My encounter today with JW oppression ....

troubled mind

There are two witnesses that work in the insurance office I do business with . One of the women has known me most of my life over forty yrs. Today when I stopped in she was by herself and she asked if she could have my personal email address . She is on my facebook as a friend ,but she said she is under pressure by other witnesses not to respond to my comments on her page ! So as not to offend others, and not to offend me, she wants my email to keep in touch ......

How sad that a woman almost 45 yrs of age does not feel she has the freedom to speak freely to whom she wishes . It is becoming so foriegn to me that kind of thinking ....I know no one else in my life that has that kind of pressure on them ,it is very sad .

So I wonder if she will be dropping me as a facebook friend and explaining it to me in an email

rockmehardplace

you almost have to feel sorry for people in this position. for most of us, we were there and have since broken free or are attempting to break free from that very same pressure. it is difficult to cut ties with someone, especially when the pressure is from others to make the cut. hopefully the request is to keep lines of communication open and not to cut ties privately.

mindmelda

I know...Witnesses all live in some sort of imaginary, self imposed totalitarian state where everything they do is monitored by the congregation elders all the way up to the GB.

Big Brother has nothing on the GB. The CIA would give their right arm to have a spy network like that!

snowbird

So sad on so many levels!

Sylvia

WingCommander

Wow......just wow. It really is hard to fathom how people still live "under the thumb" like this, isn't it?

I mean c'mon, grow up already. Do grown adults really need OverLords to tell them how to dress, eat, vacation, where to stay at conventions, how to have sex, when to be dismissed for lunch, etc, etc?

It's like your back in primary school and the headmaster rings a bell for recess.

Many have likened the WT's "theocratic spiritual training" to Poplov's dogs. A good analogy indeed.

- Wing Commander

wobble

Yes, the control that the Cult of the Watchtower exerts is amazing, and very sinister.

I just hope this lady wants to talk freely with you about her doubts, and if so I hope eventually she may find her way here.

Wobble

Open mind

The level of control and peer pressure speaks for itself.

That she appears to want to maintain some level of contact with you is a hopeful sign though.

om

sooner7nc

If she wishes to do that then I would call her out on it on FB. Let her explain it to all the other people on her friends list, and yours, why she can't openly associate with you. Christian love indeed, the sorry bastards.

That's Pavlov's dog by the way Wingie.

troubled mind

I have always treated her fairly in the past . She married her high school sweetheart (worldly) and was the scandal of the circuit because her family (parents and six siblings ) were always considered the pillar of the congregation . She has three children that all left the Witnesses in their teen yrs . I have always asked about her kids and shown interest in their lives . I think she has appreciated that attention .

I can imagine how much pressure her extended family has on her though ..... Her sister use to be my best friend and years ago we had a friend in common that was fading . Her sister(an elders wife ) came to my house one day and explained that if I didn't break off my friendship with the fader then I would be ostracized too .....sadly I caved under the pressure . It was the biggest mistake I ever made ! Chewed away at my insides for along time being so unfaithful to a real friend because of pressure from a fake friend . Years later I apologized ,but it really is something that can not be undone .

Scarred for life

The control that the Cult maintains over its members is amazing especially here in 2010.

My encounter today with JW oppression ....

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