Posts by StrongHaiku

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

Nitty-Gritty, thanks for the info on the link. Did you catch par. 4? "Most states have child-abuse reporting laws that, depending on the facts, mandate elders to report an accusation to the authorities..." And, par 5 - "The Legal Department will provide you with legal advice based on the facts of applicable law...", followed by paragraph after paragraph on internal procedures.

This highlights a fundamental problem. This means that the JWs responsibility to report is not consistent across the organization. So, all a JW pedophile has to do is look up and move to the states/territories, etc. where the law is most favorable to them or for that matter fade. I don't think JWs are getting it. Or maybe they get "it" but just don't give a damn.

I'll make it clearer, child rape is a crime and is NOT dependent on where it occurred and it is NOT an internal matter. If you are a JW and you don't get this then you have no humanity left and nothing can be done for you.

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

StrongHaiku

Nitty-Gritty - Even in the case of Kendrick, where Kendrick confessed, and where the wife and step daughter went to the police, the police didn't do anything. And neither did the child protective services.

I'll make the math easy:

1. Don't report the child rape to authorities: 0 probability to prosecute and protect the public

2. Report the child rape to the authorities: A greater than 0 probability to prosecute and protect the public

Which one do you prefer? Would it help if I substituted "Child Rape" for "Murder"? Would it help if I substituted the "JWs" for another religion, etc.?

40

Massive Growth in Dub Numbers???

by 1rebelheart in

jw
friends

so, i left about 5 years ago and at that time, the official ruling on number of members was a little over 6 million.

i google jw out of boredom the other day and find they are now claiming 8 million members.

sooooo.... hold on 2 million increase in 5 years?

StrongHaiku

westiebilly11 - ..does anyone actually audit their figures?...what's to prevent them fabricating numbers..?

Those are tough ones to answer and we would have to rely on PEW research (or the like) to confirm the numbers. I think that regardless of whether they are fabricating their numbers or not, we may be able to observe that effect indirectly by watching their financials. And, since their financials are closed for public viewing, what we may be able to observe is more and more desperation in asking for funds in JW TV, magazine articles, and talks. Not a perfect answer but that may be all we get for now.

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

StrongHaiku

The equivocations from apologists of the Organization speaks volumes. Taking a pedophile and at worst, covering it up, and at best disfellowshiping him does absolutely nothing for the rest of the world and society unless you consistently report it to authorities. JWs go door-to-door with "love in their hearts" to "save" people but then turn around and let a monster lose in the world. By the definition, this makes you a hypocrite.

131

On the Relevancy of The Institutionalization of Sin

by Perry in

child murder, sodomy & corrupting the human genome are not new sins, they are old ones.

what is new is their institutionalization.

but even that isn't totally new.

StrongHaiku

What DJS said...

Oddly enough, the more crazy talk I hear from politicians, the media, religious people, etc. the more optimistic I feel. The more and louder these people speak, the more they make themselves known so they can be mocked, challenged, and dismissed as they should be. That noise we hear are the death throes of bad ideas whose demise is overdue.

34

Do you ever feel strangely drawn towards Conspiracy Theories?

by JW_Rogue in

after mentally awakening to the idea that jws don't have the truth i strangely found myself delving into all encompassing conspiracy theories.

not that i believed them but something about them seemed quite fascinating.

i was especially drawn to the idea of a new world order/one world government.

StrongHaiku

The ironic thing is that there are a large number of real criminal, political, and civll conspiracies that vary in degree and scope (e.g. the Lysine price-fixing conspiracy of the 90's, etc.). It's almost like we can't stand a mundane explanation for certain events so we have to make it more grandiose. And, the less evidence the more it seems to stick and circle in the collective consciousness. Crazy...

LoveUniHateExams - Generally speaking, no, I don't feel drawn to conspiracy theories.Especially the 'big' ones such as the illuminati crap or 'George W. Bush did 9/11' nonsense.

LOL! Well, we do know why Bush couldn't have been behind 9/11. Cause it was well-orchestrated and worked according to plan.

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

StrongHaiku

As far as I am concerned, Candace Conti owes me nothing by way of an explanation. And, I do not need to burden her with trying to live up to the role of hero or a martyr.

She was able to get the facts on record that the JWs have in the past and continue to protect pedophiles. She was able to put pressure on the Organization to (hopefully) address these issues. She owes me nothing, but if you are still a JW, you do owe her.

If you are a JW and you continue to give your life and resources to the Organization you are, by definition, supporting a criminal organization. You can no longer plead ignorance. If we were talking about the Catholic Church or some other corporation you wouldn't hesitate to leave it. What she did may or may not make her a hero, but it certainly makes her better than you.

34

Do you ever feel strangely drawn towards Conspiracy Theories?

by JW_Rogue in

after mentally awakening to the idea that jws don't have the truth i strangely found myself delving into all encompassing conspiracy theories.

not that i believed them but something about them seemed quite fascinating.

i was especially drawn to the idea of a new world order/one world government.

StrongHaiku

jwstudy - But It seems to me that once one captured by the exciting ideas such as the Universal Issue or Vindication of God's name or The last days of the Satan's system, then he or she is more vulnerable to other exciting ideas.

Totally agree. I would add that part of the problem with JWs is that they are indoctrinated to believe that "you are a key participant in the greatest Biblical saga of all time in the whole Universe, etc." If you leave that, everything else (including reality) must look relatively mundane and common. It is no wonder why so many JWs stay in and why so many have difficulty when they get out. They don't want to feel "ordinary". And it may explain why so many that leave immediately seek out some other "Grand Vision"/Conspiracy/Religion/Belief to replace the one they left.

I really wish people that leave the organization would take just 5 minutes to learn to appreciate that reality (as mundane as it may seem) is more wondrous and better than some fantasy.

131

On the Relevancy of The Institutionalization of Sin

by Perry in

child murder, sodomy & corrupting the human genome are not new sins, they are old ones.

what is new is their institutionalization.

but even that isn't totally new.

StrongHaiku

Perry - When I left the Watchtower I trusted no one, most of all God. I placed my trust fully in myself for many years. It solved some issues, but on balance it created more problems than it solved.

I can understand that. When you are used to being told what to do instead of thinking for yourself and you go out in the world one can be get lost (maybe even self-destructive). That happened to me. But I got better at thinking for myself and correcting my mistakes. And, over time, I got better and got better at "getting better" and gained more confidence at making my own decisions. Is it possible you gave up on yourself too soon?

Perry - I came to realize that it was not within my constitution to be the final arbiter of right and wrong. I just couldn't see far enough down the road and I couldn't trust the things that I thought I did see.

Wait, what you are saying seems contradictory. How do you determine if your God/Holy Book is the correct moral arbiter if you don't trust your own judgement? Are you not using your own sense of morality to evaluate God's morality? No? Then, how would you know what Bible-sanctioned practices to follow or not follow? For that matter, how would you know if you are following the right religion/God/Holy Book?

34

Do you ever feel strangely drawn towards Conspiracy Theories?

by JW_Rogue in

after mentally awakening to the idea that jws don't have the truth i strangely found myself delving into all encompassing conspiracy theories.

not that i believed them but something about them seemed quite fascinating.

i was especially drawn to the idea of a new world order/one world government.

StrongHaiku

A good article on the subject on how we are wired for "patternicity" and "agency" and how those things lead to strange beliefs (e.g. conspiracy theories)...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/skeptic-agenticity/

OneEyedJoe - The interpretation of this is that the more out of control your life feels, the more likely you are to see patterns in random data, and that's basically what most conspiracy theories are.

Totally agree. And there are studies that show that the less control we have the more superstitious we are as well. There are some studies on games/sports that showed that the more "chance" was required to win the more superstitious the player vs. those instances that required more skill and less chance. Example, gamblers that play dice are noticeably more prone to superstition than, say, a chess player. We are strangely wired little apes ;-)