Nightmare on Elm Street
Mother to elder: Tiffany, my daughter, shocked me last night. She told me she was fondled by our Hispanic neighbor after she babysat for their children.
Elder: that is terrible to hear, sister. How is she doing? Have you been able to comfort her?
Mother: Thanks for asking. I think I’m going to take her to one of those agencies that offer emotional assistance. I also think that I need to let the police know about it in case they want to investigate.
Elder: It sounds like you’ve got your daughter’s best interest at heart. Let me know how that all works out. By the way, I know your distant neighborhood fairly well – is the perpetrator someone I may know? We elders may want to alert the congregation as to his house number just in case we happen to do field service around those homes. We’d do that as a matter of precaution – you can understand that, can’t you, sister?
Mother: Oh, yes, I certainly can understand. And, yes, you may know that perpetrator since he tends the microphones in that nearby Spanish congregation.
Elder: Wait, sister. I was under the impression that the man is a worldly person and not one of our own. First of all, were there any witnesses to this dastardly act?
Mother: Well, no. His wife and children had all gone upstairs to bed and he did this bad thing in their hallway as she was leaving his home. But I’m now a bit puzzled. Till you learned he is a JW, you seemed okay with my strategy to get my daughter some help and reporting him to the police. Exactly how does the fact that he carries a microphone change my daughter’s need for assistance?
Elder: You really need to take hold of your emotions, sister. Anger won’t help this situation and besides, we first need to think about Jehovah and His organization, and how his supreme name could be soiled if one of his people gets accused of alleged wrongdoing. The first thing we need to do is …..
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Okay, I concede this was just a nightmare I had recently. But the more I think about it, the more I suspect that it’s probably already happened – somewhere, and more than a few times.