Do you feel threatened by....

by Greensleeves 65 Replies latest jw friends

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  Greensleeves

  Do people here feel threatened by bold posts?

  I ask this because it would seem that everyone on this board has an axe to grind, and any "bold" posts that disagree with the majority are ignored. I have found that most of the posts I made ended threads. Am I that logical? Or were people so pissed by what I said that no one would post in that thread anymore?

  I have found this forum lacking personality and mostly focusing on the "anger" and "rejection" ones felt after bad experiences in the WTS. Very valid feelings I will admit. But I don't want to live my life that way, and I find this forum a virtual well of self-pity and anger.

  People here are so closed minded that they expect everyone to agree with their opinions. If you disagree or post something contraversial, no one else comments in the thread. Is that the way you alienate people with different ideas and opinions? Check out my post history and see how many threads I ended.

  I ask: What kind of freedom is to be found in a forum were everyone feels wronged? Where everyone is bitter and angry. The only support found is support of bitterness and anger. That is not healthy.

  Greensleeves
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  avishai

  Dig deeper and you'll find more. However after years of indoctrination, many of us suffer from "black and white thinking" still. The diametric opposite of the WT may be some people's bag here, but many will dogmatically defend THAT viewpoint in the same way they defended the WT, without even realizing that they've replaced one dogmatic addiction, new religion, politics, etc. with another. So, many, even if they are "right" are "right fighters" who have a NEED to be right, rather than dealing with their issues, helping others, etc. It's an occupational hazard with cults. But it's wonderful to watch those who DO end up throwing that thinking out.
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  cognizant dissident

  You sound a little bitter and angry that no one replied to your thread-ending posts!
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  Gopher

  I don't get which direction you're taking here. If people donj't post because they feel "threatened", then they are cowering in passivity. However, if you're saying some have an "axe to grind", then are those doing the grinding being aggressive?

  I don't know how long you lurked before you started posting in June, but look and you'll see that almost every JW-related subject has been covered from every angle. Therefore, not every new thread about a topic will inspire responses. Some threads catch fire, others don't. If you notice the "burning folder" symbol that appears on threads over 1 page / 20 posts -- it seems that half of the threads die out before they reach 1 page.

  I've often been a thread-killer, and some threads I start get only a couple posts. Whatever -- it just didn't catch fire. I don't take it too personally. Maybe I didn't pick a topic that people wanted to talk about, or maybe I didn't put in an inspiring question that people would pick up on.

  Yes this forum talks a lot about anger and rejection, because those things keep happening in various forms to newbies and to established posters, and people who are going through that deserve our support. However there are many other topics, doctrinal and general and just plain fun here. You can pick the topics that interest you, and ignore the ones that don't feel right. That's the beauty of a heavily-travelled forum like this, there will be a lot to choose from.

  Yes there are some strong opinions here. But not everyone is close-minded. In fact I've seen a lot of understanding out here, and I've seen people change their minds on things over time. I've seen knock down-drag out fights where people eventually apologized and got along better later.

  I see a lot of people who, though they've been wronged by association with the WTS, have moved past that and bring encouragement and a positive attitude to this forum. I hope I'm one of them, because the forum helped me a lot when I first got out of the JW's back about 7-8 years ago.

  It's up to each one of us, including you, to help keep this forum a healthy place to interact.
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  Greensleeves

  No, I am just stating my observations.
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  Junction-Guy

  I haven't read any of your previous posts, so I can't really comment there, I just want to welcome you to the board since you are new. I used to live near the WV border in Ky, are you from that part of WV?
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  Greensleeves

  I don't get which direction you're taking here. If people donj't post because they feel "threatened", then they are cowering in passivity. However, if you're saying some have an "axe to grind", then are those doing the grinding being aggressive?

  No, they are just hung up and bitchy.
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  Greensleeves

  I haven't read any of your previous posts, so I can't really comment there, I just want to welcome you to the board since you are new. I used to live near the WV border in Ky, are you from that part of WV?

  I live near Parkersburg, WV. It is in the Northern part of the state. I grew up in Upstate New York, and moved here because of work. Its Ironic because many people move away from here to find work. I found a good job oportunity accross the Ohio river in Marrietta, OH.
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  Junction-Guy

  I have never been to Parkersburg, I have mostly been to Huntington, Williamson, Del Barton,Welch--the southern end of the state.
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  Gopher

  As I said, not everyone is like that. I had lots of support and good interaction here over time, but at other times I ran into some nasty and rude posts. That comes with the territory, not just of this forum, but of Internet posting in general. People are anonymous and can throw darts without conscience, if they so choose. There's no way to prevent a certain amount of that from happening. So sometimes you just have to ignore that, put your head down and keep going (if you want to continue participating in any Internet discussion, including here).

  However I think it's an incorrect assessment to say this forum is overwhelmingly negative. I've been around a few years here, and I still find it, in the main, to be worthwhile and stimulating -- as long as I keep things in perspective.