My problems with the WTBS have always been their doctrine and their absolute control of the rank and file, not the principles that they and most mainstream religions teach. I grew up in a predominantly black urban metropolitan area that had a high crime rate and drug usage. When i go back to my old neighborhood, I always hear about how some of my peers are drug addicts, incarcerated or dead. Of course, anyone could have avoided this if their parent's gave a damn and we're instilled with a sense of decency and reponsibility, but a part of me feels that i was able to bypass this fate because i was being too busy being good JW boy.
Here are some of the things i learned during and after my 'tenure' as a JW:
- Everyone should learn Public Speaking.
- You'll often hear people tell you how much you owe them , in reality, you don’t owe the vast majority of people shit.
- Dress for Success.
- Tact, Charm and Genuine Interest can take you a long way.
- If someone says they're your friend, but would stop talking to you because of a difference in viewpoint (or lack thereof), they were never really your friend to begin with.
- If you're under the age of 18, you probably not mature enough to make life-altering decisions.
- Biblical Mathematics is for the sheep.
- College doesn't kill a person's faith, but rather their ability to idly take bullshit.
- Don’t mentally or physically abuse people because of who they are, or what they believe in. It's stupid and none of your business how someone chooses to live their life.
- And finally, If something has a direct benefit to a person or specific group of people and an 'eventual' benefit to everyone else, don't fool yourself, the benefit was and always will be for the former.