Jehovah's Witnesses Anti-Compassion; throwing vulnerable people to the wolves.

 Responding to:

[First draft] This is similar to what happened to me; when my kids were little.

It is part of what led to my de-conversion. [Part 1 of 18] We were homeless; staying at a hotel next to the KH. How we ended up homeless is a long story. The short version is that we were illegally evicted by abusive landlords who wanted to have their friends move in. [Part 2 of 18] Please note, I was a very clean-cut and professional young man. Neither myself nor the kids' mom drank, or did drugs, nor did anything else shady or "ghetto". At the time, I'd been working as a security guard full-time. [Part 3 of 18] I had recently finished earning a Masters Degree in Human Studies. However, finding work in a related field was going to be an uphill battle. I realized we'd need to move to a big city; but we'd need to finish planning that out first. Immediately after we were illegally evicted, we rented a hotel room in a small rural town. [Part 4 of 18] Smart-phones and the internet were not a thing yet. And we'd never been in that situation before. Neither of us had any family we could reach out to. So we just stopped at the first weekly-rate hotel we could find; in late winter.

We would begin planning our next move from there.

[Part 5 of 18] It would prove to be very difficult to escape the rut we'd fallen into; largely because my kids' mother was psychologically unwell. She had been getting progressively more abusive.

[Part 6 of 18] At the time, I didn't really understand anything about Major Personality Disorders. As such, I was really at a loss for understanding the domestic situation I was in.

I knew I'd need to find a way to break away from her. But she was the mother of my children and I felt responsible for her. That mess would have to be sorted out later. [Part 7 of 18] We did not yet realize our car was about to die. When I called the Elder we'd only recently started studying with, we were stranded due to our car's engine blowing up. At the time, we were en route to the local hospital for our toddler-aged son. He had a very serious heart condition and he was showing early signs of possible distress. At this point, he was only being less active than normal. [Part 8 of 18] The elder told me they would help us. Although, more specifically, he was an "overseer". He was on special assignment from the WT headquarters. Eventually, a passerby stopped to offer help. However, we declined that help because the JWs said they were coming to help. Our rescuers should arrive at any moment.

[Part 9 of 18] We waited a full hour before calling them again. It was getting dark. It was winter. Temperatures were dropping below freezing. The car wasn't running. They never showed up. They stopped answering their phone. We were only 10 minutes away by car; halfway between the KH and the hospital. The elder's home was attached to the KH. [Part 10 of 18] My son's condition got worse. I called an ambulance with my non-smart cellphone. My kid's mom (we weren't married) rode in the ambulance. With my other young children, I stayed behind w/ the car. I had to hitch for a ride to the hospital. [Part 11 of 18] From the hospital, I called the JWs again. The elder's teenaged son answered. He then informed me that the elders talked about it and decided not to help; because we were only "studying" with the JWs at that time. They reasoned it out that "the world should take care of the world"; in other words, "let the dead bury the dead". [Part 12 of 18] We (my family) all hung out at the hospital until the next morning. My son was stable and discharged. We would need to follow up urgently with his cardiologist. [Part 13 of 18] I then began calling shelters to see who could take us. We still had a few days of paid-time remaining at the local hotel. And we could afford to pay for more time. However, without a working vehicle, that situation would be inescapable. [Part 14 of 18] We found a religious shelter that could help my kids and their mom. They didn't allow men at that shelter unless the man can prove he is legally married to the woman. With that being the case, I was separated from my family for several weeks. [Part 15 of 18] During that time, I slept in a tent in a field, under a small mountain of used comforters I purchased at a local thrift store. I showered at a local YMCA fitness center and walked to a nearby job. This new job was with a different company. However, the company I'd been working for gave me a great refence.

[Part 16 of 18] All the while, the kid's mom was struggling with disabilities, chasing the kids around, and being treated badly by the Salvation Army "officers".

It was one of the darkest chapters of my life. I was so disgusted with the JWs, that I never took their religion seriously again. However, my kids' mother would would continue to study with JWs; on and off, for a few more years.

[Part 17 of 18] It would end up taking many years before I finally broke free of my abusive mate. Even after that, she continued to be a force of destruction in my life and in the kid's lives. Even today, when all the kids are grown, none of us have healed past the damage she has done. [Part 18 of 18] During those dark years, the JWs often found ways to be an active force of destruction in my journey; mostly via the influence they wielded with her. The JWs made things so much worse. That was largely because I myself lacked the clarity and strength it would have taken to mitigate their interference. However, I'll save that discussion for another time.