Millions now living with emotional scars..... scars that will never die.

by koolaid-man 18 Replies latest jw friends

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  koolaid-man

  Many former Jehovah's Witnesses are now coming forward and reporting of traumatizing events when they were young witnesses, that have left them emotionally chalenged and scarred.

  Crying Babies only weeks old are taken in the back room of the Kingdom Hall and spanked, many young JW's are severely beaten with belts, rulers, wooden spoons ect.

  The physical abuse in the Organization is extreme and excessive...... But it does not stop there.

  When a JW youth is disfellowshipped the emotional damage can be very dangerous even pushing many to commit suicide.

  One of our guests on The Six Screens of the Watchtower Conference Call Sat. Nov 5, 2011 at7:pm EDT is a former JW named Shane who was disfellowshipped at age 16 and has been suffering for many years since then.

  Our second guest is former JW Joe Hewitt the author of the new book Rescuing Slaves of the Watchtower.

  His book suggests how friends and family can best respond to someone who is a victim of the Watchtower. Joe

  shares do’s and don’ts to remember when talking with Watchtower members and stresses that love and compassion are

  the keys to releasing a Jehovah’s Witness from the Watchtower’s “prison of the mind”. The book is a compelling personal

  story and a well-researched documentary of what really occurs within the Watchtower Society.

  It is easy to ger on the call no computer is necessary.... Just dial 712-432-8710 and when asked for pin use 9925

  Our lines open at 6:30 PM. EDT , so come on early and talk with all those "touched by the tentacles"

  NO FLUFF.... JUST SHOCK!
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  shamus100

  No freakout here, just going to say... in all my years in the kingdumb hell, I never once saw a newborn get spanked.

  That is a little over the top, or did it happen?
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  james_woods

  Spam, spam spam spam .... spam spam spam!
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  Iamallcool

  Rick, I do not need any fucking shock from you.
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  AGuest

  Greetings, dear KM, and peace to you! Please pardon my interruption but the title of your thread greatly disturbs me in its implications. Yes, millions may be living with emotional scars... some brought on by the teachings and sanctions of the WTBTS. But to say that such scars will "never die"... don't you think that that is counter-productive to what we should wish WILL happen? That, while there may remain scars, eventually they we be quite small, tiny even... perhaps not even visible at some point? That we wish folks to HEAL... completely?

  Your title, however, indicates to ME... that it's okay to not even try, to continue one's life "blaming"... rather than either taking responsibility (if one has any), forgiving (which benefits the one doing so), and MOVING ON. That it's okay to plunk down in the dirt... and just bemoan what has "happened" to one... and never get up and MOVE ON... emotionally.

  To me, that is just as bad as the "scars" inflicted in the first place. It tells a person, "No, you shouldn't concern yourself with healing; rather, you should keep picking at that scar, MAKE it ooze if you can... because it's someone else's fault it's there."

  Forgive ME... but I think that that is just as harmful - not ALLOWING an injury to heal, but to actually keep "messing" with it so that it becomes even MORE "infected" and "painful."

  I get that you have an agenda... and I don't take issue with it - you've got to do what [you believe] you've go to do. Go to it. But helping injured people STAY injured... isn't "helping," - it's actually harming them further, IMHO. Now, I'm not saying that you (or ANYONE) should EXCUSE what may have happed to the victims of the WTBTS, not at all. Or let the WTBTS just get away with it. What I AM saying is that perhaps you should rethink titles such as this... and the message that accompanies them... instead using something that just says "Millions now living with emotional scars." Which is TRUE... and so such ones will recognize themselves... or their loved ones... in that message.

  The rest of it, however, again... has the potential to be just as damaging, IMHO, as that initially inflicted by the WTBTS... because it never allows for HEALING. Which is what we should WANT for these, yes?

  Unless, of course, it serves YOUR agenda to KEEP them in their pain... which I think would be just... well, evil.

  Just some things for you to think about... and I know you will.

  Again, peace to you, truly!

  YOUR servant and a slave of Christ,

  SA
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  Mary

  Crying Babies only weeks old are taken in the back room of the Kingdom Hall and spanked

  I heard one even more disturbing than that. A few years ago, there was another ex-Witness site called Thoms Chat that some of us were on. I remember one poster relating something that happened in her old congregation: The CO was visiting and he noticed that a 7 or 8 month pregnant sister was tapping her stomach with her pen. He asked her about it afterwards and she replied that she thought it was never too early to try and get your children to "sit still" during the meeting and since the baby was kicking in her womb (how dare they!), she thought she'd "correct it" and that's why she was tapping her stomach.

  That was probably 5 or 6 years ago now so I can only imagine the beatings that poor kid has endured since leaving the womb. Frigging psycho people....
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  fade_away

  Man, my mother hit me with belts every time I was being a disrespectful little brat. I damn well deserved it and I thank her for correcting me when I got out of hand. This was not physical abuse...it was physical discipline. An abuse would be if she did that without me deserving it. I cursed and raised my hand against her...she hit me....I cried.....I never did it again and I respected her instead of fearing her. They spanked me for being loud at the hall, and then one day I got the message: I'm not in my house so I better shut up. I learned when, where and who I needed to show respect. I'm happy to say I'm not emotionally scarred or traumatized or suicidal because of their discipline.
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  AGuest

  That works, sometimes... for some kids, I guess, dear FA (peace to you!). Would have never worked on my son; would have crushed his spirit, totally. He just wasn't a disobedient kid... and still isn't a disobedient (to me) man. He is one of the most respectful men... to me AND others... that I know. Talking with him, almost from day one... and explaining "why"... and, well, how "happy" it (whatever it was) would make ME... always did the trick with him (he always wanted to make/see ME happy!).

  Now, the girl... that was another story, altogether. She never fell for that "It would make ME happy, if..." schtick. Nope, she didn't care if I was happy; her agenda was if SHE was happy! LOLOLOLOL! So I always had to bribe her butt... or threaten to withhold something SHE badly wanted. ("If you don't sit still, you can kiss your afternoon at Brother Simpleton's house goodbye!"... "If you sit still, we'll go get a treat afterward!").

  Kids are people... and people are different... so one has to find and use what works. Hitting shouldn't be "what works"... except only as a last resort (i.e., the idiot 16-year-old who thinks stealing... ectasy... and doing the most dangerous, foolish "stuff" is "cool". THAT one I would knock up side the head, in a HEARTBEAT, yes!)

  Actually, preparation worked best: if they had a response prepared, they would sit SO still through the meetings... because they were always afraid they would miss their question and their chance to "comment." Once they commented, I told them how proud I was of them... and then gave them something "else" to quietly do (read from the Bible Stories or "Paradise" books, or practice writing by writing a letter to me or "Jehovah").

  My kids were (and are) easy. Very. I thank God (yes, I do!) for that! My heart always went out (and still does), though, to folks who had/have "difficult" kids. Even MORE... to kids who have difficult parents (and these tend to outnumber the first, IMHO)!

  Again, peace to you!

  A slave of Christ,

  SA
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  koolaid-man

  AGuest listen in to the call and I think you will futher understand what is being said.
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  Alfred

  wait... weren't you supposed to have steve unthank on tonight???