"People leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses can face some truly harrowing obstacles, and often have to do so without the support of their parents, siblings, and friends. It can be a gut-wrenching experience."
On the family tree of the ex-religious, ex-Mormons and ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses are close cousins. That’s why it was so easy for the Tapir Signal to expand to include those shaking off the yoke of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. On the ex-JW subreddit, though, the Tapir Signal is more commonly known as the Sparlock symbol.
What’s Sparlock? Allow us to present this visual aid:
(Yes, that video is real. No, you are not wrong for feeling terribly angry about it.)
Sparlock is a warrior wizard toy in the universe of the “Be Jehovah’s Friend” video series produced by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. The video was released five years ago to show parents how to talk to their children about obeying the commandments of Jehovah.
On the ex-JW subreddit, Sparlock quickly became a rallying point, a symbol against everything ex-members find wrong with the Society – the stifling of creative and critical thinking, the emotional blackmail used to keep members in line, and the arbitrary rules Witnesses are required to adhere to, among other things.
And now, Sparlock is a symbol for the courageous, magical things the ex-JW community is doing to help members who are struggling.
We acknowledge that many people find comfort and joy in the Kingdom Halls across the country. However, we also know that the Jehovah’s Witnesses have severely harmed countless individuals. Leaders have covered up child sexual abuse, relying on heinous standards of proof to confirm abuse and failing to alert the proper authorities when it is uncovered. People have died because the tenets of this religion prohibit members from receiving life-saving blood transfusions. They are commanded to shun anyone who disassociates or is disfellowshipped, ripping families apart .
People leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses can face some truly harrowing obstacles, and often have to do so without the support of their parents, siblings, and friends. It can be a gut-wrenching experience. That’s why it’s so important to have compassionate, dedicated volunteers on their side – people willing to fight for others, to defend them in times of peril, to help them see the magic in a life outside of a Kingdom Hall. In effect, they need warrior wizards.
So while we love Gandalf and Dumbledore, when we need help, we’re calling on Sparlock.
If you are in need of help, you can reach us here.
If you are feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or 1-800-784-2433.
If you are LGBT+ and need to talk, please contact the LGBT National Hotline at 1-888-843-4564 or find them online here.
Know you are safe and among friends and we will do whatever we can to help.
Lastly, if you would like to be involved or volunteer, you can reach out to us here.
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