..are you proud or embarrassed?
When you tell someone that you're an ex-Jehovah's Witness...
by MsMcDucket 44 Replies latest jw friends
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JH
I was never proud of saying that I was a JW.... I hate being hated.
On the other hand, I knew so many JW's who so proud of it, and went out of their way to say that they were JW.
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katiekitten
Embarrassed. In fact if I ever mention my squeaky clean past I usually say 'I was raised in a very fundamental religion' and try to avoid naming it. Because the very first things they think of are door knocking, not celebrating Christmas and blood.
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vitty
I havent needed to yet, but I thought id say that I was involved in a religious cult for 20 years. How many ppl can claim that
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Goldminer
Embarrassed,I rarely talk about . And after taking the time to study this religion's past and their non-biblical teachings,it's even more embarrassing.
Goldminer
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bull01lay
Difficult to say - can't say that I'm proud or embarrassed of my JW past...What I usually find happens is that most people are intrigued, ask a couple of questions, say why they could never refuse blood for themselves or loved ones... then it moves on.
Have experienced some extreme reactions which usually gets my back up - I don't mind ex witnesses tearing a strip of the borg - they've lived the life, got the scars. What I don't like is people that cry them down over things they know nothing about, misconceptions (my favourite was that we weren't allowed electricity!) I still find myself ham fistedly trying to attack and defend the borg at the same time! *sigh* Guess I've still got some de programming to do !
Bull!
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DanTheMan
Embarrassed, especially since I was an adult convert.
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TopHat
Bull01lay, Simply tell them ... wrong religion
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forsharry
I used to be embarrassed...but I'm not anymore. I had no control over it since I had been brought up in that religion and I thought (at the time) that I was doing the right thing. I think most people though are very interested in knowing what it was like, and believe me can I dish out. :)
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AuldSoul
Neither, really. A fact of my life. I am what I am in part because I was a JW. The same would be true if I had been raised in any other religion.
I still have a long way to in recovery, learning skills never needed as a JW. But the majority of the world isn't going to understand the implication of my having been a JW, so there isn't really any embarrassment to go along with it.
My boss used to always take me with on runs to pick up goods for the shop. He would tell me to ask where things were if we had trouble finding them. He said, "You're a Jehovah's Witness. You're used to asking questions to complete strangers." I suppose from that standpoint, now that I'm out I will eventually be a force to be reckoned with.
I look at it this way: I can either grow from my experiences or suffer from them. Right now I am still somewhat in the grieving stage, but when I get out of that stage I hope to change from what I experienced. I always hope to like myself and my life better tomorrow.
AuldSoul