Negative Reinforcement of World View

by Ranchette 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  Ranchette

  Hello everyone,
  I have had alot of surprises this past year since leaving the organization.It was scary at first.

  One thing in particular I have realized recently is how much I subconsciencely reinforced the WTs negative view of the world when I was a witness.

  For example,I used to watch more negative TV programs which convinced me that the JWs were right.Shows such as 911,Cops,True crime stories,New detectives,unsolved mysterys,CNN.....on and on.
  I still like these shows and see nothing wrong with them.I can just see that I never watched anything positive when I was a JW.
  Or when I heard some tragedy I dwelt on it but ignored positive things.
  Just before I quit going to meetings I started looking at the world with new eyes.
  It was very strange and confusing at first to see things more clearly.
  We were taught that the word is wicked and there are just a few good people.
  I have found the complete opposite to be true.
  The good in this world far out ways the bad.
  Does anyone understand what I am saying?

  Ranchette
  
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  siegswife

  I was just thinking along similar lines tonight. Jehovah's Witnesses are AFRAID to participate and partake of any goodness and love that are in the world. They don't trust it. Anything worldly can't be 'good' or else they would be wrong. They may not outright think like that (although I think alot of them DO), but it's reflected in their fear.

  I think they're made even more afraid by the unloving attitudes in the congregations. (If it's like this on the INSIDE, how bad must it be on the outside?) They don't trust any real love they might feel from outsiders, yet accept the hate/love in the congregations to be real. It's really very twisted.
• 

  Ranchette

  Seigswife,
  Your right it is very twisted.
  The trust issues you mention are very interesting and I have been thinging more about this.
  I'm trying to figure out what happened to me and why I was so blind.
  For every evil thing or tragedy in the world I believe there are thousands of wonderful things to set side by side.

  Just think about the WTC tragedy as an example.Why Do JWs look at this event with excitement and proof that this world is wicked when the rest of us see something much different?
  Yes that was a terrible thing but it was overwhelming to see the love,kindness and support all over the world as a result.
  These things far out way the tragedy itself but JWs ignore all these wonderful things and capatilize on the negative.
  They act as if these things mean nothing.
  It is so sad.

  We were programed to expect tragedy,evil,hate .....through the literature and meetings and assemblies.I believe that's why we were so blind and just saw tragedy as proof that WT was right.
  It is scary when you really realize what happened.
  As much as most of us don't want it to be so I believe more than ever that this is a cult.

  Ranchette
  
• 

  refiners fire

  intesting.makes me realize im a bit negative myself and watch too much nasty stuff on video. Thanks.

  Ive decided now that all goodness dwells on a personal level.One on one. People are good. Once you become involved in structured anything
  the human element disappears.
• 

  Kristen

  Ranchette,
  I understand what you are saying.

  One thing in particular I have realized recently is how much I subconsciencely reinforced the WTs negative view of the world when I was a witness

  Me too.

  And another thing I've realized since being away is that we can find reinforcement for just about any path we walk.

  Interesting.
• 

  TR

  It's amazing how 'hovah's can fit the WT square pegs in the round holes of world events.

  TR

  The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
  —Edmund Burke
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  ARoarer

  Ranchette, I feel exactly as you do about the negative way JW's view everything in life. Isn't it funny how they use the term "negative talk" when they tell you they don't want to hear what you have to say? Looking back when I think about all the horrendous pictures visually and verbally that they depict in thier literature it is more evil and ungodly than what they say the "world" and thier traditions are all about. The WTC Tragedy truly brought home this thought for me when I watched humanity become the best of the best toward one another. Even in other countries.
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  Seeker4

  Your comment reminded me of an essay in a magazine I read the other day. The writer teaches a university media course on TV. The essay was making a point about how TV shapes our view of the kind of world we live in - one filled with violence and bad people.

  One of the first questions he asks his students is: On average, how often does an innner-city Chicago cop fire his gun in the line of duty? He starts with once a day, and says that even the most skeptical students say that it is at least once a year. The reality? Once every 16.5 years - or just ONCE in their entire career.

  He says that without TV, he lives in a much more real, more calm, and much less scary world.

  S4
• 

  patio34

  Hi Ranchette,

  So true, so true. I hadn't thought of it in that light. I used to watch "West Wing" when a JW and felt uneasy about it because the government was presented in such a good, reasonable light. It didn't reinforce the JW view.

  On a related note, I did notice right away my view of so-called worldly people. With JW glasses on, I was constantly having to justify why non-JWs were wicked. They seemed so nice. Why would God destroy them?

  But now, of course, i have a lot more respect for the world of mankind. They're mostly just folks like us, trying to do the right thing most of the time.

  Thanks for the thoughtful comparison.

  Cheers!
  Pat
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  Ranchette

  Pat,
  When you mentioned JW glasses, it got me to thinking that I never saw the world from the outside or without JW glasses on because I was raised as a witness.
  I was completely blinded with this distorted view of the world.

  But this makes me wonder about those who have been in the world before putting the so-called JW glasses on.
  They know how things really are deep down because they have seen and experienced it and you would think it would cause some inner conflict.

  Do you think it's because allot of these people had bad experiences in life and so it was easy to accept the JW worldview?
  I mean it’s much easier to blame Satan and his world for everything.

  You would think they had an advantage over those of us who were raised in it but it seems they are as blinded as us.I wonder why?

  There's allot going on here and I'm not sure if I understand it all.
  I want to understand because I don't want to ever let this happen to me or any of my loved ones again.

  Ranchette