So, my niece is getting married. This is on the still-JWs-side of my family. And my oldest sister, her mother, just told one of my other sisters (I have three sisters and two brothers) that she wanted to invite me, but didn`t think it was any point, because "I hate them"...and I wonder: From where did they get that idea? I think I might know why, it`s probably because they know how I reacted when a JW from the congregation crashed our mothers funeral (we buried her in a church, because we are more non-JWs than JWs in the family, by now) - to preach (!!) to us "apostate" children of hers. I didn`t like that one bit, and I made that clear to everyone, and so now they got the idea that I`m an "apostate" that hates Jehovahs Witnesses. Well, actually I am (ha ha), but I don`t really hate them (my JW-family, that is). I certainly don`t trust them any further than I can throw them, because I have also seen how they act in heritage-issues, how they see no problem in trying to grab as much money and silverware as they can (both my JW-sister and especially my aunt has acted this way), and I attribute this to the "well, the non-JWs will die in Armageddon anyway, so let`s just try and save as much as we can"-mentality.
Well, what I told my little sister (non-JW) to tell my JW-sister and the JW-family, is that I probably won`t come anyway, so don`t bother to invite me, because it`s on the other side of the country. It`s 7 hours by car from where I live. I think that`s an acceptable excuse. But it`s a lie, of course. The real reason isn`t that I "hate them", it`s just that I couldn`t go to a JW-wedding if my life depended on it. A hundred idiot JWs in suits and dresses, praising Jehovah at the wedding-speeches at the table, have the half-drunk elder come over to try and make me come back to the meetings, see the young ones look at me and whisper to eachother "who`s that guy? Oh, it`s the brides uncle...I hear he`s an apostate...yes, that figures, look at the beard...even has an ear ring...be careful with that guy, he hates JWs blah blah".
In addition to that, there would be the sadness of watching a new generation of brainwashed JW-kids, getting married, and we all know what happens nine months after a JW-marriage, voilà, another little JW-kid is born, who will have his childhood messed up by that idiot religion, and probably grow up to be another mentally disturbed JW, get married, have another little JW-kid, etc...the vicious cycle goes on and on...and I just couldn`t take that.
So, the only problem is: How do you explain this to your JW-relatives? You can`t! It would be an insult to their entire religion (because it is), and consequently, it would be an insult to them as people (because JWs are what they are, it`s their identity). I think it`s almost impossible to "separate" a persons religion from that persons...being. And that`s what makes it so difficult, dealing with JW-relatives, I think. So I hope they buy the long distance-excuse, but they probably won`t. They`ll just have to deal with believing that I "hate them". I wonder how they`d feel if I had crashed my nieces wedding with a suitcase full of "apostate litterature", like that elder that crashed my mothers funeral to preach? They`re pissing me off. Stupid idiots. What annoys me is the drama! I did not cause this situation. They did. Always so much drama with these people.