by minimus 157 Replies latest jw friends
The Circuit Overseer said that my field service book bag was too large. I liked carrying a very wide variety of literature to fine tailor my presentation to whatever interested the householder.
I also forgot to wear a tie during one of my talks. It was the last one I gave.
Also, word got out that I saw Dawn of the Dead. The elder who counseled me mentioned that live people played the part of the dead. That was somehow supposed to make matters worse.
EyesOpenHeartBroken:
Your post is good and brought back unpleasant memories and also highlights issues I also had to some degree in the religion.
I am referring to the problem you had with the unpleasant older women where you actually had to escape in order to have peace. I gather they didn't necessarily have a problem with YOU, but with each other. If they had a problem with you (like another poster on this forum is having in her cong.) the result is the same - you have to get away from them...
THEN somebody wants to speak to YOU about how you should somehow "fix" the situation (not your problem) , or make concessions, apologize for something you never did "to make peace"!!! WHY? Because you are a younger woman. Doesn't matter how wrong the older offending party is.
This is why I hated that fucking religion because I had similar situations when I was there. The wrong assumption was that I somehow "owed" somebody something by virtue of the fact that I was younger..I really do feel they expect certain people there to be "sacrificed" or scapegoated in a sense (jealousy?).
In your case, these two older elders' wives were at fault. They are the ones with the serious issues. It was not anybody else's job to bend over backwards or into the shape of a pretzel just to make THEM "feel good"!
I also had criticism over my clothing and was made to feel I had to try harder than other women there because of my figure - and I wasn't trying to be sexy.
This is all laughable, and I'd never put myself through this garbage now even if somebody paid me!
@ - Longhairedgal - You know what it is too, is that in this Cult, the longer you are "IN", the more they feel they are entitled/deserved.
Being a spiritually "strong" JW means you are "sacrificing" by living a good WTS life. Its looked at like you have paid your "dues", by being in the borg for SO MANY years. If you are in the "truth" for 30 or 40 years, you must have "sacrificed" so many years of being moral, chaste, hours of field service, public talks, and following every whim of the GB and the congregations elders.
You MUST have paid your dues, if you have been a good JW for so long. So, you MUST be given extra "courtesy", and let some things be "swept under the carpet". Therefore the opposite is true, and when you are a younger person in the "truth", by simply being young, you could not have "sacrificed" as much as someone whos been "IN" for longer.
You are therefore treated with less respect, and more is expected. In other words, you are held to a, hypocritically, higher standard than someone else. Nope, you are not "equal" Christians in their eyes. Its all just another crock of BS that is very prevalent in this organization.
Dunedain:
You are absolutely right and I'm glad you spelled it out so that lurkers here can see! People tolerate wrong treatment in the JW religion and never analyze the mindset behind it. It has to be lanced, like a boil.
How dare anybody there, consciously or unconsciously, imagine they are entitled to be treated better - or somebody else be treated worse - because of length of time in the stupid cult or what they supposedly "sacrificed"...I'd like to see somebody have the balls to admit they have a right to do this...Although, some deluded ass just might.
I wouldn't give these counterfeit Christians the time of day.
There's truly a mountain of wrong things in that religion: doctrines, attitudes, behavior, etc. that makes a person leave once that last straw is heaped on the camel's back!
No wonder the people still in are so depressed and on meds!...But, I'm just grateful I'm out.
I was counseled by the bookstudy conductor (PO) for bringing my handicapped nonwitness brother to a book study picnic and his wife was offended by his behavior. Hey, min; you rock!!!
Every so often you hear people say that JW's are not Christians - THIS is the sort of behaviour that proves them correct. You wouldn't find that kind of ignorance or cruelty in a prison.
I was once counseled for growing my sideburns down to the point of my jaw, like John Lennon-style mutton chops.
In my old congregation, sideburns were ok as long as they didn't go down past the ear lobes.
I kid you not ...
I was not a servant but I was taking the count of attendance. I walked up the aisles more than half way to count then I was later told that I should just stay in back and count as it is a distraction.
Another time at an assembly I was sitting in a row by myself with just a couple of people at the other end. Then I moved up to the next row to free it up if others needed it. There was a girl about 15 sitting half way in the row. Afterward the mother told me that the girl was just 15 and was not available. I tried to tell her that I was not interested in the girl, but I just moved to make the whole row available.
