So I went to the Memorial, the only meeting I've gone to for the past five years, I think it is.
I got the usual love bombing from some of the "friends", got ignored by some others but it was the elders that got me. Four different elders came up to speak and every single one of them called me "brother".
"It's good to see you Brother Undercover..." "How have you been Brother Undercover..." "Staying busy at work, Brother Undercover..."
They didn't just stop at "Brother..." but made sure to say "Brother Undercover".
Having freed myself from the clutches of the JWs/WT Society, I have come to loathe the term "brother and sister" when addressing people, whether in a religious setting or some other settting. I'm not your brother and I have a name. Use it please.
I didn't make a stink out of it then and there, I let it slide, but I did return salutation by using their first name. "Good to see you, Bob..." "Doing good, Sam..." "I'll be busy till the day I die, Tony..." (I liked that one best...an admission that the end isn't coming in my lifetime). The other brother, I don't know his name...never formally met the guy, but the last three Memorials he comes up and talks to me like we know each other. One year I may just ask his name and how is it he knows me just to see his reaction...
Did anyone else have to endure being called "brother" or "sister"? I would've thought that being inactive for several years would have removed me from their good graces enough to not be called "brother"...