by restrangled 44 Replies latest jw friends
Oohhh yea, X, the home made clothes! I have often had nightmares about "rick rack". I didn't have a pair of real zippered pants until high school. I was so excited.
When it came time for oral reports I would become literally ill. Every time. Child abuse, yes.
Beks, this is what I remember every morning.....
Me standing there (like a militant) while everyone else recited:
I Pledge Allegiance, to the flag of the United States of America. One Republic for Which it Stands, one nation Under God.........
with liberty and justice for all.
(Can't remember the middle part).......Wow.....
Do they still require kids to refuse to do this?
r.
Restrangled..
It seems as young kids we were under constant stress, at school and then having to perform for parents at the meetings, or selling magazines on the weekends.
What a life we led as kids.
You`ve got it in a Nutshell..
It was one Hellish Day after another.
JW Parents are AssH*les..Merciless AssH*les..
.............. ...OUTLAW
Xeracia and Beks,
Yes the stress! It was insane. And now they write books and articles about.....why don't the boys like me. Oh good god the idiots!
I think back to when I was a small child, trying to make my parents happy. (not about behaving but about religious and political ideals at 5, 6, 7, or 8.
Then you had to start giving talks, thinking about baptism, temporary pioneering during summer hours, answering questions during many meetings., Studying for those meetings, underlining and getting several answers ready in case you were not called on. Plus service hours.
Does anyone understand Homework here??????????......Never...Meetings and service came first. So not only was advanced education discouraged...High School was shortchanged too!
r.
Outlaw.....yes, what stress! I couldn't figure out how I wound up in the emergency room this summer, turns out my insides had paid the price for years, upon years of stress.....and I have to admit most was tied to JW shixt., among other things.
I have to take the attitude now that I don't give a flying flip about anything. It just ain't worth it.
r.
Good evening, restrangled:
Otherwise we loved the library!
The mistreatment caused me at middle school by a hateful teacher in the early 60s was not directly my parent's doing. They permitted me to study when I was 13, and, in addition to my study book, I read The Watchtower and Awake! It must have been around the time Brother Henschel was in Liberia and the convention was stopped by the military. Neutrality. Flag salute. It was reported in Mom's current Awake! I remember reading it in her presence. That's what I recall.
When I returned to school I walked up to my teacher and told her that I could no longer salute the flag. She was seated, declaring to me that this was a very serious matter, stood up and announced to the class to prepare for the flag salute. I had no idea what I was in for or even how to conduct myself. We rarely had the flag salute, but it immediately became a daily staple of classroom protocol.
She made it very hard on me. Eventually word got to my parents; they were horrified and made me apologize to the teacher, whom I apparently caused much grief.
I never made it to the library.
The study was stopped.
CoCo
Actually I would stay in my foreign language class and sing holiday songs...for the language practice. The choir groups would go from class to class singing. I would listen. I only went to a study hall one year and there was an Orthodox Jewish girl. We had a nice conversation and became good friends. My father was not a jw, so it was my choice. We didn't have that much at school...I live in a city that is not that religious.
Coco, so you were studying on your own? Your parents made you apologize?
What a horrific experience.
It reminds me of a 3rd grade experience with a science teacher. I proudly announced that the entire creation was only 6000 years old. The earth, plants, animals and mankind. He asked me to come back to school and back it up with what I knew.
Confidently, I went home and asked my mom to give me all the facts...she told me I had it wrong. There was nothing.....(despite what I had been taught my entire little life)
I spent the entire afternoon reading every possible article that was available, and had to go back the next day and apologize for my ignorance.
I was never so embarrassed, and I never believed anything I heard from the WBTS again about scientific matters. We are talking 3rd grade here.
r.
I pretty much was allowed to stay home if there were holiday parties at school. But, if there was a test earlier in the day I'd go to school. Someone would usually pick me up and I'd leave school early. The worst time was when noone was able to pick me up, and I had to sit with the principal in his office. And the flag salute wasn't an issue for me in the 80's. Most of the other students didn't take it too seriously. It was usually a time to goof off. My first grade teacher actually used me as an example as to how to behave during the flag salute, even though, I didn't salute the flag. And I had a really cool art teacher who let me pick my own art projects. But, I was afraid of my music teacher. And I didn't tell him I couldn't sing holiday songs, so I just mouthed the words. There were other times when I was extra nervous. It seems like everything in school was centered around holidays, or patriotic celebrations. And I always felt guilty for being too shy in school and not witnessing to my classmates. But, now, I realize that is a lot of extra guilt to put on a kid. But, for the most part I really didn't care about the holidays. The only thing I wanted to celebrate was my own birthday. And I did, sort of in kindergarten. But, that's another story.
Blondie, It sounds like you were not raised in the USA....
It also sounds like you had a bit of leeway through the years, which was unheard of in the 60's and 70's.
You're from Canada, right? I think New York was the big time rule making, control freak central for many years for the USA Bethelites and congregations.
I also think that considering the latest articles....they haven't given up the control freak idea by any means.
They are not very comfortable about their past or recent history being available on line. "Apostate" warnings hoping to avoid their own mistakes...including ridiculous output in print, whether it was 30 days ago or 30 plus years, is easy to get.
