WTS Secret Police (page 3)

willdabeerman

I was at a convention one time and found an "black dot attendent badge"(at the time i didnt know what it was).well when i went to turn it in i got the 3'rd degree."where did u get this?,how long have you had it?,did anyone else see you with it?"..i didnt know,untill later on what it was.ever since that time,even though i was an attendant,i was always looked upon with "evil eyes".I could feel someone always looking at me,even though i knew no one was around.just got that erie feeling.then i got busted for smoking a joint.didnt think anyone was around.but then me and some others got busted.and since i was a m/s,that was well liked,that quickly got brushed under the carpet.....blagh!...F*CKIN watchtower faries...i want to go to the next assembly and wreak some havock.have a lil fun.i think ill sit there bust out a 40oz of icehouse or hurricane and drink it.see what reaction i get from secret police then..(thell probably confiscate it and then drink it themselves,but then no.jw's are not alcoholics are they?what am i thinking?......BLAGH!

jws

Interesting stuff. I thought I remember people volunteering to be "attendants" here in the US. They would sort of sweep the hallways to make sure people weren't loitering or kids running around making too much noise. The kind who would tell you to find your seat if they saw you wandering around for too long.

But this black-dot group sonds like a whole new level of attendant, keeping an eye on everyone.

Often thought of going back to a district convention for the hell of it, see if I could stand it. They aren't exactly open about locations and dates (more paranoia).

Even though I still attended several years after the introduction of the black Bible, I still have an unplaced (mint condition) green Bible. Thought I could bring that. Maybe even find the old pink songbook on ebay too.

I remember some warning about guys going to assemblies to pick up JW women who obviously weren't JWs since they still had green bibles. So I always thought it would be a hoot to try to blend in with one.

ballistic

I just want to say I have been on security at several district conventions in the 90s. The word spies or watchman was not used, but we did exactly what you said. We were told to keep a look out for anyone "not looking like a witness" or "possible pick-pockets" and special mention was given to people without bags and Bibles. We followed several brothers into the stadium with mainly the criminal aspect being in mind. I followed one guy and watched him like a hawk, it was exciting, then I lost him. Finally found him back in the car park and finally approached him. He had lost his car in the car park, went back to find his family and had lost them also and then had gone back to the car park in desperation to look for the car again. He wasn't happy, "theres no need to follow me" he said very sharply.

All you said is correct, but the people on the ground in security are not specially trained and are given minimal information. They are the same people that administer the car parks, and you can see 3 brothers I did that part of the job with in the assembly photos thread. We used the 2-way radios to the same effect also.

Here in the UK, there was often just 1 policeman assigned to the stadium. The JWs were very proud of this fact. I will not take that away from the Witnesses. See - I'm not all biased am I?

Makena1

Pleasuredome - thanks for sharing your story. Glad you stuck to your guns and took it to the top.

LFitzwater - the story about your brother is very similar to what happened to my brother at Dodger Stadium in the early 80's. He was df'd at the time, long hair, jeans, but was making an effort to return to the "fold". The attendants backed him into a wall, interrogated him at length, even frisking him for weapons. Fortunately my brother remembered the name of the assembly overseer (can't recall his name myself at the moment, but he was famous for years giving the final wrap up talk at the assemblies telling us how many tons of grapes, sandwiches and other assorted food stuffs were consumed), and said that he was trying to find our father who was PO at the time.

When dad found out how he was treated, he called the assembly overseer, and the CO - asked for an explanation and apology. Lame explanations were given, but an apology - NO WAY.

I was an MS at the time - usually volunteered in food service - but after that I developed a strong dislike for the attendant department and especially for the parking/traffic control squad. My attitude did not change over the next 20 years or so, even when I advanced to the next level, an elder. With the exception of some of the assembly talks, the mechanics and politics of the assemblies were a real pain for me. Wish I could have seen through it all a lot sooner. sigh................

What ever happened to "Public Welcome - all seats Free".??

As Buffalo Springfield sang, "Paranoia strikes deep".

All best,

Mak

Pleasuredome

ballistic

whether or not you were aware of the term watchmen, it is being used and an official WTS title. it was even on the door of the assembly overseer's room. if there were no problems with any of this stuff then why dont the WTS disclose what exactly is going on? because people wouldn't be happy that they are being spied upon.

garybuss

My wife and 2 sons and I were at a district assembly in Bismarck ND in 1975. I entertained my oldest son (about 2 1/2 years old) during sessions so my wife could devote her attention to the baby. At the breakfast restaurant I had picked up a roll of rainbow lifesavers for my son. Early in the afternoon they ran out. There was a candy vending machine at the convention . . . and I was saved. The machine was working and stocked and we got a roll of rainbow lifesavers.

The second day at breakfast, I forgot to buy lifesavers in the restaurant. I told my 2 1/2 year old son, "Don't worry, we'll get some at the assembly", but when I caught up with him at the vending machine there was a roll paper banner (that looked an awful lot like the paper on the temporary cafeteria tables) covering the machine held on with scotch tape that was hand lettered with a magic marker that said "OUT OF ORDER". This is a crisis. My little son looked almost panicked when I told him what the sign said. I told him that if the machine was really broke that we would go back to the store and get some candy. He watched with big eyes as I carefully pulled up one corner of the "out of order" sign and sneaked a quarter in the vending machine that I could now see had been freshly stocked. The quarter went "CLUNK" (sounded like someone dropped a manhole cover). Carefully I pulled the lever and out rolled a rainbow lifesavers candy roll.

Hmmmm repeat above.

Oops! Just as the second offensive rainbow lifesavers hit the tray, two Society assembly security officers (convention cops called "attendants") were between us and the "out of order" machine. They physically pushed us back away from the machine with their bellies and said in a rather arrogant manner "The machine is out of order . . . Brother." I said "You are a liar . . . brother."

One said" You wait right here while we get brother _."
I indicated I would be rather glad to wait for brother__ and that I was anxious to hear him explain this lie. Pretty soon they rushed back and asked me my name. I told them and they trotted off again, apparently to see brother _. Pretty soon here they come, briskly walking, back to confront the culprit (me), without brother __ . They said "Brother __ said you can use the machine just keep it to a minimum." I was shocked, my son cried, and it was a lie.

I was shocked and outraged. This incident reminded me of other similar incidents I had witnessed at Kingdom Halls and assemblies.

At the same convention, seated about 3 rows in front of us, a man was trying to quiet a small (about 3 year-old) girl after she had sat quietly for well over an hour. Her cries caught my attention but my eyes were glued on the man. He was being very rough with this cute little girl dressed up like a doll. He would pick her up and slam her body down on the chair. Finally she stood up and he started to hit her on the bottom and he wouldn't stop. I stood up, stepped down to him and he stopped hitting her. I told him if he needed to hit somebody he could hit me or was I too big for him? (This happened during a program lecture) This incident also reminded me of other, way too similar, things I have witnessed at the Kingdom Halls and at other assemblies involving the treatment of children.

The convention attendants are thugs and Witnesses sat and did nothing while children were physically abused right in front of them. I am glad to be away from them. I am ashamed to ever have been associated with them.

gb

The Way I See it http://www.freeminds.org/buss/buss.htm

NeonMadman

whether or not you were aware of the term watchmen, it is being used and an official WTS title.

But who watches the watchmen?

Pleasuredome

Neonmadman

who watches the watchmen?

good question. the watcher that challenged the final time, was furious when i asked him where the accountability was. that was the clincher that got me to see the assembly overseer.

simplesally

I worked in Admin, doing the typing. There are Watchmen and Attendants. The Attendants "police" the inside of the Stadium and the Watchmen patrol the outside.

Also, if a person comes in with a beard, 2 attendants will follow him, sit near him and observe until they deem him a non-threat.

My dad was a former police detective. He came to the Convention I was baptized at and my "spiritual" dad was usually the head of Admin. He took my dad to all the vantage points, showed him the behind the scenes stuff throughout the stadium, showing him how "organized" they were.

metatron

Don't feel too bad - they don't trust the Circuit Overseers either!

The Society assigns a brother to monitor assembly talks word for word
out of a prepared manuscript. If they deviate even by one word or sentence,
there could be trouble for them.

This is not a joke or an unverified rumor. I've seen this monitoring and the
brothers assigned to it.

metatron

WTS Secret Police

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