by OnTheWayOut 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Pioneers seemed to be either fakers, weirdos, or old.
I suppose the vast majority of the organization pioneers could be "weirdos."
I am referring to the typical C.O. and D.O. and the elders who aspire to that goal.
They don't all seem like weirdos, but they are "fanatics." I am certain there are a
few fakers in the crowd, but most of these live and breathe for the field circus.
OTWO has come up with inique perspective; I don't thin i've ever seen this specific point made on the forum in the past. You are right that the path to prominence in dubdom is through the Pioneer ranks. I had never made the connection you did, however, that all the upper leadership boys have pioneer backgrounds.
While I met some pioneers I respected, they were the ones who did it with no ulterior motive (or none that was obvious, at any rate). Many others were doing it to enhance their personal reputations and finding all sorts of ways to "pioneer" with the least amount of exertion. Thus the dub language is filled with expressions such as "the pioneer pace" or "pioneer spirit." The average dub knows that when you hear 'pioneer spirit" from the platform, it's presented as positive, but when you hear it in private conversation it usually refers to someone's unbalanced sense of entitlement. As for the pioneer pace, that's dub slang for padding one's field service hours.
Those who pioneer, especially for a long time, lose their sense of perspective as well as their empathy for others. They feel entitled to privilege. They don't usually hold down real jobs but work outside the box by cleaning homes or offices or washing windows; they gravitate toward service jobs which allow them to "make the most money in the least amount of time" and often look for opportunities to gouge their employers.
The strong personal sense that they are owed a living permeates their relationships with others. This is why CO's and other mucky-mucks not only accept but expect green handshakes (although this is a misnomer in my experience; it's more often an envelope with a "thank you" card enclosed, stuffed with money or a check). And, since we we are now talking money, this bit of information: In the U.S., the IRS allows anyeone to accept a gift from another person of up to $12,000 a year with no tax consequences, so none of these much smaller gifts are reportable.
What I notice odd about this is that the ones at the top have very little distraction from pioneering. Hounder-hounders and up have disbursements. Their expenses are paid for, and they have meals with the congregations that they are hounding that week. They have their car bills paid for, along with health insurance. Most have no family. They have no secular jobs to report to. They do not have to worry about making a paycheck. Thus, they have no idea of what it is like for a family to keep going.
These people then expect those with everyday jobs and family lives to give it all up and pioneer. All those at the top can do it, so everyone else should be able to. They don't understand that it is often impossible for someone with a major health condition or a family to care for to do what someone without these issues can. Of course, they like to highlight people with 6 or 7 kids plus an unbelieving husband and a medical condtion that still pioneer (which people may or may not actually exist). That "Do more" spirit permeates the whole congregation.
Notably, I never viewed it as "Could" I do it. If I put aside everything else and was willing to suffer a miserable existence, then I know I could have pioneered. The real issue is "Is it worth it". If I am not going to get value that equals or exceeds the total cost out of pioneering, I am not going to do it. And I don't want to hear about the single parent of 7 kids with Marfan's syndrome and AIDS pioneering despite walking 50 miles each way to the Kingdumb Hell through several crocodile rivers in miserably hot or freezing cold weather. To that person, the illusory benefit might exceed the cost. To me, there is no illusory benefit, and the real benefit is negative. So, that is why I never attempted to pioneer.
The borg is like any psychopathic corporation. The bods at the top look down and promot those who are like themselves, that way they perpetuate the status quo. Anyone who might rock the boat does not get promoted. Those at the bottom look up and want to be at the top so they ape the bod above them and them above them and so on. it is a bit like an escalator. You can see it best in the local congo, anyone who might upset the boat - i.e. might actually want to be an elder for the eight reason won't get appointed because you can't have someone saying 'but the scriptures say this brother'. If one soes slip in they will be marginalised. In coeporations it would be the 'sideways move'. It is all a power game. Anyone who has been on the Bethel HQ tours cannot fail to have seen the clas system. All brothers are equal - my arse.
Excellent thread OTWO!
In order to get to the top of the Society, you have to first dedicate your life to serving that Society, and sacrifice other potential goals to do so. It means once they get to the top, into that position of control, they have no life outside of it, and nothing they could go into if they lose that control. The leaders in Brooklyn arguably have far more to lose than any one on this board, and so, even if they face the fact that they're promulgating deadly lies, they'd also have to face the fact that by exposing it they'd be left with nothing. Even those who realise it's wrong, seem to try to reform it from the inside instead of leaving and exposing it. This is what those at the top of the Society in Ray Franz's time tried to do when they realised it was wrong, Ray Franz even originally tried for inside reform, rather than the more effective method of leaving and exposing them, which he eventually did, but only after being forced out.
This is where the major problem in the Society lies, and the demand to pioneer to get to the top is the cause of this.
I suppose the vast majority of the organization pioneers could be "weirdos."
I am referring to the typical C.O. and D.O. and the elders who aspire to that goal.
They don't all seem like weirdos, but they are "fanatics." I am certain there are a
few fakers in the crowd, but most of these live and breathe for the field circus.
I would agree with that; I think I was describing the range of all pioneers in any given congregation. For the elder pioneers though, there is a definite tone of fanaticism. They've made their choice to climb the ranks, and they'll be damned if any r&f with two brain cells left to rub together is going to stir up the unwashed masses!
hb:
No living centers for the old DO's and CO's that I am aware of.
no, instead the congregations are being "encouraged" to build apartments attached to or on the same property as the Kingdom Hall (at their own expense or with loaned money from the First National Bank of Watchtower). Then the "retired" COs and DOs have a place to go. The congos think it is a wonderful "privilege" to have such a "spiritual giant" and his "Spiritual wife" in their midst. I know of at least 1 congo in the area that has an apt built specifically for this purpose..an apartment for a retired CO..not an apartment for the current CO. Or, some COs and DO's who get really infirm are brought up to Bethel to live out their wasted lives in the Bethel Infirmary/Nursing Facility at Walkill.
In my old congo, the apartment is such a waste. The duplex used to house the current CO on one side and the caretaker and his wife for the double KH (until the caretaker position was eliminated). Now one side is for the current CO (who is only there part time). The other sits empty last I checked. In another of my old congos, the CO apartment is only used 10 weeks of the year...maybe 12 depending on assemblies, etc. He spends more time at the apartment at the other end of the circuit than he does at this end. The PO at this end refused to install anything more than basic cable....the PO at the other end installed satellite. I happen to agree with the satellite....hell, the CO and his wife give up everything else, including the right to wear blue jeans in public, why shouldnt they have some in house entertainment.
I was a pioneer and elder at onetime...only got interviewed once..and hated every minute of it...and everyone could tell I hated it. My experience was generic and was careful to avoid the pronoun I ......I was the shining star briefly....My goal was circuit work. Until some experiences in 2002 changed my mind about going into that. That was the year my eyes really opened up regarding the inner workings of the Borg....only took me 5 more years to leave...
Snakes ()
One of my adult nonJW sons has always made an observation that until recently, I had pooh-poohed and said he was off base. He mentioned several elders we both knew....and their lucrative positions in business.....two are in different hospital administration jobs, and others in very well-paying positions in other companies. One is in a high mucky-muck office job out at the steam plant for the Nine-Mile nuclear plant a few miles from here. ALL had wives that regular pioneered and they themselves and ALL had fabulous homes, pools, cars and all the perks. One has a summer home in the Adironack Mts a few hours away. Oddly, there IS one that has the pioneering wife and the exceptionally nice home with lush landscaping, a pool and a HUGE multi-tiered deck that is done in that treated wood that costs a fortune, a new truck and a fairly new and plushy car for service and meetings.....and HE only works at a factory! (Go figure!)
My son said that there MUST be some sort of a kickback or SOMETHING that the rest of the JWs are not aware of, just on the "keep your eye simple" routine and where THEY stand in all this. I used to argue with him.....but looking at things with another outlook now...I have to wonder just HOW all this is accomplished! I could SEE if this was the exception rather than the rule.....but of all the elders that WE have known in three states.....almost every one of them screams "money" in their entire home, furnishings, vehicles and lifestyle.
I am glad I started this thread. There are great insights in your posts.
Like Willy, I had never fully made the connection that virtually every
last person up the ladder in WTS had to pioneer to get there. When
I did make that connection, I had to share it.
Sorry for the title that made some of you think of chesty pioneers, but
that could have been fun too.
My son said that there MUST be some sort of a kickback or SOMETHING
There's no kickback. What your son is seeing is fairly universal in today's society in western countries, particularly the U.S. A shitpile of money has been made in real estate and the stock market, often by people who are middle- or upper-middle-class. Those people have reached the ages of 60 or 70 or more and many have died and left their middle-aged offspring with huge portfolios including valuable real estate and big insurance policies. I was a dub for 30 years and know countless people, not just elders, who had boatloads of money and yet showed no real visible means of support - or at least didn't have a job you would associate with earning big bucks. Dubs tend to be fairly secretive about their money, but being human most cannot hide it. Their parent(s) die, they inherit a million dollars or so, they don't say anything. But pretty soon there's a $40,000 car in the driveway. Then there's a new driveway, attached to a big house. Then there's a two-week cruise. And so on. Meanwhile, they pay lip service to keeping their lives simple. The disconnect is that JWs were historically a group of uneducated, lower income folks who showed disdain for worldly goods and status. That's no longer true.
