I just sent this out as a bulletin, but thought I'd post it to my blog as well:
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On Tuesday, May 22nd at 10 PM on their series
Independent Lens, PBS has scheduled a broadcast entitled "Knocking", about the Jehovah's Witnesses religion. You can view information about "Knocking" on PBS's website
here. Be warned that much of the information on that page was given to PBS directly by the producers of the show, and is misleading. This broadcast is being introduced by PBS as a documentary, but has been called an "infomercial" or "religious propaganda" by many who have previewed portions of it.
For those who do not know, Jehovah's Witnesses are an extremely conservative religious sect. While most people are aware that they require their members to preach from door to door, and that they refuse blood transfusions, many do not know that they teach that homosexuality is an "abomination", and do not hesitate to disfellowship (excommunicate) individuals from their religion who are gay. Active Jehovah's Witnesses are forbidden to have any contact with disfellowshipped members. This can often include members of one's own family, leading the disfellowshipped individual to be thrown out of the house and, in some cases, suicide.
Not all PBS stations will be airing this program. Fortunately, some PBS stations have reviewed this material and have found it inappropriate for broadcast as a documentary. You can check to see if your local PBS station will be airing "Knocking" or not by
clicking here. If your station currently has "Knocking" scheduled to air,
please contact your local PBS station's programming manager and ask them to reconsider airing this inaccurate and harmful show.
Please forward this to everyone on your friends list and pass the word. There is enough hatred in the world already. We do not need PBS broadcasting infomercials for religions that insist on spewing further hate.
For further information on Jehovah's Witnesses, please see:
Watchtower Information Service Free Minds Silent Lambs For further information on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Jehovah's Witnesses and ex-Witnesses, please see:
A Common Bond