There's no denying that apostates have a bad reputation with Witnesses. Many of us know that once dubs actually come around and read what ex-JW’s say and do with their lives they often walk away with a different view. While time spent here is helping us collectively heal I thought a few thoughts about marketing ourselves might not outrageous.
Perhaps a snappy tune might help, on the web page. After all, human beings are emotionally stirred more by meaningful lyrics set to music than by the bare words themselves. Somehow though, I know it would drive me nuts to listen to muzac while on this site.
Do you think though that we have a major stumbling block by having no OFFICAL warm, welcoming community of ex-dubs who seem genuinely interested in "evangelizing" the other side, yet at the same time are respectful of the rights of others to decline their chance of leaving the collective? I know I have personally seen a lot of really cool people on here welcoming newbies but sometimes a new member might post inside a thread and nobody says a thing.
I would be more inclined to want to support or join a group whose members:
Don’t take themselves so seriously that they can’t laugh at themselves now and then.
Respected people for who they were, and not for their potential to be molded into an ex-dub of a certain flavor.
Granted full rights of autonomy to newbies without any discrimination, coercion, or manipulation based on differences in beliefs.
The members cooperated with each other instead of having long drawn out spiteful and hateful threads.
The members minimized egotism; acknowledge each person’s contribution to the whole instead of just looking at what’s in it for me?
And let us not forget love, this isn’t patented by Jehovah’s Witnesses you know. When I think of a cool place to hang out online, I think of people caring about one another. That doesn’t mean you never disagree, but it doesn’t mean that you need to be nasty to one another for no good reason. And if you do screw up in the heat of passion, you later apologize.
I see all this on this site. Yeah, before you remind me of our resident villains I’m going to stop off here and get your ideas of what you think we could do to market exdubism more both online and in real life.
Cha Cha Cha
Skipper