Smurf Rumors - 2 Questions

by A question 27 Replies latest jw friends

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  porfiada

  We were kids and we believed it (mind you this was as far as Chile). Scary!
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  porfiada

  The story was that a kid had a bunch of smurfs that came alive at night and scratched him to death in bed
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  Mickey mouse

  I heard it (in the UK) but I think most people here thought it was an 'apostate rumour' like the one about dodgy pictures in the literature.
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  transhuman68

  That stupid story was announced from the platform in my home congo in Australia, and maybe it was 50/50 between those who believed and those who didn't. Years later, my Dubbies said it was too far-fetched to believe.
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  A.Fenderson

  I was a kid at the time, so I don't recall if it was mentioned "from the platform," but it was certainly believed by one or both of my parents: we owned Smurf items, and threw them away. The rumor, as I recall, at the very least involved a Smurf toy that had been thrown in the garbage walking straight up the side of the garbage bin and getting out.
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  freetosee

  over here the story was, a Smurf doll came to life during the wt study and walked out of the kh. At that time I believed all the demon and angel stories, but this I could not believe. Many thought this Smurf story was true. I can't say if those who had doubts were more or less.

  The elder who told me about this said, "Smurfs are magic creatures so they are demonic."
  I asked him, "why would a powerful spirit creature bother doing something like that?"
  Elder: "Well, the brothers would not lie to us!"
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  A.Fenderson

  So it was more like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHcdCYf0Xo0&t=5m0s
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  NeonMadman

  I heard all the rumors about Smurfs back then, and I thought they were idiotic, especially in light of all the other "magic" stories that JW's have no problem with enjoying as entertainment. I never knew any Witnesses who forbade their kids to watch The Wizard of Oz, despite the presence of evil witches. And I never knew any Witnesses who had a problem with taking their kids to the Magic Kingdom of Disney World. But Smurfs, for some reason were seen as evil. I would never have let me bother it at all, except that my (now ex-)wife was absolutely fanatical about any hint involving demons, so she made our daughter throw away everything in the house that had a Smurf on it, including a brand-new drum set that her uncle had given her. I wasn't sorry to see the drum set go, but it wasn't because of the Smurfs. It just shows the way that some Witnesses were back then (and, from what I gather, they are even more dumbed-down and fanatical now).
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  NeonMadman

  BTW, I also remember the Smurfs being mentioned on a circuit assembly part as NOT being demonic, in connection with the idea that JW's should not spread unfounded rumors. The real basis of the part was the alleged subliminal pictures that had been appearing in the WT publications. In admonishing the brothers not to pass on rumors about the subliminal images, they gave the Smurfs a pass.
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  Vidiot

  All Christian denominations with fundamentalist leanings were susceptible to the "Satanic Panic" of the 80s.

  Smurphobia was merely the strain unique to JWs.

  All authoritarian high-control groups need an existential enemy. In the absence of a real threat, the collective will fabricate one out of whole cloth, or latch onto what seems to be the likeliest candidate.