You have a $100,000,000 budget to do a global campaign against the WTBS worldwide. How would you spend it?

JWchange

What if by inheritance, winning the lottery or any other way, you suddenly got your hands on $150m after tax. You maybe would spend a third of this giving your extended family financial security for life. You maybe would buy a boat and a few investment properties. You then decide to play with $100m to wake up JW;s and minimize the chances of new members, Using legal and ethical means, as opposed to violence or unethical means (for example a hit squad), this is what I would do:

1. Hire the best lobbyists in the world to question and possibly stop WTBTS charity status in as many countries as possible.

2. Advertise against WTBTS shunning policies in national newspapers. I would hire the best advertising agencies in the world.

3. Give a million each to well thought out 'apostate; websites such as jwsurvey, jwstruggle, jwfacts, this forum, etc

4. Pay for an all expenses paid holiday and accept to be charged at premium senior counsel rates (via my charity of course re tax deductions ), for Angus Stewart (Australian RC) to consult with my team on my new ship for 2 weeks. .

5. Lobby and eventually teach, via charities I would control, to inform pre teen school kids why they should wait until late teens to get baptized.

6. Use private detectives to follow GB members and Helpers, to see what they get up to.

7. There is no 7. I didn't want to end with an imperfect, worldly, evil, number.

Your thoughts would be welcome.

Marvin Shilmer

The answer is easy: Offer each current member of the GB the sum of $10,000,000 to step aside as a GB member and write a memoir on their years as a GB member and that must be accompanied by documentation.

Watchtower would be toast as we know it today. Over. Done with.

Multiple GB members would jump on this cash train.

JWchange

Marvin: if the GB members are there for the money, they would sell their own kids for less than $10m of 'my' $100m money , however if they have the disillusion that they are God's slave class, i am of the opinion most GB members would not accept the financial incentive. .They would rather die, as did their followers in Nazi Germany, Malawi etc.

Marvin Shilmer

i am of the opinion most GB members would not accept the financial incentive.

If you're looking for the surest and fastest way to influence Watchtower's future by spending 100 milliions bucks my opinion is to buy yourself a couple of GB members, if not more. That would do it.

You have a different opinion. So what?

They would rather die, as did their followers in Nazi Germany, Malawi etc.

The then GB members were all doing things that JWs of the era were dying for. Watchtower's top leadership does not act like they ask their followers to act.

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TheListener

I agree with JWchange that the GB aren't in it for the money. And if they did accept the money they would just be written off by the typical JW and a new GB would take their place and preach about the evils of money.

I say link up with an existing group that is trying to get the tax free status removed and an information campaign directed to dubs in the wealthiest countries to really put a dent in their donation arrangement.

Giordano

If I could strike a deal with JWFacts.COM and start an advertising campaign to make every JW aware of it so they can read all of the stuff the WTBTS has written, believed, changed and flipflopped on.

A smart advertishing or PR group could present a one or two page 'teaser' that would compel a person to follow the links for the actual wt quote.

By their own words they can be discredited.

I'd also hit them hard on the Pedophile issue as well as Blood.

Simon

I think any campaigns would be a waste or at least mostly ineffective use of money. It's not a question of resources to reach people, it's convincing people who have "religious belief". I don't believe that a million dollars worth of hosting and ads wouldn't alter the WTS trajectory substantially. Look at all the TV programmes - they would cost far more than a million to have the equivalent of advertising ... have things changed massively as a result?

There are no quick fixes, society is gradually changing and chipping away at things and one day religion will be one of those things people will look back on as idiotic like slavery or inequality for women or gays.

Far better work could be done far more effectively by giving funds to people who actually do good and charitable work whether that is helping injured animals (http://www.hopeforpaws.org/) or providing shelters for abused women and children or just improving childhood literacy.

If it had to be targeted toward JW support then I would put it toward existing setups that help people of all religions, not try to target just one.

Printing leaflets to try and convince some blind believers that their belief is blind? Seems like it would be a waste to me compared to what else could be done with it.

Village Idiot

Interesting thought experiment.

If I were to get 150 million dollars I would not spend two thirds of it on JWs. Important enough as it is there are other issues of equal or greater importance that could use such funds. Oh maybe I might spend a million just to be a thorn on their side but it would be more of a game to me.

As for specifics:

1. Hire the best lobbyists in the world to question and possibly stop WTBTS charity status in as many countries as possible.

Nope, there are other religions which are just as bad and present an even greater threat to the public's well being. For example, Fundamentalist Christians and their infiltration of government.

2. Advertise against WTBTS shunning policies in national newspapers. I would hire the best advertising agencies in the world.

Hardly anyone reads the newspapers any more. Television yes. I would also hire a good marketing agent for advice. I have some pretty good (and dirty) ideas for such commercials and shunning is not one of them. The public couldn't care less.

I would make a TV commercial where a young girl answers the door to a JW pedophile. That is something the public could relate to.

3. Give a million each to well thought out 'apostate; websites such as jwsurvey, jwstruggle, jwfacts, this forum, etc

A little too much even if I were to spend 100 million. More like $100,000 each.

4. Pay for an all expenses paid holiday and accept to be charged at premium senior counsel rates (via my charity of course re tax deductions ), for Angus Stewart (Australian RC) to consult with my team on my new ship for 2 weeks.

Interesting. A market consultant would be more helpful. Angus Stewart might be limited to knowledge of Australian laws and it's the US where most of the action is at. I would give it a try though. Maybe, if he could learn US law,I would use him in a class action suit.

5. Lobby and eventually teach, via charities I would control, to inform pre teen school kids why they should wait until late teens to get baptized.

You're supporting religious beliefs by doing that. Why?

6. Use private detectives to follow GB members and Helpers, to see what they get up to.

Make them paranoid, heh?

cappytan

I wouldn't start a campaign with it.

I'd set up a charity/scholarship to help youths that want to escape the cult get a college education and provide some living assistance while they go to college.

sparrowdown

I would buy up some air-time on all major networks and pay a GB member to appear on a Q&A with other educated representatives from other major religions. You could really make them look like the ignoramuses that they are if you planned your questions right.

Would they be able to resist the money and the chance to glorify themselves?

You have a $100,000,000 budget to do a global campaign against the WTBS worldwide. How would you spend it?

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