by WTWizard 91 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
"This makes meeting the opposite sex more difficult,..."
Which is true - and interesting. As a JW, one isn't supposed to look outside the religion for a mate, and they start making it difficult to meet anyone (outside the local congregation) who _is_ a JW, at assemblies... that could get pretty frustrating.
Regards,
Jim TX
I would love to see a couple of those old farts in NY. put on some hose and heels
Thanks a heap. Wrinkly pudgy 90 year old men in pantyhose.
Now how am I supposed to purge those images from my mind?
ASphereisnotacircle said:
WTF are they talking about? I attended assemblies for over thirty years, there was never a relaxed atmosphere. Kids miserable and fidgeting, getting whipped for just being kids. Moms dressed in stockings and heels trying to keep all the kids quiet and still. Getting up early, packing food for the day, parking, sitting all day, not being allowed to leave, not being allowed to dress down and relax in the evening. having to use your vacation time to attend these ridiculous events.
They were all a lesson in indurance, even while I was still a believer.
I would love to see a couple of those old farts in NY. put on some hose and heels and tend to a couple of toddlers all day at an assembly.
You are absolutely right on!! I raised 4 kids in the JW religion and assemblies were dreaded.... I'd always come away w/a "refreshing" headache......
Were you attending when they banned baby strollers? That was a real treat carrying kids around on your hips.
Juni
And Juni, don't forget on top of the lunch cooler, the diaper bag, and the kid, you also needed to bring whatever "spiritual literature" in addition to your Bible, songbook and notepad. OOps! Almost forgot about the freaking pillows to save your ass from going completely and totally numb along with your brain! Oh yeah, good times, good times. Sure miss those exercises in torture!
1) Sitting in the same section has been around for a while, but it is suggested and nobody follows it. With people rushing in for the best seats, the seating suggestion goes out the door.
2) Another suggestion that is rarely followed. People don't even stay dressed up when attending Bethel and the Farms.
3) Again, the towel thing is never followed. They post "use one towel" so that you'll keep the usage to a minimum.
4) Most convention sites have concession stands and the facility owners wanted to open them to sell food. Their offers have been declined. So, to keep from losing the facility because the friends are spending their money at nearby establishments instead of giving it to the facility owners the suggestion is to bring a light lunch. Staying inside the facility is false. People walk outside, eat in their cars, set up lawn chairs, and kids run and play. Again, in order not to piss off the facility owners, the friends stay at the convention site.
5) Same as #4. If the friends used the vending machines, why not go the extra step and sell hot dogs, popcorn, and beer at inflated prices? The society has always looked out for the friends with lesser means. Furthermore, staying on the premises allows for more social interaction and opportunities for young ones to "mingle". You can pack and bring any food item into the facility; including candy.
6) Kids running and playing inside the facility is a recipe for an older person getting hurt, not to "piss kids off". They have two hours during lunch to run and play outside. God forbid a child behaves. Been to a grade school lately? Never heard any rules against videotaping. You can't set up your equipment in the front row and block other people's view. Most, if not all, assemblies are broadcasted "closed circuit" for the hearing impaired. There are also many brothers that volunteer that record the program using mp3 players. The society has literature in mp3 format.
Your assumptions are way off base. As much as you would like to believe what you say is true (based on your term Assembly Hells), it just isn't. If conventions were soooo "secretive", "strict", and "hush hush" why are they open to the general public? Paranoid much?
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I have heard on this discussion board numerous rules that apply to upcoming a$$emblies. Some are designed to stop people from meeting the opposite sex; others, to make sure everyone is always ready to recruit new members into the scam. Here are some I have heard of:
(1) Sitting together with your congregation. I heard that some KM inserts have been urging those whose congregation has cleaning assignments to sit in the section that they are assigned to clean. This makes meeting the opposite sex more difficult, and it makes it harder for someone to fake making the a$$emblies by showing up for the first morning and then walking out. It also makes the a$$emblies blur in with each other, since you are not going to meet anyone special at any of them.
(2) Staying dressed up after the a$$embly is dismissed. You are supposed to go to McDonald's dressed up and with your name badges on. Supposedly, this is another form of advertising for your MLMreligion.
(3) The One Towel Rule. Using only one towel to dry your hands might save them money. However, the towels are sized for children's hands to prevent wasting an adult sized towel on a child. Men's hands are generally larger, and it is going to take more than one towel to fully dry them. It also takes extra towels to clean up the mess after you wash your hands.
(4) Staying in the building for lunch. This is so people won't take off after the morning session and not come back, perhaps using the remaining time to explore the city and its surroundings. It also limits what you can eat for lunch, since most motels lack refrigerators.
(5) Not using vending machines within the facilities. I can understand not allowing people to use the cigarette machines, since no one is supposed to smoke and people are there that are bothered by smoke. However, these are not issues for candy. Not allowing children to have any candy is rather tough, since there is no fun for them, and they are going to get restless and act up after sitting there for hours at a time. I don't think it's fair to expect children to sit there for no reward, since they are now going to have to stay in that suit once the program dismisses.
(6) Many a$$embly Hells have other rules. There are rules against candy (I can see for gum, since gum is extremely difficult to clean up and gets stuck on the floor and the seats. But candy?). They have rules against ink pens in some A$$embly Hells, since they can mark the seats. All of them have rules against running and playing, which are designed to p*&^ off the children. They have rules against using flash bulbs (who would need them anyway, with today's digital cameras). Many have rules against videotaping part or all the a$$emblies, especially now that one could put the whole drama up on YouTube or other video sharing program. You cannot wear headphones in the a$$embly Hells unless they have special arrangements for deaf people to wear them (then you put in a MP3 player or mini disc player in place of the tuner) and playing with the Game Boy during the a$$embly. Some even ban these devices during intermissions!
Anyone out there that has similar experiences? Perhaps they were extra strict on something, or had other stupid rules that are not listed here? Or new upcoming rules that you have heard about, either from the KM or from the talks leading to the Main Events?
The "good times" at conventions are limited to the 16 to 20 age group.
At 16 you've discovered the opposite sex and spend all the intermission time cruising the concourse checking out the hotties.
You're not expected to be an adult, yet you've gained some freedoms from the parents, so you get to sit with your buddies in the rafters with binoculars looking for cuties in the audience. If you get tired of that you can take a nap.
At 16 or 17, you've got your license and if you're lucky you have a car. You don't have to go home with mom and dad, but get together with your friends and go out to eat and then back to the hotel to hang out by the pool until it closes.
That's fun until you hit 19 or so and by then most of your friends have married or are getting married. The old gang is broken up because all the guys are sitting with their girlfriends/wives. So you cruise the concourse alone. But you notice that everyone your age is already married or engaged. The only single sisters are too young. Or...they're too old...and desperate. They actually try to flirt with you...<shudder>.
The brothers are also pressuring you to volunteer more. They need people to walk the concourse holding up "quiet please" or "keep moving" signs. They need parking lot attendants. At least parking lot attendants can get out early and hang out outside before the masses collide into each other as they leave the parking lot.
By the time you're 22 you no longer look forward to the conventions. Hell, you don't even bother detailing your car anymore. No one to impress.
By the time you're 25, you barely manage getting to the site on time, find a seat up high, zone out, sleep and wait for lunch when you can sneak out to the bar across the street for a beer. Finally when the afternoon session is over, you don't even bother hanging aournd to see what everyone is doing, you hightail to the hotel, change clothes, grap a light dinner and watch whatever sports is on in the hotel lobby bar.
Good times indeed...
Thank you erandir. The OKM had all that. Great. Now we know.
How are JW's supposed to keep track of all this? Yeah, I know.
There are convention reminders every year. If the Borg doesn't
print the reason every year, it shouldn't matter- just be obedient.
I haven't been to an assembly for many years. But when I was, I would walk or ride with anyone who was going out of the convention center for better food. Does anyone remember those tasty fruit bags?
Oh yeah, "bossy brothers" would go out of their way people to pick on. They were always on a real power trip! I remember my sister (a nurse) always worked in First Aid and asked me to stay and help. One day, a young boy was carried in having a seizure. In-between giving breaths of CPR to the child, my sister told me, "Call for an ambulance". (There was no 911 back then). The brothers wouldn't let me do it, it had to be done by a brother. They shuffled around a little and I noticed nothing was happening. I asked if anyone had called and they said they couldn't allow a sister to tell them. Fortunately, another brother I knew came around the corner and saw my sister giving CPR. I told him, "she needs an ambulance", and he took off and made the call.
When it was all over, I got so mad at those brothers, I told them, next time we needed help in First Aid they should listen to us and do it. One of the brothers said, "you can't talk to me like that". I said, "Yes, I can". It never phased him, he was so self-righteous.
They have two hours during lunch to run and play outside.
I had to say something about this. Where I live, going outside, in the middle of the day, in the July, means heatstroke. Let alone take kids out there to play in suits and dresses. Stinky and sweaty for the afternoon session. Whiney and hot. And I have hardly been to any convention sites where there was a suitable place for anyone to enjoy the outdoors. Smaller places for assemblies, yes, but not conventions.
I feel very sorry for people that come to conventions or meetings that are not in the know. They stick out like a sore thumb. What guts they have to endure that feeling.
When sending out open invitations door to door for conventions(didnt they do that last year?) Are the rules about the eating arrangements, etc etc etc passed along?
There are rules to every place people gather. I will respect that. Like a facilty I just worked for ........they had unrealistic expectations, not unreasonable..............unrealistic, and if you get real, and think about all that is expected at this time, it is unrealistic to expect this from the masses.
purps
I always thought having parking lot attendents was stupid.
Not really. They might be able to prevent someone from running a hose from their tailpipe into the car after listening to several hours of JW crap.
