Discrimination and Irony






JW.ORG news has another interesting story.  It reports as follows;

'Jehovah’s Witnesses in Bulgaria have won a significant victory that upholds free speech but protects individuals and organisations against religious discrimination. Bulgaria’s Commission for Protection Against Discrimination found that the Bulgarian cable television channel SKAT TV and two of its journalists deliberately spread false information about Jehovah’s Witnesses and encouraged violence against them. The Commission concluded that SKAT TV’s behaviour “cannot be excused.”'

Clearly a television channel promoting violence against any group or individual is reprehensible and the legal victory must be applauded.  However the Witnesses use of language is interesting;

...upholds free speech but protects individuals and organisations against religious discrimination.

Notice that they specifically use the term 'protects...organisations against RELIGIOUS discrimination. What about other discriminations?  JW.ORG does not report that they themselves are under fire for a homophobic video for children on their website!

The animated video titled ‘Lesson 22: One Man, One Woman‘ continues an ongoing series by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, featuring a young girl learning that same sex marriages and homosexuality is comparable to taking a banned substance on an aeroplane.

It makes it perfectly clear that the little girl must grow up with the view that LGBT people are bad and if they don't change the way God made them then they won't get in to paradise (which really means God will kill the lot of them at Armageddon).

So where is the protection against homophobia?  Why do Witnesses believe they have a right to protection from religious discrimination but they can flout the law when it comes to discriminating against groups of people they don't approve of?

Later in the editorial they shoot themselves in the foot;

The Witnesses commend the Commission for taking a stand against slanderous and biased journalism. Moreover, since Jehovah’s Witnesses face similar issues with some other media outlets in Bulgaria, this decision serves as a resounding warning to them not to repeat false accusations and hate speech.

If telling an impressionable child that God will destroy people who are in same sex marriages or who are homosexual is not hate speech then what is?

Of course Jehovahs Witnesses will defend their stance by saying that the bible specifically condemns homosexuality.  It also condemns gluttony but that doesn't stop many thousands of Witnesses from being obese!

Just because it is written in the bible does not make it right.  The bible, it is claimed, was inspired by God, not written by God.  Some of the claims in the bible were clearly written by people with their own agenda and their own prejudices because they defy logic.  The condemnation of homosexuality is an example of this.  Just take a look at nature, surely animals cannot ever be accused of 'sin' yet there are numerous examples of animals displaying homosexual tendencies.  I am not going to go into the details here because a simple search of the NET will provide you with all the evidence you need.

The point is, regardless of their beliefs, if JW's want the law to protect them against religious discrimination and defend their free speech they have a duty to afford those same rights to all others.
They don't have the right to use their considerable wealth, advertising strength and powerful social media presence to discriminate against people who do not meet their approval. 

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