by startingover 13 Replies latest jw friends
that is so true penny2!
JWs believe that being hated is a good thing (John 15:19 "...because you are no part of the world...the world hates you"). This increases the isolation that JWs feel and is another factor which prevents them from leaving
i was embarresed to be a witness too but when i look back i don't think people really cared that much what i was - it was just more mind control from the WTS.
Looking back, I didn't come up with the idea that I was hated on my own. I think it's true now that most people could care less if you are a JW, but my parents experienced different times. My dad was a special pioneer and attempts were made to run him out of town. In the town I grew up in, my uncle and his wife were attacked at a convention. So naturally I was influenced by their talk from a young age.
I also felt despised (probably my own perception) and not liked. Kids did make fun of me for having to leave the classroom for holidays, etc. As a result, I think it created a thick skin and the "dare to be different" attitude. I homeschool my kids and even though this is a wonderful way learn and grow, it sometimes is seen as weird or bucking the system by a few people. Due to my thick skin, I really don't care what people think. I have also taught my girls that living and thinking outside the box and being different in this way is a good thing.
Life as a JW kid was certainly not fun, but it did produce this character in me (among other things!).
Startingover, you took the words right out of my head and wrote them far better than I could.
Since quitting the evil religion, I've decided just to hate everyone, you know, to balance things out that occurred in my childhood. Of course I'm kidding, but the openness that I feel now, that I'm free to think and feel how I want is still such a new delight.
