ThomasMore - “…It was clear that they do not acknowledge that children actually have any rights at all…”
That has its roots in several things, I think.
Firstly…
…my elder dad once explained to me that technically, all of us (including children) were God’s property, and therefore none of us actually had any so-called “rights”… only privileges and gifts Jehovah was gracious enough to give us, even though we could never possibly hope to earn or deserve them.
Secondly…
…since we’re living in Satan’s World deep in the time of the End, “suffering for righteousness’ sake” (or, really, suffering of any kind) must be a defining characteristic of True Christians©️. Therefore, we should expect to have shitty things happen to us all the time, so quit whining and suck it up, you ungrateful little pricks.
And thirdly…
…old-school JW leaders very likely viewed children as, at best, miniature adults to be used as a resource (like actual adults), and at worst, a nuisance. They absolutely were conditioned (by both their upbringing’s conventional but outdated thinking, and the wonderful works of the Apostle Paul) to think of kids as horrible little shit-goblins who couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth, like, ever.
(Note: I never heard my elder dad parrot the second or third things, and I don’t think he believed them.)
None of these “theological” concepts are unique to JWs, but regardless, they cannot help but make for an environment that’s apathetic, casually dismissive, and downright toxic with regards to the victimization of the most vulnerable…
…children or adults.
