Hi all-
I think that individuals who become JWs as adults do not have the slightest idea what it is like to be a JW as a child. My parents converted to the dubs when they were in their mid-twenties I think.
In any case, I was about five years old at the time that they converted so I as raised in it. I was routinely tortured by other kids at school until I finally got a growth spurt around 14 and got big.
In any case, when I was 11 years old, my sixth grade teacher was giving a lecture on citizenship. One of my obnoxious bully classmates raised his hand and proceeded to tell the teacher that I had told him that it was wrong to fight for ones' country by joining the military.
The teacher looked at me and proceeded to scold me in front of the entire class for those comments which my classmate had said that I had told him previously. Here scolding ended with the statement, "It is because of people like you that my brother got both of his legs blown off in Vietnam."
Later in the day, another teacher came up to me and told me that I needed to apologize to her colleague for whatever it is that I said during her citizenship lecture because it had really offended her. Mind you, I had not said a thing but my views at the time (actually my parents' views at the time) had just been expressed to the teacher by one of my classmates. In any case, I apologized.
When I got home, I was very upset about what had happened that day. So, I told my parents what had occurred. My parents did what they do best..NOTHING.
I would say that the vast majority of JW parents who were not raised as JWs have no idea how difficult it is.
Jeff S.