The reinstated people of stockholm

by stevenyc 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  stevenyc

  I was scanning some JDup info and came across this little video from them, http://www.jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/311131.htm. It is a little interview regarding the act of disfellowshiping and reinstatement. What I found quite interesting is the quote from a young woman who was reinstated, and its similarity to Stockholm syndrome. The quote used is: "I am happy that Jehovah loves his people enough to see that his organization is kept clean. What may seem harsh to outsiders is both necessary and really a loving thing to do. I am grateful that our heavenly Father is a loving and forgiving God."

  Very spooky!

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

  steve
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  jstalin

  It's the same thing you hear from some abused women. They get beat up by their husband/boyfriend, but they'll stay with him and even insist they love him!
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  Lady Lee

  A few years ago I went to a conference on Stockholm Syndrome. The conference was a training seminar for couselors working with battered women.

  The similarity in a JW going back to the WTS and hostages and spousal abuse victims is identical. It can also apply to families where the children are abused.

  Yesterday I was watching Oprah interview a famous singer about the abuse she underwent with her boyfriend. After years of abuse, beatings. psychological torture this woman sat there and repeated that she "loved him".

  This morning on my way to an appointment I was reading Captive Hearts, Captive Minds. It says the controls are all the same and the dependancy on the abuser for everything is exactly the same whether we are talking about a one-one relationship, a religion, a businees, a therapy. It's all the same controls with the same results on the victim.

  It doesn't surprise me at all that people who were abused as children wind up in groups like the JWs. People are attracted to what they know and are familiar with even when it hurts
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  BluesBrother

  Yes but do not overlook the fact that this came the Watchtower's own website. It is a bit like reading a report from any oppressive country and having citizens say how wonderful it is .

  Assuming that it happened the way that it was reported, and would I ever doubt them?, the girl had just got re instated . Would she speak really honestly or would she say what she thought was expected? After all , it does sound a little staged.

  Do you remember those Circuit Assembly "Experiences"?
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  yaddayadda

  what's Stockholm syndrome?
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  AuldSoul

  It is a clinical descriptor of a propensity for a victim of long-term imprisonment/abuse to begin identifying with their captor/abuser and start to think of irrational behaviors as good and beneficial. It is a coping mechanism, a dissociation from reality to survive what is happening to them.

  The others will probably have more complete definitions.

  AuldSoul
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  tijkmo

  What is "Stockholm Syndrome"?

  Ben Cincinnati, Ohio

  Dear Ben:

  Stockholm Syndrome describes the behavior of kidnap victims who, over time, become sympathetic to their captors. The name derives from a 1973 hostage incident in Stockholm, Sweden. At the end of six days of captivity in a bank, several kidnap victims actually resisted rescue attempts, and afterwards refused to testify against their captors. While some people are suggesting the recent Elizabeth Smart kidnapping sounds like a case of Stockholm Syndrome, the most famous incident in the U.S. involved the kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst. Captured by a radical political group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974, Ms. Hearst eventually became an accomplice of the group, taking on an assumed name and assisting them in several bank robberies. After her re-capture, she denounced the group and her involvement. What causes Stockholm Syndrome? Captives begin to identify with their captors initially as a defensive mechanism, out of fear of violence. Small acts of kindness by the captor are magnified, since finding perspective in a hostage situation is by definition impossible. Rescue attempts are also seen as a threat, since it's likely the captive would be injured during such attempts. It's important to note that these symptoms occur under tremendous emotional and often physical duress. The behavior is considered a common survival strategy for victims of interpersonal abuse, and has been observed in battered spouses, abused children, prisoners of war, and concentration camp survivors.