Yes it is and I agree its emotional blackmail...the fact that it originates in the JWs in its present form by those who 'claim' to be the most spiritual men in there...just stinks !!
Loz x
Is Shunning a Form of Bullying?
by I quit! 27 Replies latest jw friends
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Evidently Apostate
i agree the whole premise is built around control. they will try to own your allegiance and then when you are beaten down (figurative) and sit in the hall like a form of cancer until the BOE decide your ready to join, they praise god (FDS)for the loving arraingment.
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Sapphy
It's emotional and spiritual abuse. It isolates the one shunned and it also causes the shunner to act as if they 'have no natural affection'. It's organisational control in its purest groupthink / cult mode.
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wantstoleave
Definitely! It's harassment in the worst form because it isolates a person from everything they know and love.
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GLTirebiter
"Bullying consists of three basic types of abuse – emotional, verbal and physical. It typically involves subtle methods of coercion such as psychological manipulation." (wikipedia)
By that definition I think it qualifies. Shunning is deliberate abuse, used to coerce a person to rejoin the organization (Watchtower, April 15, 1988, pages 26-31). Whether the victim is thrown inside a metal locker or an emotional one is immaterial, the intent is the same: intimidation, assertion of dominance, humiliation of another person.
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Scully
Shunning is recognized as a form of psychological torture.
from Wikipedia:
Shunning is often used as a pejorative term to describe any organizationally mandated disassociation, and has acquired a connotation of abuse and relational aggression. This is due to the sometimes extreme damage caused by its disruption to normal relationships between individuals, such as friendships and family relations. Disruption of established relationships certainly causes pain, which is at least an unintended consequence of the practices described here, though it may also in many cases be an intended, coercive consequence. This pain, especially when seen as unjustly inflicted, can have secondary general psychological effects on self-worth and self-confidence, trust and trustworthiness, and can, as with other types of trauma, impair psychological function.
Shunning often involves implicit or explicit shame for a member who commits acts seen as wrong by the group or its leadership. Such shame may not be psychologically damaging if the membership is voluntary and the rules of behavior were clear before the person joined. However, if the rules are arbitrary, if the group membership is seen as essential for personal security, safety, or health, or if the application of the rules is inconsistent, such shame can be highly destructive. This can be especially damaging if perceptions are attacked or controlled, or various tools of psychological pressure applied. Extremes of this cross over the line into psychological torture and can be permanently scarring.
A key detrimental effect of some of the practices associated with shunning relate to their effect on relationships, especially family relationships. At its extremes, the practices may destroy marriages, break up families, and separate children and their parents. The effect of shunning can be very dramatic or even devastating on the shunned, as it can damage or destroy the shunned member's closest familial, spousal, social, emotional, and economic bonds.
Shunning contains aspects of what is known as relational aggression in psychological literature. When used by church members and member-spouse parents against excommunicant parents it contains elements of what psychologists call parental alienation. Extreme shunning may cause traumas to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture.
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Snoozy
I saw Dr Phil is dealing with Bullies today and somehow connected it to the "Shunning" process done by the Jehovah's Witnesses..I can clearly see a resemblance..I am going to watch the show but I doubt they will mention anything about the JW's but I clearly see the link!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM0mem0Cih4&feature=share
Snoozy, learning to deal with bullies...
I wonder if dealing with someone that thinks loud screaming and cussing to get their way or because they are angry is a form of bullying?
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talesin
It is a form of emotional and mental torture, IMHO and should not be allowed. mary
Extreme shunning may cause traumas to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture. scully
YES. In ancient times, banishment was considered the worst punishment. It IS TORTURE.
t
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moshe
Yes, I agree talesin. Additionally, in past times banishment was the equivalent of a death sentence, because an individual could not survive on the outside without the support and protection of the tribe.
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Marvin Shilmer
Yes.
As practiced by Watchtower shunning is certainly a bullying tactic. Watchtower itself refers to disfellowshipping as a frightful thing! Moreover, in the earlier days Watchtower actually criticized as satanic the disfellowshipping of persons for exposing false teaching within their own religion.[1] But now Watchtower disfellowships individuals for doing that very thing.
The article Cruelty and Threat — Shunning and Watchtower has more on the cruelty of Watchtower’s shunning program. It is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/04/cruelty-and-threat-shunning-and.html
Marvin Shilmer