The other day a JW relative referred to two otherwise anonymous women in the back seat of a car as "two sisters", as in 2 female JWs. Neither of us knows them, and they were peripherals to the main story, but the use of the word "sisters" as opposed to women implied certain superiority, as if what happened matters more because the two women were JWs. The psychological oddities of the JWs become more apparent with each passing day. I look back in disbelief that their whole trip seemed normal at one time. This month marks three years out for me, and it's still satisfying to keep track of the mileage.
Loaded Words
by new light 4 Replies latest jw experiences
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sammielee24
use of the word "sisters" as opposed to women
As a member of the WTS you hand up your 'blood' family on a silver platter to them and they are replaced by your 'true' family. Typical cult behaviour. Thus all your good association are 'friends' - everyone else is bad association or 'worldly', including family members. If you think of the word sister, brother, mother...you immediately think of family, a bonding - the society replaces your real family with hundreds of sisters and brothers thereby creating a false sense of bonding and inclusion into some sort of wonderful, close knit family unit. Nothing is further from the truth. In a 'real' family, you can leave to get married or not visit if you want and it doesn't mean you don't love them, you can disagree with them about something and voice that opinion and the love is still there - but in the society - turn your back on your sisters and brothers and they will cut you off and leave you to rot on your own with nary another thought. The bond is only a word that is based on a condition - and that condition is that you buy into the salesman's pitch of the organization being the 'truth'. sammieswife.
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tetrapod.sapien
three years! congrats new light! sorry that you still have to intereact with people like that.
ya, it does get stranger with each passing day. i am two years out now and my grandma still tells me all about her assemblies, and preparing for them, and going to the clean up with alll the brothers and sisters, like i had never DAd myself. i listen patiently only because she is an old woman, honestly. it's almost humorous to me, but it still irks me for the same reasons you stated. the sad thing is that i cannot tell her all about my life and my friends because it would only make her sad and confused.
tetra
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new light
That is the truth, Sammieswife.
Tetra, I know what you mean about editing our stories to make the JWs more comfortable. The relative I mentioned is actually my mother, who is also the only JW I have any contact with, save my father and siblings now and then. She's cool and all, but I don't mention the holidays or voting or that sort of thing. It just keeps things breezier.
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IsaacJS2
Thankfully, I only have WT in-laws to deal with. Not that I haven't had several "fun" encounters with them all. One time, my wife's extremely nice grandma just showed up where I work--which is a public place with customers and fellow employees--and she just starts preaching at me in front of everyone! I couldn't believe it. After numerous encounters like that over the years, I was finally prompted to write all my objections down. I now have a 44 page essay to show for it.
One thing that gets me is how they all seem to assume that somewhere, deep down, I just sorta "know" how right they are. "You know it's the Truth, so why don't you start doing what you Jehovah wants you to?" As if they truly "know" themselves; knowing and believing are two different things. In the end, this sort of arrogance only pushes me further and further away from their true religion.
On second thought, maybe I shouldn't complain...
IsaacJ