People who pioneer on government assistance

by ilikecheese 50 Replies latest jw friends

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  Band on the Run

  This practice infuriated me when I was only 8 years old. My parents worked very hard in factories and remodeled a fix it up home. Besides the pioneering, you should have seen the flashy clothes on welfare.

  All these very ill people walked up large hills in the coldest and hottest weather. Besides, I would rather work at almost any job than do field service. Cut it out! If they can't work, they should not eat or have shelter. They are able bodied. Benefits should be there for people who need them. I recall great arrogance about receiving disability.

  If you have high blood so you cannot work, you cannot go to KH or field service.

  About 1/2 of my KH was on disability or AFDC. They looked down their noses at my parents, until they needed cash.

  We also had totally monstrous foster mothers. I've wondered whether my KH was average b/c it was a very poor area.
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  wasblind

  I've never seen anyone turned down on their app for employment reasons. If anything, I've seen the elders encourage pioneering because "Satan will want u to stop the preaching so a job will come your way"_____Wha Happened ?

  LOL !!!! Satan seems like a sweet heart

  He'll not only pay fulltime pioneers , but send jobs their way while they're out in sevrvice

  who'd a thunk it
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  Las Malvinas son Argentinas

  We had 'pioneer subsidation', both from governmental sources and internally. I lived in an area that was economically depressed, and the choice was to either move into the city and work or stay at home and pioneer. It was a filtering process to see which ones stayed and which ones left. In many cases the ones who left were more loyal JWs, whereas the ones who had stayed and pioneered were typically listless and lazy.
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  Julia Orwell

  Here in my city pioneers are mostly retired oldies, young ones living with their Jw parents still, or window washers. There are other types of course, and it amazes me what these other types will justify to pioneer such as disability pension, dodgy work practices and taking advantage of the brothers n sisters. And then have their families up on the platform at assemblies to show how great they are.
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  ilikecheese

  Hey, thanks for all of the replies, guys! Lots of interesting info.
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  Julia Orwell

  No worries. I just wish I had more stories for ya.
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  Aunt Fancy

  Before I started to study my husbands (now ex) sister -in-law told me that she was going to go on welfare and pioneer. I remember being so upset that anyone would even consider it. That should have made me run the other way and it tells you how naive I was 31 years ago!
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  Scott77

  Iam surprised, BOTR's hard working family had to endure this kind of unfavorable attitude from Lazy brothers n sisters in the congregatioin.

  Scott77
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  Julia Orwell

  I'm not. I remember it was only fairly recently that the wt expected married women to not have jobs, and JWs can be so judgemental. I can imagine their thought process: ' how selfish to want to have a career, and how materialistic to want to work to own a house! If they were REALLY seeking first the kingdom they'd quit work and pioneer.'

  Also, maybe many of the dole bludgers in these settings have inherited a house from a late relative or live in subsidised housing so they can get by on welfare. Or like some I knew who worked like dogs to buy property before they became jws. That's the only way I can think of that they'd manage without living 6 to a house on the dole in Australia isn't even enough to cover the average weekly rent.

  Also JWs generally have no sort ,of sense of obligation to the community ie giving something back via taxes or a job which benefits the community such as nurses or teachers. Many are trades people though, which is also beneficial to general society, and where would our cities be without all those window washers? I wonder what they think of other pioneers who mooch off their tax money?
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  Pickler

  I remember, the more lowly your job = the more highly regarded you were in the hall. Anyone who had a half way decent job was viewed with suspicion. Unless of course you happened to be part of a highly regarded family, or an elders family. They seemed to live under different rules.

  My orginal congregations were full of builders and window washers. There were brothers who owned these business though, and I think they did very well out of them. They had a cheap supply of labour by employing all the young brothers or sisters who left school at 14 years and 9 months (this was the legal age for leaving then).

  These young kids spent the first 2 years out of school spending money, buying cars & getting married. Then begins the slow process of realising that being a window washer is not a career and.....maybe your going to have to support yourself & your family for a long time!

  cue a "bad back" and the disability cycle begins!