Are we too JW centric?

by Mickey mouse 5 Replies latest jw friends

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  Mickey mouse

  I realise that may sound like a stupid question on a JW forum but I was thinking about the events in the UK this week and I am wondering if we need to 'widen out our associations'.

  It would be preferable if our efforts were directed not against the leadership of a single religion but towards raising awareness of the use of thought reform. As things stand I am not aware of an effective way for us to communicate with ex cultists from other groups. Could we reach out to ex mormons, ex scientologists, ex Plymouth brethren etc and be more effective? Is there already a forum for this sort of thing? If not do we need one, either here or elsewhere?
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  Black Sheep

  Well, I've talked to two out of three on your list.

  To talk to them, just use your own experiences and don't identify the cult you were associated with unless they are very insistant. My first excuse to not name them is that it is more important to be able to recognise high control groups by their attributes than by name as there are so many of them.

  When talking to any cult member, I always use dictionary English, not their own cult speak, and speak to them as I would to any member of any high control group. If I do use cult speak, I borrow it from other cults rather than their one. Different phrases/words, but the same meaning. My message being that they are not unique.

  Ex-Mormons and Scientologists have their own forums. Google for ex Plymouth Brethren and see what you come up with.
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  sizemik

  Mickey mouse . . . I sense where you're coming from.

  The experience gained from being a JW, extends beyond the problems posed by WTS, to cults and high-control groups in general. Steve Hassan for example, takes a wider, more generic approach to it in his books.

  Widening out, as you put it, reaches out to a greater combined resource, and finds a larger audience.

  Also, being ex-JW, and soley concerned with things JW, has it's disadvantages . . . it has the appearance of having an axe to grind. Interest groups with a more singular focus are logistically less resourced, and are less likely to be taken seriously by the wider community.

  Food for thought.
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  Mickey mouse

  That's exactly what I was getting at sizemik.
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  AnneB

  When JW-people go looking for "something" online, a JW-related forum like this one is a good place to start. One a person gets past perceiving him/herself as a JW-only, maybe a forum with a broader scope would be helpful (high control group info, etc.). Changing the focus of this site (and others whose focus is WT-related) could mean taking away the "first step". Think back through all you've read, most JW's don't perceive themselves as being part of a high-control group, but many do sense that something is wrong. You have to start where a person "is", then allow that person to move forward at a self-chosen pace and direction. There are many sites dedicated to other causes and perspectives but not too many for JW's. This site, and some others like it, are best left as they are.

  AB
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  Band on the Run

  I fear that I am. Mind control is the issue that has legs. In the U.S., the First Amendment is too great a hurdle. Neutral public education campaings against high mind control groups are legal. Knowledge would cut off the cults' blood supply.