Della Street

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Posts by Della Street

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  36

  May 2019 child abuse WT

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  the new study edition watchtower is up, and most of it is devoted to child abuse damage control.. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-may-2019/.

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  Della Street

  The way this article is written, I am wondering if some elders were confusing their judicial duties as elders with their requirements to report. for example, if there were not two witnesses, maybe they assumed that meant they were not allowed or required report to authorities....

  One good thing about this though is that this is the most straightforward article I can recall that addresses reporting to authorities for parents or elders. Parents don't have to wait to report, and the article addresses if the issue becomes public knowledge that it is not the victim or parents who brought reproach, but the abuser. I'm pretty sure that has never been in print before....

  I'll give them credit for a small step forward. I'd like for them to say we report under all circumstances where doing such does not breach clergy confidentiality (such as direct confession).
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  35

  Who will be resurrected? The righteous and the unrighteous

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  chapter seven.

  there will be a resurrection.

  17 who will be resurrected?

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  Della Street

  @Half Banana,

  The entire premise of Christianity rests on the belief that JC was resurrected. If not for that, the whole thing crumbles. So....who knows. But a whole lotta people believe it, and hope it to be true. Otherwise they are screwed.
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  194

  Is Being a “Manly Man” a Bad Thing?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so much is said regarding men , in a negative way.

  shaving commercials are now lecturing us as to how bad we really are.

  men should be less masculine.

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  Della Street

  Our society is very hard on men. As has been mentioned, boys are told to be strong, not to show emotion, don't cry,... being taught and required to cut off parts of yourself is very damaging. I think what is missing is a broader definition of what it means to be male. Men can be rough and tumble, tender, artsy, creative, .... what I see happen is some traits are conflated with sexual orientation - so boys who like art, dance, literature, or are more "soft" are judged "gay" - which even in 2019 is negative in may places. Rather than accept that masculinity is a spectrum, people judge.

  And, because boys have been mistreated, they sometimes grow up to be men who mistreat others, particularly women.

  I think it is fair to say that both men and women face societal expectations that are unrealistic and damaging. It does no good to have an us vs. them mentality; there is injury to go around. Cultivating compassion helps us heal and develop lasting solutions.
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  11

  Article: D.C. Attorney general proposes making clergy ‘mandated reporters’ of abuse

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-attorney-general-proposes-making-clergy-mandated-reporters-of-abuse/2019/01/23/2a8f8f72-1f35-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html?utm_term=.1c7f810d688b.

  d.c. attorney general proposes making clergy ‘mandated reporters’ of abuse.

  by fenit nirappil and.

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  Della Street

  Since all members of JWs are considered ministers, they should all be mandatory reporters. And I'd like to see anyone with a title (men and women) screened through background checks just like is done at schools or any other volunteer organization that works with vulnerable populations.
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  11

  Article: D.C. Attorney general proposes making clergy ‘mandated reporters’ of abuse

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-attorney-general-proposes-making-clergy-mandated-reporters-of-abuse/2019/01/23/2a8f8f72-1f35-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html?utm_term=.1c7f810d688b.

  d.c. attorney general proposes making clergy ‘mandated reporters’ of abuse.

  by fenit nirappil and.

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  Della Street

  JWs flip flop about being clergy or not. They claim the confidentiality when it is serves them, and they distance themselves from it when it is in their best interest.

  How can that be dealt with? Do JW elders in states where they are mandatory reporters realize that is the category they fall into and that is their responsibility?
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  23

  If you had to

  by rolliepollie in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you had to follow one religion, what would it be and why?.

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  Della Street

  I am part of a secular buddhist group and I love it.
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  49

  Anti vaccines

  by blisterfeet in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i personally feel that vaccinations are beneficial.

  there has been a modern movement that vaccinations are more harmful than beneficial to which i disagree.

  what is your stance as an ex jw on vaccinating your children?

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  Della Street

  Given I live in Portland Oregon, across the river from Vancouver WA which is at present in a public health crisis with a measles outbreak, I believe in vaccinations. It's proven they work. We need 93% of the population to be vaccinated for it to work. So those who can't vaccinate for legitimate reasons are no problem.

  Those who don't do it because they don't believe science, should be forced to do it or isolated in some way.

  Putting everyone at risk is ridiculous.
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  37

  Mind Numbing Meetings

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  without a doubt, jw life is boring.

  and those meetings!

  5 congregation meetings, meetings for field service, elders meetings, judicial meetings, meetings to figure out who was qualified to clean the toilets....🤔.

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  Della Street

  Over time you are trained to cut yourself off from yourself - suppress anything you feel, think or want in service to the organization. If you are born-in, you don't even know you've done it and to what extent until you leave (if you ever do).

  It is sort of like the illustration of the fish not seeing the water it swims in...or even the experience of a lobster in a pot of water that slowly warms to a boil....the level of control exerted is undetectable if you are convinced it is for a higher good.

  And, most people want to be and do good. So that was the motivation for enduring things that were mind-numbing and sucked the life out of us.
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  224

  How to sue the WT over shunning policy. It CAN happen!

  by Bad_Wolf in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  this is a very good document from a law school exploring religious freedom vs an individuals right to religious freedom without blackmail, pressure, etc, and also explores why certain lawsuits did not win and what it would take to win them.

  https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=3827&context=penn_law_review.

  a person born in, and whose parents or family pressured to shun because they simply left the religion, who has evidence of damages, etc, would likely have a good case if they find a good lawyer.

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  Della Street

  I have not yet read the posted article...

  I could see this becoming legal from the stance of promoting hate. The protected class that could pursue this would be the LGBTQ community. From those foundational arguments, it isn't a stretch to say that ALL shunning is religious persecution since people are either choosing another religion, or choosing to believe something else entirely. It is also true that the JWs could be seen as interfering with an individual's right of freedom of assembly and association since individuals are not free to join or leave a group without social consequence.
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  34

  New JW phrase: bouquet of truth

  by ohnightdivine in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i heard it from someone who attended the latest wt study, and quickly posted it with - you guessed it - a picture of a lovely flower bouquet.

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  "how big is your bouquet of truth?".

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  Della Street

  It should be "How big is your pile of bullshit?"