Is shunning a common religious punishment for reporting sexual abuse (or other crimes)?

by Fernando 9 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Fernando

  In other words, is it true that the Watchtower is just like other religions when it comes to cover-ups?

  From personal experience (with incest and doctrinal/financial fraud) in the Watchtower I would say so.

  Especially when I compare stories like the one I read today:

  "It’s impossible to know how many women have been raped by Jewish men. But too many women have anecdotes about a friend who was assaulted and never spoke up because “he’s such a great guy; no one would believe me.” Just look at what happened to some of the children who dared to publicly say that they were molested by rabbis or other trusted individuals in the ultra-Orthodox community — they were shunned by the communities who claimed to care about them."

  (from The Danger of the 'Nice Jewish Guy')
  
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  Jay Elle

  I have many friends with unreported stories.  Too many.  People hide behind the Bible/power in every religion.

  i never thought we would be watching Bill Cosby turn into a creep...but look where we are.

  as far as the WT covering up....  Yes.  There was a cover up in my hall.  When the moms found out about it...the moms were trampled by the elders.  The elders were furious we were talking about it. I was publicly reproved after I was forced to apologize to the pervert or be dfd. The elders also wanted names of all the moms talking. I refused to give the names so they hung me from the rafters.  The level of ugliness they heaped on my family was very long and very painful.

  guess what? The pervert reoffended. Instead of apologizing to our family, Bethel and the elder body became even more vengeful that we were right to be concerned for our kids all staying the night, without warning at this perverts house. So the elders had a marking talk ....about us.  Not the pervert....us.  Why?  To keep people from reaching out to us after we were right that the pervert couldn't stop and our concern for our kids and others was valid.

  oh and what happened to the teen girl the Servant offended.....well they dfd her. 

  
  
• 

  sparrowdown

  There were cover ups in my hall too. And yes the elders went around personally silencing the whistle blowers,

  with ultimatums of recant or suffer the consequences. How any man with a working conscience can remain an elder is beyond me.

  
  
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  truthseekeriam

  They have no conscience, it's the only thing I could possibly come up with as to how they treat victims.
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  Fernando

  Sorry to hear about how you were treated Jay Elle.

  More proof that they are not who they claim to be.

  Neither do they have the spiritual qualification they claim.

  The very opposite is in evidence.

  Best wishes for you and yours for the future.

  Fernando
  
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  Fernando

  Hey sparrowdown.

  I still remember vividly one of your first posts in which you so aptly described the nature and origin of Watchtower corruption (Enter the Power Couple, assume the position).
  
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  KateWild

  I was silenced, shunned and df'd for exposing domestic violence in our household.

  This type of gagging is common in WT. Rather silence the woman than punish the man.

  Kate xx 
• 

  Vidiot

  Fernando - "In other words, is it true that the Watchtower is just like other religions when it comes to cover-ups?"

  Depends.

  Insular, conservative, authoritarian religions?

  Definitely.

  Churches that fairly utilize the democratic process, embrace fiscal and policy transparency, respect the discoveries of history and science regardless of the implications, and foster genuinely positive community activism?

  I've never heard of it happening.
• 

  joe134cd

  I honestly believe WT needs to be thankful for speaking up about this and I also think that Wt owes owes Bill Bowen and Barbara Anderson a massive big apology for DFing them. If it wasn't for them doing what they did when the did it. Wt would of been  in for a heap more hurting.
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  Fernando

  I was very surprised a few months ago when reading how open and public a senior member of the Catholic Church was about child abuse and the root causes as he sees them (one of which is clericalism, aka the two class system of believers and the associated multi-tiered hierarchy of power).