Posted by Farkel [Keflar] on November 02, 1999 at 10:12:37 {.c1iAaocfMjc7.1TE24IvhKqcjatLo}:
GB responded to me through Ros, and she e-mailed me his response. She also said I could use any or all of his response on H20 if I so desired. I so desired, and here it is.
By way of a general comment, this letter seem too conciliatory and off-purpose for GB's stated intentions. He never said he was going to post on H20 to earn friends or admirers. He was interested in finding out about issues which bother JWs and ex-JWs. If he's genuine, and while admirable, spending the amount of time he did in order to attempt to conciliate with me seems very much "off-purpose." The letter almost sounds like something Bibleman would do to endear a "friend" to him. Those are just my personal feelings, though. Anyway, here is the letter and my comments:
-------------------------------------------------
Dear Farkel,
: I am sorry you feel so bitter and 'disgusted' toward me as you put it. I
am sure you have had some terrible experiences which have led to your
feeling so strongly.
I never said a thing about being personally bitter. Nor did I mention anything that I experienced personally that would lead you to conclude that I was bitter. I was talking about just three couples who were mercilessly purged in the 1980 Bethel massacre. Using the term "housecleaning" was inappropriate to say the very least, as it implies that the "house" was cleaner after all those many Bethelites were purged. Dunlap begged to be allowed to stay at Bethel because he merely had a different opinion than the organizational one. He promised he would not discusss his opinions with others in the Family. He was sacrified anyway. Same with most of the rest of them. If you are unwilling to admit remorse for that, then you are not sincere at all.
: I can assure you that I did not intend to be self-serving in my last
post. Perhaps you may find it helpful to understand that I am not
accustomed to opening up and dealing with such a diverse group.
However diverse we might be, the majority of us are interested in honesty. I'm sure that type of an environment is practically foreign to you.
: I was feeling somewhat discouraged at the nature of some comments. I
feel that some are rude and only after one thing, to satisfy curiosity
without regard to the complications involved.
Did you expect everyone to scream and clap with joy at everything you said? If there were not serious, SERIOUS problems in the WT organization, you wouldn't be here at all, would you? People wouldn't be rude to you if you weren't part of the cause of these serious problems. There wouldn't be hundreds and hundreds of anti-JW Web Sites and dozens of discussion groups if problems in the WTS weren't that serious. People have an absolute right to vent in situations like this. Especially people who have been deeply hurt by an Organization that claims to speak in God's behalf. Expect rude, then. If some people can help heal by being rude, then you are doing them a service by accepting it. Quid Quo Pro.
:Some, to me, seem as callous
to harm they cause as the very harm they denounce.
Harm what or whom? You? Two very valuable years of my young life were sacrificed and a felony federal conviction was rendered against me because the GB was more interested in preserving the status quo on alternative military service than in facing the simple fact that there was NOTHING scriptural preventing it. This DESPTE that fact that many, many letters hit 90 branch offices expressing the view that the then-current situation had no scriptural grounds. There were TENS OF THOUSANDS like me who suffered similarly, and you're worried about having your FEELINGS HURT? Get real.
: I am not hurt by your response, but only saddened. If indeed I have been
self-serving, I am presently blind to it.
Yes, you are. Such attitudes are the natural consequences of living in an insulated ivory tower in a closed society. One goes blind. The longer you are able to read comments on H20, the more your "sight" will come back.
:Nevertheless, I personally
apologize to you for having offended you.
Apology accepted.
: My goal was to get everyone to understand that this whole venture
developed in a way that I did not intend or foresee.
When you're not used to having to face facts and then do, it is natural to be surprised. Welcome to reality, though. As bumpy as it is, it is much more refreshing than living in a false-reality.
:I also felt that with
the majority of comments being in the negative, I wanted to get a feel for
whether most of them would prefer I leave the H20 forum.
You got a full "feel," didn't you?!
: I am not one to be governed by opinion polls. But in this case, I felt
that I should bow to the wishes of the majority.
Not necessarily. The majority have been as wrong as not. You need to do what's RIGHT. I'm sure you already know what that is. Common sense and human decency remain the same, whether the majority believes that, or not.
: If you can listen to me on one issue here. Over the course of my long
life, I have learned that we are all very unique individuals. While we
have a common language and culture, there still exist communication
barriers. These exist, I believe, because we all react in different ways
to words said or written. With the written word, we often impose
subconsciously our own feelings and emotions that are not in the heart of
the writer. That is why the Bible itself can be seen many different ways
by different people.
Agreed.
: With respect to 1980. I am sorry if my term 'house-cleaning' offended
you. I did not mean in any way to imply that what happened was just or
right. I used that term loosely for the sake of historical reference. I
did not take the time to see how my selection of words could be viewed.
I've already accepted your apology. Thank you.
: As for what I did during the 1980 event, just remember that not all the
Governing Body wanted Ray to resign. I cannot say at this time which side
I was one, just remember that we were nearly divided evenly on the issue.
The single most important judicial case in the entire history of Jehovah's Witnesses and you can't remember where you stood on it, yet you CAN remember that the GB was nearly evenly divided on the issues? That's unbelievable! That alone, destroys your credibility in my eyes, because you then don't have to account for your vote. Or should I say, the vote I think you didn't make? If you did publicly account for your vote, then someone higher up in Bethel who is a reformer, could most likely find out how all GB members voted on the Franz hearing. That would narrow down the field considerably. The field is already narrow: you're not Jaracz, Schroeder, Swingle or Henschel. You're almost certainly not any of the four newest members.
CAN'T REMEMBER HOW YOU VOTED ON THE FRANZ HEARING? GEEEEEESH!!!
: As for the other judicial committees handling Dunlap and others, I can
say that I was not in favor of how this went. My feelings since then have
also changed a great deal, so that I am even more disgusted and upset with
what happened back then. You can say that I have repented. I share your
feelings of disgust and you are justified in them.
Good! That's a start.
: Perhaps it will help you to know I am working with Ros to certify my
credibility. I hope that I can do that soon. I have several issues
presented to me to resolve, then, if I satisfy the series of questions, my
credibility will be established. Hopefully at that time we all can move
forward here.
Indeed, but first you must have enough credibility to silence the nay sayers.
: Please let me know if this letter helps. I fully understand if you still
feel the need to respond very negatively to me. I am not trying to escape
your just feelings. I am honestly trying to openly deal with them and
others who feel as you do.
I'll deal as squarely with you as possible. I'm merely interested in honesty. Otherwise, I'll speak my mind, and if that turns out to include negative comments, then so be it. I would ask nothing less of you, either.
: As far as contacting Ray, I think I covered that in an earlier posting.
Since Ray has clearly stated in Crisis of Conscience that every single member of the GB that served on his judicial hearing was welcome to visit him and eat with him at any time, I don't think your reason for not contacting him carries enough weight to be convincing him for me. If you merely called him personally and told him what you were doing, I think Ray would bend over backwards to accommodate you, and communicate to Ros that there is, indeed a genuine GB member posting on H20. A five minute phone call to Ray would be all that is needed, and you would get 100% approval from almost all ex-JWs. JWs don't believe anything Ray has said, so I doubt it would help your case with them, though.
:I hope this finds you doing well. Thank you for your blunt honesty.
: Sincerely, ---
You're quite welcome.
Farkel, who's still a disbeliever