by Wasanelder Once 63 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
It was a classic 2-minutes from the first 3 days of inquest. An uncomfortably long pause.
Somewhere here on JWD someone posted about 8 lines of text about what was probably going thru his mind. It would so incredibly funny if it wasn't so incredibly tragic.
Grateful to be out.
-AudeSapere. (meaning: Dare to Know; Dare to Have Wisdom/Understanding; Dare to Think for Yourself~!)
It's a very good point that honestly I never thought of, pedophiles don't have to limit their targeting to just JW kids, it could be anybody! JW or not!
Thats why the governing buffoons NEED to step up and shut down this wreckless stance they have taken and start telling elders they MUST report all cases to those who can take legal action.
yes I know,.....they won't
The best part of that 9 second pause is his little gasp for air - Bowditch looks like a goldfish wearing glasses. His mouth opens and closes and nothing comes out. He just sucks in a bit of air. I think Mr. Stewart took pity on him at that point and bailed him out - he might have been worried that Bowditch was about to have a stroke or pass out if he didn't give him a chance to breathe.
Wow! Just, Wow! The future of WT in Australia looks bleak.
And may it spread around the world...
I'm truly gobsmacked
there is so much that Bowditch could have said. He could have cut through the lawyers questions by focusing on how spiritual dangers involving losing out on everlasting life are more dangerous than temporary physical dangers. At least then he would have come across as a credible congregation leader who is involved primarily with the spirituality of the congregation. But because the wts is so focused on material survival their elders are coming across as deer caught in headlights and even much worse - as low life criminals protecting other criminals.
Fluffing around the issue by saying it was her decision to come to talk to three elders about her dad's child abuse and then having this easily overcome by the lawyer's focus on the issue of the victim's obligation to report sin and why couldn't she have had one elder deal with her and why couldn't she bring along someone for support to do so ...
the wts needs to let its elders speak out of their own spiritual convictions if they want the movement to have any credibilty.
another thing is that the lawyer is judging what happened in 1988-89 by present day standards re child abuse. So if the elders want to come across as credible they need to focus on what little info re child abuse was available in Australia then.
there is much more they can do to maintain a modicum of self respect.
GAWD - this is coming across to be as if it was happening in the late nineteenth-early 20th century rather than in the 21 century and as intellectual bullying. After all the elders are not highly educated men - they are often manual workers having given up school at 16-18. The lawyers have years of training and there is nothing on their part that indicates they are at least giving some consideration to putting those they are questioning at ease. What is the point of doing what they accuse the elders of doing to victims. It is a horrible disquieting circus from a first world nation.
If this was a court case there would be fair representation for the accused so that someone representing the elder would raise an objection to the style of questioning and would perhaps set the record straight re any points that the elder may have forgotten in his confusion....
is this kind of public hearing even legal in the way it is being conducted?
I'm not on the side of Jehovahs witnesses but I would at least like the hearing to be fair and just.
Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, say after me, "The elders are not the victims". The elders who have been very mean with mercy will feel what it is like to be without its gently healing effects. Fret not. The organization has its own lawyers waiting in the wings to defend the indefensible. If these elders are shaken to their boots, well and good. God knows in their uneducated 'wisdom' they have made decisions that have shaken their fellow believers to their boots. They need to stand by those decisions...and if they can't, perhaps this will lead them to starting to think for themselves for the first time about the responsibilities and accountability of being leaders.
To paraphrase Scripture, 'To those who are given much, much is expected'.
