17 years ago i was in Port au Prince Haiti. I was a U.S. Marine with a friend of mine we witnessed a pimp stabbing one of his girls. We immediately overpowered him and a bloody fight ensued. I got stabbed three times my friend lost an eye and the Haitian lost his life. I spent 12 years in prison. About a month after my release two Jehovah Witnesses came to my house asked me if i was ready to change my evil ways. I told them to get lost. I do not feel i did anything evil by saving that girls life. A man got killed but i do not regret that man dying. He was evil not me. Agree? disagree?
2007-03-18 17:31:19 · 46 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
i should have added that it was i that initially told the Jehovahs about my incident in Haiti. I have invited them into my home on earlier occasions when they knocked on the door. There were times when they actually offered me good advice on life's problems. I do not want this question to be focused on Jehovah Witnesses though. They are not my main concern. I am just wondering lately if I am a good person or not. This experience has haunted me for some time and it is getting worse in my mind. As a Marine i was trained to kill but this killing is different. He was a civilian.
2007-03-18 18:36:28 · update #1
Which thing are you asking about? sending the JW packing? sure. Killing the pimp? Saying "he got killed" is a way of ducking any responsibility and that, I gotta say, could be a problem for you. Could be. If you're not being honest with yourself about your role in it you'll never get past it. Regrettably modern penal theory and practice holds that your spending time in jail has nothing to do with reform or repentance, it's all about punished. The repentance and reform is totally up to you.
Did you do the right thing? It's a moot question. Can you make up for any harm you did? Yes. Just my two cents.
2007-03-18 17:57:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Stadzilla,
You did what you had to, what you though was right and it was right. You are a courageous person, for you did what a lot of us wouldn't do (and probably those that know feel they have the right to judge you). Most of us would step away, feeling sorry for the girl, and for ourselves. You have already been judged and payed for it, although it was unjust. I wonder how difficult were those 12 years. It could have made you a rebel, a criminal or a very angry person. But it seems that in the injustice men have made to you, you've become a better person, once you are still asking if you have done the right thing and not why have men or society made you pay for it.
Don't let anyone judge you anymore. You have a life to live. Life is what happens to you while you're busy with what others think.
2007-03-19 00:25:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Did the JWs really ask you if you were ready to change your evil ways? If so, did you present the story of what happened in Haiti to them or were they going off hearsay?
I don't believe that the circumstances surrounding that event make you an evil person, and I doubt that Jehovah's Witnesses would attempt to convert you with that type of vinegar (as opposed to the honey they normally use). Is this anecdote 100% accurate?
2007-03-18 17:38:40 · answer #3 · answered by DwayneWayne 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I question that any witness would ask you if you are ready to change your evil ways.That terminology in found in Christendom, not in the witnesses. If you were around them very often you would know that.
As for whether you are a good person, to be just asking the question says you have you doubts. It is not for anyone else to say whether you are or not. Only you know how you have been living your life, over all. One event does not shape your life. Of your heart is seeking answers, than perhaps you should talk to the witnesses some more.
2007-03-18 18:43:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
In my personal opinion- what you did was notable for the valor you proved by standing up for the young woman's life. It would have been the WRONG thing if you and your friend either just walked away or watched the murder and left, you stood up for your moral beliefs which is important. The ensuing fight is a danger you and your buddy took on as a risk of your actions. Situations such as yours occur numerous times- you had the power to help a defensless victim and you did so. I disagree with your court issued sentence as well as the Jehova's Witness' statement about you 'changing your evil ways' you did the right thing in my opinion and that is based on what I beleive comprises 'good' moral and spiritual standing. It's hard to tell you not to fret over the issue, but just be reassured at least one more person in the world agrees with your actions.
2007-03-18 17:38:00 · answer #5 · answered by actuatedtendancy 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It would seem that you were brave in saving the girls life.
Let's say that you were the one stabbing the girl-- it would not make you evil. What makes us evil, if that's the word we are using here, is the view that God has. Simply put, we are either saved evil people, or unsaved evil people. That's from God's perspective.
As I am not about to become a Jehovah's Witness either, I would merely direct you to Jesus Christ. He is the one that provided salvation. So He is the focus. He is the center of the needs of whatever it is that makes us right in God's eyes.
After accepting Jesus and His resurrection, we become recipients of it by our acceptance and confessing to it. It's not important that other are around when we do it, but it is important that we do it.
2007-03-18 17:53:07 · answer #6 · answered by Christian Sinner 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Why did you go to prison for saving a girl's life? Seems like you stepped in to assist a woman in distress and after that, you responded in self-defense. How could you get prison time for that? After that, I agree. You did nothing evil and I think someone sold you out. From the information given, you should not have been sentenced to prison.
2007-03-18 17:39:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your not evil, you tried to do the right thing, and telling a Jehovah witness to back off, I think you did the right thing, no one should judge you...I hope you learned from this experience not to take the law into your hands. First of all why do women put themselves through this kind of stuff, it is so sad to hear stories like this one. You are a good person, because you saved someones life!
2007-03-18 17:39:20 · answer #8 · answered by HOPE 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You are definitely not evil! If you were half as good, you would not sacrifice yourself for the girl who was being stabbed. The pimp's death was only incidental to your defense of the girl and of yourself because you did not intend to kill him. It is very regrettable that you had to spend 12 years in prison for that... However, all of us, even if we have not killed anyone are sinners and it is always for our own good that we enter into a relationship with God for us to be forgiven of these sins. I would like to think that the 2 JW asked you to change your ways in this context. Even without your sad experience in Haiti, you will find peace of mind and happiness if accept God as your Saviour.
2007-03-18 17:51:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
While someone may have done what this person claims, it was not in line with the teaching or preaching work of Jehovah's true Witnesses, whose motivation & methods are described in this article:
Ways Jehovah's Witnesses Use to Share the Good News
http://www.watchtower.org/e/jt/article_05.htm
Either this questioner is mistaken, or the persons he claims were JWs (or he himself), were/are themselves trying to make trouble ...
2007-03-19 04:30:22 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋