Have you met this JW- "You were dumb to follow!"

by serenitynow! 15 Replies latest jw friends

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  serenitynow!

  I spoke to a JW who would not let me assign any blame to the FDS/GB for their "suggestions." She was like, so your parents didn't go to college and served for years where the need was great (in poverty) and then struggled with kids and a WW business and no healthcare- nobody made them do it! They were dumb! This was the same JW when I told her that we really weren't allowed to have questions about the org, doctrines, etc. denied it. She told me of course you can have questions that's what the mags are for- when I stated that's what I had questions and concerns about she didn't have anything to say.

  I found it funny that she said if you work a menial job and don't go to college, don't save for retirement, etc, well that's your dumb fault- pretty much saying that you don't really have to listen to the things printed in the literature or stated from the platform, but still if you have questions go to the literature.

  I only met her one time, but in conversation with her- she's a friend of a friend, she struck me as being a very "(low class)worldly" JW cursing, had some vulgar behaviours. I don't really fault her for that, but she made a big deal out of the fact that she would be standing on the Paradise side waving bye to me when I get the ax at Armageddon. She payed lip service to the GB but admitted to not really following what they say. It was basically like she's trying to stay in the org to "get life" and get away with as much as possible. She was still able to look down on me though for not wanting to have anything to do with the org.
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  dgp

  Being a worldly spares you this experiences, as they would never talk to you like that in public, but still I wanted to say I sympathize.
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  rnicole76

  What she is doing doesn't make sense...Why join the watchtower but live a life in a way they condemn? You don't believe in what they put in the watchtower. That is plain simple...Probably she is in it because of her friends and family. If none of her family is in the truth, then she is wasting her time for nothing.
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  leavingwt

  I spoke to a JW who would not let me assign any blame to the FDS/GB for their "suggestions."

  Don't pay her any attention. She's in a cult-induced fog of arrogance and she lacks even a small measure of compassion.
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  jwfacts

  Those are the type of people that make being no longer associated such a joy.
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  wasblind

  She sounds like a plain old hypocrite to me
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  OnTheWayOut

  It was basically like she's trying to stay in the org to "get life" and get away with as much as possible. She was still able to look down on me though for not wanting to have anything to do with the org.

  Then she is dumb to stay for the prize that will never happen.

  Seriously, though. I hate when people say how others are dumb for getting into their situation. Every once in a while, it may be true. But we have to walk in their shoes to know their problems.

  The book PUSH by Sapphire made into the movie, PRECIOUS, is a great example. Many people would say she was dumb to gain all that weight and get pregnant twice and contract HIV. Her grades would even confirm it for most people. But if they could see the life caught up in it's circumstances, they might understand how the (granted- fictional) character got there.

  Same with JW's, their children, gang members, murderers, etc. We cannot excuse all behaviour and blame it on circumstances but we can try to understand. Certainly, many involved in lifestyles that don't involve killing sprees can be understood without locking them up for their own good because they are too "dumb" to guide their own lives. DUMB doesn't even come into play in most cases.

  But if she doesn't understand that, your JW is dumb for not reading anti-JW literature or is dumb for reading it and still not getting the hell outta there. If she really believes their crap, she is even dumber for breaking the rules yet sticking around for the promises ahead as if she deserves them. I am glad I truly understand what she is doing and don't automatically dismiss her as "dumb."
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  [email protected]

  yeah, looks great suggestion
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  jamiebowers

  She sounds like she's cut from the same cloth of jws who blame other jws for "running ahead of the organization" regarding the 1975 debacle.
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  LongHairGal

  SERENITYNOW!

  Yes, I have spoken to hypocritical JWs who made remarks about other JWs being 'dumb' or 'stupid' because they never got an education or a decent job. In each case though they were men who made these remarks. I suppose they have a double standard in their mind. The poverty being preached from the platform and the magazines is not for THEM, just some other sucker. But yet these same hypocrites will be part of cliques who criticize people in the congregation who work for a living and can't pioneer. And, of course, the religion is responsible because these attitudes come from the top down.

  Unfortunately, there are too many double standards in this religion. And if you happen to be victimized, nobody is accountable. It is an all-or-nothing, hit and miss religion. If you are lucky and come from the 'right' family or are smart enough on your own you might not have much of a problem. And because of all the secrecy, you never really know who are you are sitting next to in the halls. If you 'widen out' to the wrong person and are left reeling from a bad experience, too bad for you because you didn't use 'discernment'. Nobody is accountable.

  I have heard many cruel remarks over the years along these lines and I am disgusted by it. I even feel that JWs who are more 'aware' than other JWs have a duty to WARN their 'less astute' brethren when they see them pursuing poverty or doing something clearly unwise. I know I have done this. I have pulled some clueless, young JW (who I like) aside and told them just what they will face if they do not do such and such. Sometimes they are thankful for the advice. Sometimes they will just pooh-pooh it and say they not concerned. Well, good luck to them because I don't want to hear about it when reality hits them.

  There is a 'survival of the fittest' attitude in the religion that nobody admits to. Many people there feel that as long as they are doing their 'prayer, study and field service' thing, they are 'covered' and they are not concerned about anything or anyone else, except maybe their family. The religion promotes this attitude. How many times have I heard remarks about 'working out your own salvation....' or 'carrying your own torture stake..' The message: you are on your own.