by SnakesInTheTower 31 Replies latest jw friends
SA:
trolls lie in the eye of the beholder.
good point.... usually by the time i figure out for certain someone is a troll or a troublemaker, they are already gone... If I see a troublemaker attacking another poster...then game on....I will and have posted in defense of others.... but maybe that only enboldens them more... CATCH 22 ....attacking the trolls only feeds them...... I usually ignore them, especially now. Snakes ()
(Not to be disrespectful)
{{{{{{{Snakes}}}}}}}
eryn..
i just love your sense of humor.... hope you are doing good today...
Snakes ()
Not to take away your entertainment eryn, but me thinks maybe it was a bit too soon for 'ol Snakes to pop his head up here on this forum... lol
Maybe with this post maybe I should let this thread die.
Honestly can you really "respect" anyone on a message board? I know people get vested into these message boards even myself...but I am not vested enough to really care or love anyone on here. Sorry it's just not how I operate. I have to at the very least talk to you on the phone. I would want to meet someone before I would say I love them. When I say love...I mean like real love or feeling. I can't honestly say I love or respect anyone on this board the way I truly love and respect say someone like my parents. I do however find it annoying when people come on her bragging about themselves and then get upset when someone points out obvious holes in their story. I honestly could care less about Richie/Trevor/anyone else who gets caught in a lie.
but me thinks maybe it was a bit too soon for 'ol Snakes to pop his head up here on this forum
Sometimes we have to stop picking at a scab to let the wound heal.
yo snakes welcome back and F&^% the naysayers.
Dammit does this place ever need a group hug.
but me thinks maybe it was a bit too soon for 'ol Snakes
Some people get weirded out when you refer to yourself in the third-person.
Especially preceded by the word "'ol".
'Ol nvr doesn't like it when people do that.
LOL!
See what I mean?
I tend to respect others' opinions even if I do not agree with them. I also realize that what happens in one congregation or group of contiguous congregations might not happen in another congregation, and what happens to one person might be nearly impossible to have happen to another. This is because there is perception of each other's value and local interpretations of the rules by hounders and hounder-hounders that may differ from each other.
An example is that a single man with no prospects might have a higher potential value in the congregation than someone with a family or with many prospects. Why? There are "privileges" that are only open to single men. And, if they have no family in the Tower, disfellowshipping them will accomplish next to nothing. Those with family in the Tower stand to lose more if they get disfellowshipped. Those with no family and no prospects are more likely to get harassed, cajoled, or even physically recaptured than those that they feel are not worth that effort. Reason: Cost/benefit. A single man with no prospects is easier to recapture and the perceived benefit is higher (remember all those "privileges" for which you have to be single and a brother to qualify for). Though the cost may be high, if the perceived benefit is even higher, it will be worth it for the congregation or individuals therein to recapture such a person.
However, if a person already has family in or is married to an unbeliever, that person no longer qualifies for that "privilege". It will not be worth the trouble for that much less supposed benefit. So, they are more likely to get disfellowshipped at the drop of a hat instead. It is not worth it for those members to be "saved". So they get booted out. And that's how one person can have sharply different experiences within the same congregation.
That is why I do not jump to conclusions that a poster is lying or stretching the truth when they post something radically different from standard experiences. Those posters may have had those experiences. Cost/benefit explains why one person can have experiences that are radically different from the standard. Interpretations of the rules by the hounder-hounders is another: In those cases, everyone in a circuit will have similar experiences while those in other circuits will not. It will seem like it is universal because several contiguous congregations may be having the same experiences. And, as different hounder-hounders are assigned circuits to hound, they often change the rules all at once.
True, not everything posted here is necessarily the truth. However, more of it can be the truth for that poster than we are willing to admit. And, when predictions are made, it is likely that they will be off. Someone can predict that the Watchtower Society will take one course, and they take a different course or take a longer route. I will not mention names here for those that make totally and blatantly spurious prophesies (they will get their share of embarrassment when the dates come and go and nothing happens). That aside, it pays to read the posts even if we do not agree and we never had or heard of those experiences. Then, we should integrate them. Go to those other apostate Web sites, too. That is how you form your own opinions based on the big picture. Still not perfect, but it helps if we wish to improve.
