What a waste of a college education. I just saw my baby brother for the first time in a couple of years (except that time when I "saw" him at the bank and he shunned me, a couple months ago). Anyhoo, I escorted my JW grandma from her summer vacation (visiting non-jw relatives, where she went 2 mos. without attending any dumb meetings, yay!). My jw brother (showed up at the airport to pick her up &) informed g'ma, when she asked how his wife was doing, that she had quit her job to pioneer full-time. Oh! And he is so "proud" of her. Any other sensible husband would be embarrassed to death that his wife gave up her career to hawk cult magazines (and harass old ladies into meeting attendance), but not him, dressed up in his smarmy elder's attire. I can tell he's an elder now, just by the smugness he exudes. I did not ask how he was or anything, just "hey, good to see you" like I really didn't mean it, and I didn't. I'm just so glad I did not pay his wife's college tuition. Makes me want to puke. Crazy daisies - getting a college ed and wasting it like that. God, I want to puke!
College-ed'cated SIL Quits Career To Pioneer
by Madame Quixote 8 Replies latest social family
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itsallgoodnow
Probably just doesn't really want to be working, no matter how interesting her career might seem to be. Some ladies I know in their 30's and 40's would gladly trade their career for "volunteering" which can sometimes mean they actually want to jump into something and get their hands dirty, but probably means they want to lay around eating bon bons all day, or shopping and lunching with their lady friends.
There is probably more to this story than how he is spinning it. Maybe she got fired or something? But, probably doesn't like the idea of working all day then returning home to work all evening and go to meetings, etc. I feel sorry for the married career women in that religion.
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Madame Quixote
On some level, I agree with you, but my gut anger says,"They made their beds, let'em lie in'em. If they need some help outta that bed, though, I'll be there to give 'em a good jerk into reality." They're just doing what's familiar; familiar pain seems less painful than unfamiliar reality, I guess. Maybe she doesn't like learning new things. And yeah, I'm sure there'e more to it than my bro wanted to share, esp. judging by the tone of his voice when he said she quit her job; he did NOT SOUND PROUD. He sounded almost resigned to it, and ADDED the "I'm so proud of her" as an afterthought; maybe he heard his own tone. BTW, they're accustomed to a rather affluent lifestyle, so I'm sure if there isn't "more to it" than meets the ear now, there will be!
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Finally-Free
Good. I hate it when cult members have good jobs. It enables them to earn more money and then donate more to the cult. I also prefer to see the good jobs go to people who appreciate them.
W
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LongHairGal
Itsallgoodnow:
I agree with you. I think most women don't want to work (hey, I don't want to work either). I have known women who quit a "career" to pioneer. But they quietly went back to work a few years later when the bills got too high. So this may happen here.
I remember getting into a bit of an argument years ago with a stupid pioneer woman who never worked a day in her life. She tried to compare her full time pioneering to my FULL TIME secular job. I told her there is NO comparison.
A pioneer may be physically tired at the end of the day, but a person working full time in the secular world has to deal with much stress from the commute to the work area and then back home again.
LHG -
Madame Quixote
Well, I've done both, although I only temporarily pioneered as a youngster. I definitely prefer having a job that actually respects me enough to pay me for my labor and time. Women in the Warttower Society get little true respect, and by leaving their paying jobs they just get more of the same. I'm beginning to feel they deserve it for acting like children and not really properly contributing to their own families or to the community in a meaningful way. To me, pioneering is a meaningless waste - a waste of trees, gas, time, money, human resources; and it helps to promote neglect of family and intellect. I wonder how many true needs (physical and emotional) are neglected in families because of pioneering? Pioneering and doing bible studies with strangers deprives the pioneer from doing something else really useful or helpful for their families. I am sure that many real needs within JW families are neglected due to JWs who are more committed to promoting and protecting the Watchtower than they are to caring about their families' physical and emotional well-being. I know my family is more interested in preaching the Watchtower than in their kids' or in their grandkids' welfare, or in the welfare of my aging grandmother. In fact, they don't even have the remotest idea of how to nurture anyone's emotional well-being because they're so sick themselves. They're a bunch of fucks for neglecting both the individual and the family needs over the WT Society! I think pioneering is the biggest hypocrisy of all. And there's nothing pioneering about it; it's rather mercernary, if you ask me, and I know you didn't. Like I said, it makes me want to puke. Thanks for letting me rant. OOOooo when I think of all the $ and time that goes to that god-forsaken brainwash book company that set itself up as a god. OOOOOOoooooooo!!!!
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LongHairGal
Madam Quixote:
You are right about how pioneering causes neglect of the family, etc. I saw that in my hall with a certain woman whose husband made that accusation to the brothers. This woman had an unbelieving family and she acted as if they were "already dead". I have seen this unloving, ruthless attitude displayed by other women who had unbelieving relatives - actually going so far as to tell her daughter not to get too attached to a new baby nephew because his parents weren't JWs. So, the religion promotes this soldier with blinders attitude which makes these people go out and "pioneer". I hate this word. You also hit the nail on the head when you said that true needs both physical and emotional are neglected in families of a pioneer. How could they NOT be?? When a person (especially a mother) is ringing doorbells of strangers and spending hours with them and jackassing all over town it stands to reason that her house is neglected in more ways than one. I feel that deep down inside, a woman who spends that much time out in service and away from her family, doesn't like being married. This is an outlet for her.
There also was also another eccentric pioneer individual whose house became the eyesore of the neighborhood and complaints were lodged. This kook had to be put on restrictions. But, just where do they get this idea that they must be slaving morning till night - 24/7 with every waking moment dedicated to yapping about the bleeping kingdom??? They are motivated by fear, pure and simple! Is this the light burden that Jesus said he would give us?? No, but the WT instills the fear that we should be responsible for OTHER people's salvation. Well, who is responsible for MINE??? Is it like a chain letter where I am supposed to be scared if I don't rush out and send it to umteen other people, and so on.
This is insanity.
LHG -
Madame Quixote
This is so well put, LHG. I especially agree with your analogy about how the WT Society pushes pioneering the way some kids push ominous chain letters. I really, really like that comparison. I think many Witnesses do get caught up in the idea that if they don't preach like crazy, they're "blood guilty." I remember feeling a little guilty myself whenever I heard that expression as a kid because I felt I didn't do enough field service, but I really did want to save people from Armageddon and "everlasting destruction." It's really kinda' sad. I'm glad you asked the question; it helps me lose a little of the anger, at least for now. It is sad, more than anything, to see that people do this mean shit, like shunning and "not getting too attached" to their non-witness new-born relatives' children out of fear. And it's disgusting and angering. Infants are absolutely guileless; to promote fear of attachment, especially,to any baby or family member, is totally ridiculous and inhumane; it is especially stupid to be that way if you really care about "saving them" from "everlasting destruction."
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LongHairGal
Yes, this topic makes us angry.
But, another thing that gets me: they tell you to do all this now and wait for the "new system" to get your wants and desires. Well, isn't this like Christendom who tell people to wait till they get to heaven? The JWs think they aren't like the religions of Christendom with their belief of an afterlife but they are very similar, whether they think so or not.
What I find the most tragic is how they convince people to squander their life now in hopes they will do everything they want to in the "new system". This includes a whole lot of sad stories including people who never had children deliberately because they were going to wait for the "n.s." Well, most of these people are dead or elderly and childbearing is out of the question for them. They can never be compensated for their loss. Very very sad!
Yes, you should let your life run out like sand in an hourglass just for them. You will NEVER get back lost time!
LHG