When it happened in India, I was working in its Service Department. Many were laid off. Those who could not make a living wrote back outlining their suffering. Branch had prepared a letter as reply, which in part said: "Your safety is not in the visible organization, but in the invisible hand of Jehovah." Though it was heartless reply and a ploy used to dodge responsibility, they indirectly conveyed--Jehovah and WT are not related!
JWStruggle post: Bethel Layoffs Reveal a Kingdom without Clothes
by Londo111 79 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Londo111
It would be awesome if you had a scan of that letter and Paul could put it up on JWFacts.
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steve2
Heartless perhaps but true: In life we do not always get what we have been led to believe we will get. It's as true for the religious as the irreligious, but perhaps, as former JWs, we see it more clearly with the religious who end up wounded and disillusioned.
My maternal and paternal grandparents were poor people who wouldn't have known themselves had they ever been inside a Bethel. They were ordinary, unsung publishers, getting by on very little, slaving for a religion they had been led to believe was the sole channel of truth and that the end was so near, nothing else mattered.
They hoped for eternal life, either in heaven (my maternal grandparents viewed themselves as of the anointed) or earth, and were sold a dog. I do not feel angry about this; I accept that, from their point of view, they had dedicated their lives to "Jehovah". If so, they got a dog instead. They had many opportunities to question what they saw happening in the organization - but they preferred the blinding consolation of a promised paradise than the discomfort of facing up to opportunities to "make sure of all things...". They expected members of the churches of Christendom to question their churches' teachings and be open-minded enough to study the Watchtower. It's a diabolical pity my otherwise lovely grandparents did not apply that elegant reasoning to their own teachings. But religious fundamentalists don't..or won't.
Those who lived in the lap of relatively luxury and had all their needs provided have been turfed out of Bethel for all sorts of reasons for years face a different kind of reality to lowly publishers. Their virtue is simply they are more visible in their host congregations and their "come down" more dramatic. What a brilliant opportunity to wake up and shake off the need for consolation and prioritize the need to "make sure of all things..."! But will they? Don't know and it won't change my world if they don't. But of course I'd hope they would seize the opportunity. You cannot blame brainwashing; you can blame religious pride though when they do nothing despite the pain.
Sometimes in life the most that can be redeemed is an acceptance that you made choices that did not bear the fruit you had hoped for.
As others have said, the mentality that the company, firm, organization or whatever will look after you for life is a fiction whose reality is so often the exact opposite. Bethel has been spitting out hapless devotees for decades...only now the numbers have increased. Who at bethel can ever now say they didn't see it coming?
Like waiting for a bus that never arrives, sooner or later you get off you butt and start walking. The alternative doesn't bear contemplation.
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Quendi
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LongHairGal
RayPublisher:
So, they have the nerve to feel disdain for "lowly publishers" do they? I wonder how they feel now?
I remember after 9/11 happened and it was reported that a certain number of JWs died in the Trade Center, there was a rumor or urban legend circulating about callous remarks that supposedly came from headquarters. Some person or persons supposedly said that "the persons who died should have been out in service and maybe that wouldn't have happened...." or words to that effect.
When I heard this outrageous thing, I hit the ceiling and wished that these people would learn what it was like to have to go out and fend for themselves.
Sir82:
That requirement that ex-bethelites have to make 120/130 hours a month to qualify for their stipend is, I think, designed to wear them out so that some will drop out at some point. The religion will then be free and clear of having to pay a certain amount of people. That's a lot of hours to be committed to every month. Especially for an older person.
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Quendi
While I appreciate the thoughts which Londo111 has shared with us regarding laid-off Bethel workers, I find myself in agreement with what steve2 has stated. It is certainly very bad that these people have effectively been rendered jobless and homeless by the WTS, that doesn’t mean they deserve unqualified support from those outside their immediate families.
Like others here, I have known many former Bethelites. They were the usual mix of good and not-so-good people you can find in any population. So my reaction toward their plight is conditioned on that understanding. But I have to say that they have had a “free ride” for years and gave little thought to their individual futures. They were quite confident that either the WTS or God would always provide them with the comfort they thought they had earned and deserved.
All of us must take responsibility of our own choices and actions. True, young Bethelites believed their work at headquarters was temporary because long before they reached middle age, they would be in the new world. They never took time to critically examine their hopes as the years turned into decades and the world stubbornly refused to adhere to the WTS scenario regarding its end. Now they are paying the price for their lack of vision. It may not be fair or right, but it is the reality and they had better get used to it.
But we must not think that all the discharged are facing economic crises. I know a man, age sixty, who was sent to serve in the branch in the Republic of Georgia in southwest Asia. He and his wife have quarters at the branch office as well as a small allowance from the WTS. He regarded his posting in Georgia not as a layoff or exile, but as another assignment from Jehovah and is determined to make the best of it. Of course, he was one of the lucky ones, although I think that he will find his “assignment” in Georgia to be very difficult. He does not know the language or predominant culture there and the country is riven by ethnic and civil unrest. Furthermore, the government is implacably hostile to Jehovah’s Witnesses. The WTS really did him no favor by sending him there. And if he is eventually forced to leave the country due to its continued ferment, where will he go? But I don’t think he is giving that any thought at all.
I believe we will find that attitude typical of these former Bethelites. Jehovah will provide—or so they earnestly hope and pray. But I believe those prayers will go unanswered because the Bethel arrangement never had divine sanction or support in the first place. It was and is a heartless and cynical exploitation of gullible people as these current layoffs amply demonstrate.
Quendi
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Vidiot
steve2 - "Harsh reality check folks; these lovely, dedicated hard-working former Bethelites and their spouses that we feel so very sorry for would not hesitate to cross to the other side of the street if they saw us coming."
Yeah, probably.
Hmm... that got me thinking; remember that busload of JWs that crashed on the way to an assembly with no survivors?
Can you image the PR nightmare (for the WTS) that would have resulted if a publicly-known XJW "apostate" had happened to be there and managed to rescue them all?
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Bangalore
So cruel.After so many years of service they get thrown out. Shows that the WT is a cold blooded business.
Bangalore
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RayPublisher
That's the point Bangalore- The downsizing of Bethelites shows that the WT Corp is like most (if not all) big companies, protecting their bottom line at all costs.
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panhandlegirl
I have only read the first page of reponses but I agree with LHG and Steve2. We all have to be responsible for ourselves and our decisions. Those of us who have been df'd for being wise enough to leave the organization have also suffered by being shunned by all our JW family members,including former and current Bethelites. Although, I am digusted by the treatment of those who have been laid-off by the organization, they made a choice just as those of us who left made a choice. We have all been mistreated by this org. I can only hope that somehow,someway the org pays for all the misery they have caused so many people.
Panhandlegirl