by 5go 26 Replies latest watchtower scandals
I know of alot of brothers and sisters in my Congregation deciding to get at least two years in. Some have certificates and regret it and are going back for mainly money reasons.
Me I got a certificate in a area and I am going back to get a real degree. Preferably in a diffrent field.
What is it like where your at ?
I was baptized in 1976 and remembering hearing of a sister in a nearby congo going to nursing school. The way she was talked about in my congo and others was as if she was an apostate or at the very least weak in the faith. How dare she persue a higher education when the "END IS SO NEAR". After 1995 when the education ban was lifted the flood gates were opened and I believe the WTS can not undue what they have done. How can you justify denying the current generation of youth the chance of higher education when it was allowed to previous generations... The WTS royally shot themselves in the collective foot...
my area (midwest US) has strong sentiments against any higher education. some are pursuing 2 year degrees. I got 2 year career associates, getting ready to finish last 5 requirements for regular associates (one to transfer to a 4 yr program as a junior) to pursue bachelors...dont know what yet. I was an elder when i was pursuing my degree....really caught hell over that...but CO said could not remove me for it...they tried....
too many dumb old timers who think you can still grad high school and go get a job that will pay well w/benefits...that despite the closing of almost all major industry and the loss of car manufacturing jobs across the river. ...hmmmm
SnakesInTheTower (of the "pursuing a real education" Sheep Class)
There are still quite a few trademen brothers that are feeling the illegal pinch. Some aren't yet.
Me being an example, though I don't have the money to go to school but I am anyway.
A lot of brothers in the area do make money from trades, for now till the area gets full of cheap illegal tradesmen.
Heck, Brownsville and Laredo are now really part of mexico, spanish being spoken more than english on the street. San Antonio and Corpus Christi are really close to being the same. Being on a job site in my area you better know spanish.
So you are really left with take a service job with horrible hours and weird shifts, or go to school and get an associates, or go north away from the migration to get a better job.
Most likely I could stay where I am with the degree I am planning on but, I still might go north mainly because of demand and climate reasons.
Oh and snakes get ready because you are going to see more texans in your area soon. As more lower incomes decide to go north away from the migration to get a better job.
I have noticed alot of Texas people moving here in the past 3 years.
i was going through an apprenticeship for automechanic right at the end of the "ban" on higher edu. We all know it wasnt "officially" banned but we also all remember how everyone talked about those that got the "nads" to get an edu.
Anyway, so many looked highly upon my apprenticeship because it was "work", a trade, and I was trained on-the-job, so it was ok. In fact it was a really good thing. Then when I needed to go to night school for 6 weeks one evening per week everything changed. Because my class was on "book study" night. I was even told by one elder to quit my apprenticeship over it! 3 years of apprenticing thrown in the trash over 6 book studies? It was rediculous. RIght then the article came out about edu. and i got left alone.
It was amazing though how people got their noses out of joint when someone wanted to go to school. As if a "what makes them so special" kind of attitude. Almost as if people were jealous of those going to school, I remember being a little kid and getting this impression. One brother was going to law school and people talked about it for months.
After the view changed it seemed everyone was taking a "windows" course or a "computer" course and they were gonna get an "office job" and work on "computers". As if a lousy windows course was going to get them some great career running big'ol fancy smancy computers.....(remember this was 1995 when most JW's still thought the internet was a "sign of the times")
I have more to say about this subject but I will save it for another message as this one is getting long. Thanks for reading my rant!
At the moment I don't really know of anyone from my congregation that has gotten an education. One girl took sign language classes but that was to help her pioneering..a couple boys are apprenticing on trades but again that got the okay. A few took about 4 years longer to finish high school homeschooling than anyone else. I've almost finished my BA in the meantime. I was going to be taking a 2 year diploma instead and mom was looking for a JW roomate for me. Thank goodness that never went through I can't imagine doing the JW thing, working and still having teh time to get the A grades I'm getting.
The kults spin on the scripture about "not hiding your light under a basket" comes to mind. The kult interprets that as spending your time pedaling their cheap pulp fiction (cough "bullshit" cough) at the doors.
About a year before my exit I told an elder (lower case e on purpose) that my interpretation of that scripture was that it was a sin if you did not develop or follow any natural talents that you had, whether it was (in my case) music, engineering, speaking, growing roses, whatever. That God gave us intellect to be used to its fullest capacity and that in most cases that required at least a 4 year college education. Well, that went over like a screen door in a submarine.
At that time I had taken up the guitar again after giving it up 30 years earlier at the insistence of father and elders. My particular interest was roots music, classic rock, and most of all, the blues. After making the point that King Solomon employed thousands of musicians, that elders wife spat out venomously "Don't you know that the blues is the most immoral music ever written!!" in front of everyone after the SM one night. I looked her right in the eye, stunned, and actaully laughed out loud, loudly, while walking away.
Just some rambling thoughts that may or may not apply to higher education and using the intellect and gifts you were born with.
Peace \/
About a year before my exit I told an elder (lower case e on purpose) that my interpretation of that scripture was that it was a sin if you did not develop or follow any natural talents that you had, whether it was (in my case) music, engineering, speaking, growing roses, whatever. That God gave us intellect to be used to its fullest capacity and that in most cases that required at least a 4 year college education. Well, that went over like a screen door in a submarine.
I need to get my scca ( car racing club ) licence then. Three years no tickets no accidents yet and I drive like a bat of a cave on fire.
5go....same scenerio in Oz...cheaper labour and more immagrating....the WTBTS have made life hard for the previous generations of b/s many now have nothing to retire on, I would love for someone to debate them on national TV about all the stupid laws or suggestions they laid down over the century, they surely should be held accountable, but hey they always blamed over zealous brothers.
They have been asked to front sexual abuse allegations on TV over the past ten years, but they decline saying they are always taken out of context and edited to suit.
