john.prestor

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Posts by john.prestor

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  11

  WT Child/Sexual Abuse Cases and etc

  by jdash in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i had this argument with my grandmother and uncles about scandals that the jw's covered up and whatnot, and they won't budge.

  i brought up the australian royal commission and of course they laughed.

  they then said that the governing body has never lost a sexual abuse case but the "person" who did the crime got charged.

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  john.prestor

  Another thought: I read a paper recently that argued the denial is a very childish defense mechanism people use when their self-concept or perception of their own character is challenged. Jehovah's Witnesses take a great deal of pride in their faith and them belonging to it. So, it's possible your relatives are scared to admit that if some Jehovah's Witnesses covered up child abuse or abused children, their character must not be as high as they think it is. Maybe reassure them before looking that it doesn't speak poorly of them, just on the perpetrators and those who protected them.
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  33

  Door-to-door preaching as surveillance

  by john.prestor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wanted to share some thoughts about jehovah's witnesses and their door-to-door preaching.

  door-to-door preaching is supposedly about gathering converts, but in fact, as we frequently discuss, doesn't actually bring that many "sheep-like ones" in.

  i want to suggest that a second meaning (what we call the latent meaning in academia) is facilitating surveillance of the congregants who attend some congregation.

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  john.prestor

  Exactly, Vidiot. When you put all these kind of practices together you get pretty damn efficient surveillance.
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  33

  Door-to-door preaching as surveillance

  by john.prestor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wanted to share some thoughts about jehovah's witnesses and their door-to-door preaching.

  door-to-door preaching is supposedly about gathering converts, but in fact, as we frequently discuss, doesn't actually bring that many "sheep-like ones" in.

  i want to suggest that a second meaning (what we call the latent meaning in academia) is facilitating surveillance of the congregants who attend some congregation.

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  john.prestor

  Exactly. The organization's literature is, as far as I'm concerned, designed to tug on people's heart strings when they're at their most vulnerable. I remember a Jehovah's Witness telling me that he came to the door of someone who was leaving for a funeral and he gave her the Where are the Dead? tract. I found that really unpleasant.

  I agree LV101: it is a family-like structure with "Big Brother" watching over you, not to mention the Elders being permitted to more or less stalk you and watch you from their cars if they suspect you of an affair, for instance.
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  33

  Door-to-door preaching as surveillance

  by john.prestor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wanted to share some thoughts about jehovah's witnesses and their door-to-door preaching.

  door-to-door preaching is supposedly about gathering converts, but in fact, as we frequently discuss, doesn't actually bring that many "sheep-like ones" in.

  i want to suggest that a second meaning (what we call the latent meaning in academia) is facilitating surveillance of the congregants who attend some congregation.

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  john.prestor

  I'm not claiming it is, truth_b_known. And thanks to this site and members like you I'm aware of the process by which door-to-door preaching transformed from selling books into hint-hint giving away books for "free" (a donation).
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  11

  WT Child/Sexual Abuse Cases and etc

  by jdash in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i had this argument with my grandmother and uncles about scandals that the jw's covered up and whatnot, and they won't budge.

  i brought up the australian royal commission and of course they laughed.

  they then said that the governing body has never lost a sexual abuse case but the "person" who did the crime got charged.

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  john.prestor

  Appeal to them emotionally. Most people find themselves disgusted at the thought of child sex abuse. Give them just one example from, say, the Australian Royal Commission about what BCB went through (nothing graphic, I remember her father hit her outright and an Elder just laughed it off, aside from her father's repeated sexual abuse).
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  33

  Door-to-door preaching as surveillance

  by john.prestor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wanted to share some thoughts about jehovah's witnesses and their door-to-door preaching.

  door-to-door preaching is supposedly about gathering converts, but in fact, as we frequently discuss, doesn't actually bring that many "sheep-like ones" in.

  i want to suggest that a second meaning (what we call the latent meaning in academia) is facilitating surveillance of the congregants who attend some congregation.

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  john.prestor

  I want to clarify my original post: I am not claiming door-to-door preaching intentionally was created by Charles Taze Russell (when it began all those years ago, yes Morph, I'm aware of how door-to-door preaching started) for the purpose or intention of surveillance. I am saying that door-to-door preaching facilitates surveillance, i.e., makes it easier to accomplish, as in examples stillin provides.
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  33

  Door-to-door preaching as surveillance

  by john.prestor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wanted to share some thoughts about jehovah's witnesses and their door-to-door preaching.

  door-to-door preaching is supposedly about gathering converts, but in fact, as we frequently discuss, doesn't actually bring that many "sheep-like ones" in.

  i want to suggest that a second meaning (what we call the latent meaning in academia) is facilitating surveillance of the congregants who attend some congregation.

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  john.prestor

  I figured you'd say something like that Morph, I can just discard that out of hand. LV101, I didn't know that additional detail and that fits with my claims. Thanks!
• 
  33

  Door-to-door preaching as surveillance

  by john.prestor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wanted to share some thoughts about jehovah's witnesses and their door-to-door preaching.

  door-to-door preaching is supposedly about gathering converts, but in fact, as we frequently discuss, doesn't actually bring that many "sheep-like ones" in.

  i want to suggest that a second meaning (what we call the latent meaning in academia) is facilitating surveillance of the congregants who attend some congregation.

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  2. 
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  john.prestor

  I wanted to share some thoughts about Jehovah's Witnesses and their door-to-door preaching.

  Door-to-door preaching is supposedly about gathering converts, but in fact, as we frequently discuss, doesn't actually bring that many "sheep-like ones" in. I want to suggest that a second meaning (what we call the latent meaning in academia) is facilitating surveillance of the congregants who attend some congregation. Let me explain.

  -Congregations go door-to-door within a specific geographic area known as their "territory." Most congregants for practical reasons and the Governing Body's instructions (as in a recent convention video) live within the territory of the congregation they attend.

  -Each congregation also preaches across its entire territory ideally every 6-12 months, and most succeed at this from what I can gather. This means that congregants will drive or walk by the residences of other congregants in their territory at least once or twice per year.

  -Because the Governing Body makes displaying certain objects a disfellowshipping offense, congregants would thus gather evidence for a Judicial Committee unintentionally by passing by residences with, say, Halloween decorations, say, or where many cars were parked in their driveway on Thanksgiving. On this site I've seen accounts of Elders being called on someone because they spoke briefly to a female congregant who stopped by to ask a question, for instance.

  -In other words: door-to-door preaching functions as a form of surveillance, and facilitates the discipline of congregants, ensuring their compliance and complicity.

  Thoughts?
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  9

  Requirements for the platform!

  by asp59 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i wrote this letter to organization some years ago.

  they never responded.

  what was the arrangement in the old jerusalem?.

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  john.prestor

  You didn't honestly expect them to answer that many questions, did you? Most of them don't make very much sense anyway...
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  13

  Stuart imprisoned,tried and restricted.

  by amicabl in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  for the last month or so i have been watching all of stuart’s xjdub videos on youtube.. thanks to local congo’s of jws he has now been arrested and apparently mistreated and had actually quite weird restrictions placed on him to keep him away from carts, khs etc., by a court in vancouver.. he was out it would seem the next day carrying on his “ministry”.

  and successfully too.. i know his activities could be considered a little extreme at times, but i have felt encouraged by him and i wondered if anyone has any information on the whole situation..

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  john.prestor

  Forgive the dark humor, but that proves conclusively that he isn't a pedophile... They'd let him run free.