Thank you for the nice welcome. To perhaps clarify my thoughts a bit, I am sure there will be Dubs, but I wonder if the rabid hard-line can be sustained. The vast majority of Witnesses now are not part of the old guard. Surely the torturous twistings of WT "logic" is confusing to younger members. When I was in, I was ALL in. I really studied that stuff and was considered sort of a congregation Bible authority (shudder) by the bros. But I was alone in this amongst my age group. Certainly everyone bought the party line - no Xmas or birthdays, no blood, don't have sex before marriage, etc., but as far as making any effort to grasp the deeper stuff...nah, not so much. Most could parrot back the 3 or 4 oft-repeated Scriptures in the Ministry School, most could use the reference books to compose some pat replies if anyone listened at the door long enough to ask a question, but no one in my generation, as a rule, spent much time digging and doing research. Today, the Witnesses I still know are going to meetings out of habit, out of fear, out of a need for social acceptance, since they've rejected any association with the rest of the world. Without an engine, it's hard for me to imagine how this rickety bus can maintain momentum for any sustained period of time.
Meanwhile, I'm such a happy camper to be out. My husband (who was an elder) and I left about the same time as my sister figured out this was garbage. My sis and I never said anything to each other for the longest time, each fearing we'd stumble the other. One night, over a bottle of merlot in the hot tub, we gingerly probed the subject, and rejoiced to realize we were both on the road to freedom! Never looked back. I'm now amazed at the wide circle of good friends we've acquired, people who are genuine, generous, and non-judgmental.
One of my old friends, who's still "IN" is a closet drinker, is seeing a therapist, goes to maybe three or four meetings a year (but is still in good standing because she still goes), and has, through a new job, developed some friendships with "worldly people." I'm sworn to secrecy about her clandestine buddyships outside the Borg, but I think it's great. I have high hopes that she'll make her escape one of these days. As Queen would say, "Another one bites the dust.."
Thanks for several years of encouraging stories and interesting research. Visiting this board, albeit silently, was a great help to me in the early escape days!
Sisowuzzy (Wasasister's Sister)
