I said to Sister Blues "It is a good thing we missed this one".......Had we gone she would have come home as strung out as Miseryloveselders....
This article was just so messed up on so many levels. It's comical in the sense that the article was supposed to provide relief from, and give practical suggestions in combatting discouragement. The article did the exact opposite of its intention. I walked away from the WT study more discouraged than anything. I wanted to share something with all of you, and I have to change some of the specifics out of respect for that individual and out of concern for my own anonymity.
A younger brother reached out to me some months ago for a couple reasons. One, his mother probably put him up to it as she's concerned with his attitude and demeanor towards Da Troof. As far as elders go, I'm younger than most, and some parents feel that I can be an inspiration or an example for their teenagers. I'm the one that kids and teenagers ask to work with in field service. If only they knew the kind of pressure that puts on me. I don't want to be anybody's example, I just want to be me for all the good and bad that comes with it. This kid, who's a good dude by most reasonable people's standards, has been exibiting the classic signs of a young JW adult trapped within this religion. He begrudginly goes out in field service, he's bored out of his mind at the meetings, doesn't fit in with the other young people in the congregation, and the thermostat on his hormones is set at hell.
So he asked if he could speak to me privately and off the record, and not within an earshot of his mother. I agreed, and asked that he meet me at a Wendy's and the tab would be on me. So we're talking about regular things that a young fella has goin on in his life. We rapped about sports, video games, girls, and just life in general. Here's where it got complicated. He intimated to me that he feels trapped because he's incapable of supporting himself at this time. Not only that, but he expressed some dismay at his low field service time, and lack of commenting at the meeting. At that point I offered to help him in that regard, but what he said next left me pretty much floored. He said, "Misery you don't understand. I don't believe in any of this stuff anymore. At all, but I'm not able to move out just yet." What do you say to that? Especially if you no longer believe in some of it either.
Some of the specifics in this account have been edited and altered out of respect for him. I don't see anything wrong with what I did post because I'm sure there's tons and tons of other young ones, and plenty of adults too, that feel trapped in this religion. That's what makes this article so discouraging. They, as in those taking the lead in the higher levels of this organization just can't seem to grasp that its them. Life has its problems, so be it, but we man up and deal with it. I have to eat, I need transportation, and I'm about to toss a grand into my car and am debating whether or not to put a down payment on a new car. My folks are up in years and need assistance from myself and my brother and sister. My job stresses me some days, but through it all I can see that all of these are absolutely necessary. What I no longer see as necessary is the demands of the WT organization. They just don't get it, its not the job, its not the pursuit of sports or hobbies, its not the vacations, its not that some of haven't found a suitable marriage mate, or any of life's demands. What it is, is the WT's demands, and the neverending feeling of not measuring up to these unscriptural measuring sticks. If that's not enough, the WT has a trump card which is the threat of losing family, friends, and in some people's cases, their very livelyhood. Its a very discouraging setting, similar to coming to grips with doing 25 to life in prison.
