PLEASE Critique Letter to Editor

by Swan 9 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Swan

  Dear Friends,

  I am thinking of sending in a letter to the editor of our local paper here in Oregon. I would really value your comments, suggestions, and ideas. Please read what I have and respond constructively.

  Thank you for your coverage of the Bryant and Longo family murders, the Bimla Boyd case, and the child abuse lawsuit in Corvallis. All of the local stories have one thing in common -- Jehovah's Witnesses. They were all members or ex-members subjected to the bizarre church policies involving shunning, covering up child abuse, and other cult-like practices.

  There are support groups that will accept without judgment those struggling with these issues. They can help you adjust your thinking to that of normal people. They can help you deprogram and start thinking for yourself. It is far better solution than to violently kill innocent family members to send them to a better place.

  What do you think? Suggestions anyone? I want to send this in soon, so please post your observations.

  Tammy
• 

  hamptonite21

  maybe include those support groups in your letter
• 

  DJ

  Hi Swan,

  Although I also believe the wt is a cult (amongst other things) I would make the suggestion not to include that particular word in your letter. My reason is simple really. I think that use of the word 'cult' immediately turns people off. Once the media begins to call the dubs a cult, it will only cause jw's to close their ears to the rest of the story. It's a trigger word that shuts their brains down. Know what I mean? Also, I agree w/ handsome Hampton. LOL Include a few websites like www.freeminds.org for help struggling w/ cults. Randy has intervention classes including Steven Hassan. I suppose SL could be used although I don't know if they offer counseling per say. It is probably therapeutic just to meet other with the same issues. Also, maybe you could include www.ajwrb.org for those who have lost a loved one b/c of the hypocritical blood policy. See what you think? Love, Dj

  p.s. i wish that we would get some press coverage here in PA.
• 

  BONEZZ

  Hi Tammy....I think any well thought-out, informed letter to the editor is great. The Dubbies hate any kind of negative press. My parents and myself have been keeping the local newspaper full of it lately. I'll post it all soon. It started with my poster campaign which resulted in a very uninformed JW woman who called my posters lies in a letter to the editor. This caused me to write a response to her in the paper making her look rather foolish and it got the SL website out there. Then my parents, 51-year members DA'd and wrote a letter about shunning, including the fact that their loving JW grandaughter would not invite them to her wedding reception. It's been a busy time. I think we need to be very active in our anti-WatchPower campaign. I personally am going to write short, concise letters outlining certain issues (UN, Molestation,Rand, Etc.) and some doctrine things for people to ask Dubbies. I'm going to give these letters to the churches for their bulletin boards. We need to educate the "heathens" that the Dubs call on. After they get certain stuff shoved in their faces enough times, it is not only demoralizing, it may make a couple stop, think and check out the facts....stranger things have happened. By the way, I offered my posters to several churches for their boards and they eagerly accpted them.

  -BONEZZ
• 

  Swan

  I didn't call them a cult per se, I only said they had cult-like practices. Killing to send the dead ones to a better place, for instance, is reminisent of the Jim Jones cult and the Hale-Bopp comet cult in So. California. So is the word cult-like appropriate here? What would be a better word?

  I tried to tone this version down some. Here it is again without the deprogram reference and it makes mention of the groups. What do you think?

  Thank you for your coverage of the Bryant and Longo family murders, the Bimla Boyd case, and the child abuse lawsuit in Corvallis. All of the local stories have one thing in common -- Jehovah's Witnesses. They were all members or ex-members subjected to the bizarre church policies involving shunning, covering up child abuse, and other cult-like practices.

  There are support groups that will accept without judgment those struggling with these issues. Silent Lambs, Free Minds, and Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind Center are just some of many resources available. These groups can help with the adjustment to normal society. It is a far better solution than to violently kill innocent family members to send them to a better place.

  Edited by - Swan on 8 October 2002 2:35:43
• 

  Joyzabel

  Hey Tammie,

  I think it's great your letter to the editor, but I would also agree that using the word cult is a major turnoff for jws. How about substituting the words "high control group". I think most jws will agree their lives are highly controlled and the general public will understand, too.

  And go ahead and use the website address when referring to the supportive groups available. It would be easier for people to type in an addy than to have to use a search engine to find them. Most people understand what a web page is with the "www" at the beginning.

  Good job at keeping this information in the media for people to really see what jws (high control group) is like

  Hugs,

  j2bf

  Edited by - joy2bfree on 8 October 2002 3:17:21
• 

  InquiryMan

  deleted

  Edited by - InquiryMan on 9 October 2002 6:59:19
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  Swan

  InquiryMan, yes, they are a cult in Europe. Here in America they are reluctant to use the word cult in describing any group, but the JWs definitely have cult-like practices. Maybe it is time we started to use that word here too. It might warn those inside. I know I would have appreciated hearing it called a cult more when I was starting to have doubts. It would have allowed me to question things even more. Does anyone know what effect the cult label has had in Europe based on what the xJWs there have said?

  Joy, the paper won't print the links, but it will print the names of the organizations.

  Tammy
• 

  seven006

  Tammy,

  You are using the word "those" in the first sentence of the second paragraph. Then you are writing as if you are speaking to a specify person in the rest using the word "you." You might want to rethink that and use the term "they can help those who have experienced this." You can also say "they can also help deprogram those and help them."

  This way it doesn't look like you are speaking to one specific person but to a group.

  It's just a thought. I may be wrong. I was wrong three times today. It happens.

  Are you sending this to the Oregonian?

  Dave
• 

  Swan

  Thanks Dave,

  Here is the corrected version:

  Thank you for your coverage of the Bryant and Longo family murders, the Bimla Boyd case, and the child abuse lawsuit in Corvallis. All of the local stories have one thing in common -- Jehovah's Witnesses. They were all members or ex-members subjected to the bizarre church policies involving shunning, covering up child abuse, and other cult-like practices.

  There are support groups that will accept without judgment those struggling with these issues. Silent Lambs, Free Minds, and Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind Center are just some of many resources available. These groups can help with the adjustment to normal society. It is a far better solution than to violently kill innocent family members to send them to a better place.

  I was thinking of sending this to the Salem Statesman-Journal. Do you think the Oregonian would be better?

  Tammy