Did you ever witness someone being escorted out of the KH?

by JH 41 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Evanescence

  Just curious, what is the "back room?"

  Evanescence
• 

  Oroborus21

  
  The "back room" refers to either the secondary room or library present in most Kingdom Halls (usually used for second schools during the Ministry School (Thursday night meeting) in large congregations) or sometimes it can refer to what is literally no more than a storage closet.

  In either case, when someone is pulled into the back room, usually before or more often after a meeting, it is so that the Elders may talk with that person privately. In many cases when the back room is the second hall, the Elders forget to pull the blinds on the windows if it has them thus giving a silent pantomime of the situation for everyone to see. Jim Whitney, aka Amazing(1914) tells an amusing story of how once used this feature to scare the heck out of an Elder that was being a jerk. Usually, though when someone is in the backroom, the Elders will pull the blinds so that they have privacy. In most cases people who see someone being pulled into the backroom will surmise that "something is going on" and such is usually the spark of much gossip and speculation.

  The backroom or library is often used for Judicial Committee Meetings also, especially if more than one Hall is being shared with other congregations, but oddly this is the case too when there is only one congregation. Perhaps the Elders feel the setting is better for such meetings or maybe it is part of the intimidation factor.

  -Eduardo

  PS: Ah, I just read the post that probably made you ask the question. The backroom aka library or second meeting room is often the place during regular meetings where those with crying babies, those who want to fall asleep :-) and the Disfellowshipped often sit, usually it is wired with speakers so that the people can hear but very rarely (unless the use is due to pure overcapacity reasons) do the Microphone Men bother to go the backroom to allow someone to answer during the Watchtower Study and usually persons in there would never be seen by the speaker anyway. As alluded to in the post, since the backroom is usually the last filled up it is the place of last resort for latecomers to sit and also those that might be immediately a distraction like the smelly or out of uniform person might be escorted that way when they come in.
• 

  Evanescence

  Thanks

  Evanescence
• 

  mamochan13

  yes - more than once. One time an unbelieving spouse came in, quite drunk, and started putting up his hand at the WT study. Innocent little conductor man smiles and calls on him, thinking its a new convert who wants to participate. Drunk says, "saaayyy...WHO is this guy Jeaahhoovah?". Little conductor man realizes his mistake, blushes and ignores him, looking frantically around the hall for someone else with their hand up. Drunk spouse gets agitated, keeps asking his question. Finally elders come and drag him out. As he is being pulled out, he yells, "but I just wanted to know WHO JEahhooovah is!! why won't you answer my question!" ;-)

  I also remember one district assembly, think it was a Sunday afternoon, a guy entered the concourse wearing a t-shirt inscribed on the back with "na na na na na on jehovah". No one would have noticed him except the elders in suits started following him around. First it was two suits, then three, then six, soon a dozen. It was the funniest thing - the guy in t-shirt walking briskly around the edge of the concourse (big hockey arena), followed by a mafia of guys in suits. Everyone in the audience stopped listening to to the speaker, they were just watching the drama below. T-shirt didn't do anything but keep walking as the bunch following got bigger and bigger. eventually t-shirt got tired of the game and disappeared out one of the doors, the squad (by now about 20 suits) still following. It was priceless!
• 

  thom

  ---"but I just wanted to know WHO JEahhooovah is!! why won't you answer my question!" ;-)---
  I studied with a guy and took him to his first meeting, and he asked me that same question after we left. I guess I heard the name so much I never even thought about it being new to someone.
• 

  Emma

  These two weren't thrown out, but it was funny.

  There were two young hippie type men who began coming to the hall, usually quite high on one drug or another. At one point, one thought he was Jesus Christ and the other, the Apostle Paul. They would sit in the front row and keep waving their hands during the wt study. Ocassionally the conductor would call them and they would give some goofy answer, all well intentioned. Those meetings were the most fun of any. Eventually one came into the troof, sad to say.
• 

  Rod P

  Years ago, as a young witness (age 21) I was rehearsing my "public talk" material. It was a Saturday night, and I had the keys to the Kingdom Hall. I and my young bride-to-be (age 19) went to the hall, and I got up on the podium and began to deliver my talk with the microphone. My fiance sat in the front row, listening to my delivery.

  Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door of the hall. I walked down the aisle and answered the door. Here were two smiling Indians asking to speak to someone. They called me "brother", and told me they were studying with a brother at another town ) I knew the place they referred to.) I told them there was no-one here, and that I was just rehearsing for my talk to be given the next day. They asked if they could come in and just listen.

  I escorted them in, to a couple of seats near the front. They sat there quietly, seeming to be listening intently. When my rehearsal was over, they both clapped. I came down from the podium, and my engaged girl-friend and I were preparing to leave. These fellows came over to us and shook our hands, and said what a nice talk that was. It was then that I noticed they had the smell of booze on their breaths, and it looked a bit like they were having a little trouble standing up straight.

  Then one of them asked me for money for food. I told them I didn't have any (which I didn't at the time.) Then he told me that if I knew what was good for me, I would give them some money. I asked him "What do you mean?" He said "If you care for that wife of yours, you will give us some money!" I again told him "I don't have any on me. But if you wait a minute, I will phone the Congregation Overseer, I will see if he can come over here and bring some money for them." They said "O.K.", so I went downstairs to where the phone was and called the PO. I explained what was going on, and we were scared and felt threatened.

  The PO asked me to describe the two guys, which I did. He told me he thinks he has met them before, and that I should just insist that they leave. Then, if the problem persists, I was to call him back.

  All this time I was horrified, wondering what my future bride was going thru upstairs with those two drunken natives, while I was down here talking to the PO. I had asked him to come down or to call the police, but all he could advise was to tell them to leave, and if the problem persists, call him back. What if this turned violent! Kind of late to call him back, don't you think. Oh well, I guess he didn't want to be interrupted or inconvenienced. (Sorry to disturb you brother PO.)

  I rushed back upstairs to confront these two guys, and to make sure she was as safe from harm as possible under the circumstances. I had my big ol' field service briefcase with me, so I managed to pick it up. I was ready to use it as a defence weapon if it became necessary.

  I told them that the PO would be coming down to see them shortly, but that he told me to tell them that they must wait just outside the front door until he comes, as we had to lock up, and members of the public are not supposed to be in the hall when there is no meeting going on.

  They listened to me, and actually went to the front steps of the hall, while I told them to just wait until the Overseer came. They smiled at me, and sat down on the front steps. Then I closed the entrance door and locked it. I kind of felt bad about lieing to them, as there was no Overseer coming. At the same time, I felt a lot safer with them locked out.

  We then waited inside the Hall, hoping they would leave. How long it would have to be, was anybody's guess. She was pretty upset, but we both pondered what to do next. What if they got impatient and angry, and then tried to break down the door? Should we call the cops? Well, we were not sure if we should involve the cops, since this was not really "our" Kingdom Hall", but belonged to everybody. And these two guys had not really done anything yet. But we didn't feel safe, and now we felt trapped. I think we sat there another 30 minutes.

  Finally, I went back downstairs and phoned the PO once more. I explained what I told them, and now they were waiting for him to arrive on the front steps. (I think he was just finishing up supper with his family at the time.) So he told me he would come down and see what is going on and what to do about it.

  About 15 minutes later he showed up. The Indians were still sitting on the front step. (There were a couple of times along the way where they kept banging on the door, but we didn't answer.) We did not see the Overseer arrive, but the door did open, and here was the PO, asking how we were doing. I said we were pretty scared, but we were not harmed. He told us he confronted them, and told them to leave, and they left. He threatened them with police action if they didn't.

  In the aftermath, I must say my respect for that PO went down several notches. I said to myself "I hope he enjoyed his nice supper with his family while we were down here panicking." Never again would I consider a rehearsal at a Kingdom Hall again.

  Of course, my life as a married JW all changed when I later left that religion and became a Mormon (which I later also left). But that is another story.

  Rod P.
• 

  misguided

  I was pretty young at the time, but I remember a drunk walking in off the street (in Vancouver) and walking straight up to the speaker giving the Sunday Talk (I still remember which speaker it was) and started yelling at him...something about the Jehovah's Witnesses taking his wife from him. They quickly escorted the guy out, with him screaming all the way.

  After that, they always had a "suit" posted as a guard at the entrance-way.

  Rose
• 

  roybatty

  What would happen if someone simply refused to leave?

  Would they physically drag my azz out of there

  I remember each year I was an attendend at the District Conventions (where incidents are more likely to happen) they beat into our brains to never, ever touch someone who is making a scene (yelling, etc.). The worry was that this individual could have you arrested for assault. Unless he was storming the stage or about to assult you, it was "hands off" and call the police.
• 

  Vassago

  Well it all started when my father was and elder (Now a Baptist) he was on the stage giving a Sunday morning talk and my grandmother (his mother) was there (also a Southern Baptist). Like 15 - 20 minutes into the talk she kept standing up and shouting and chanting every few minutes and saying that her son is beautiful and God sent him here so everyone can follow him. (We could not quiet her down)

  The elders jumped up after like the 4th time (remember, we could not stop her) and asked her to go outside with them, she started screaming like they were hurting her, and saying that she has every right to be there with everyone else and watch her beautiful son preach to everyone. They were dragging her, she fell to the floor crying and screaming, my father finally asked someone else to finish the talk so he can quiet her down, she refused to walk out of those door with out all of us. So we all had to leave.

  I loved her so much for being the way she was, a strong beautiful southern Baptist woman that disrupted all the JW's so called perfect morning meal.

  With love

  Vass