat and gulp down the camel is suicidal. Sure our rights of free speech are important, even this "evil" world recognizes that. But if we preach free and anonymous speech as being important while in the darkness of our inner circles torture and maim innocent persons, including 'inhibiting their free speech', WOE!
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nowaytess
You have to undestand many also stood in as "Freinds of the court" in this case. Many Christian organizations also support the Watchtower's cause.
When you write to the town mayor and give them all the ammo on thier beliefs and get no reply, you wonder why? They can see you are disgrunteld with the church. That was not their aim or can be used by the Supreme Court as an arguement.
I wonder if the Supreme Court saw Dateline and the current policies on defending pedophile at thier door steps?
If JWS getting s free permit restricts thier freedom to go door to door, should they also be required to tell me if the people canvassasing are convicted child molesters, rapist murders or pedophiles? Oh, by doning that you violate thier right to privacy!