by Xander 15 Replies latest jw friends
I agree with Xander's comments - a lot of JWs are bored and just plain nosy! Anyone new offers a welcome distraction - particularly as they haven't yet been corrupted or disillusioned by the JW beliefs or culture!
BUT the whole purpose of the WT is to RECRUIT NEW MEMEBRS. If the new recruit gets as far as the KH, JWs will do everything they can to get that person to stay. That's love bombing in my book.
Take a look at this:
http://www.watchman.org/cults/lovebomb.htm
Doesn't this describe JWs?
LoveBombing.
All cults do that so that you stay, get baptized and being enslaved by their rules.
That's nothing but a hypocritical BS from all cults.
They show a nice and personable attitude toward others. That is a "Theocratic Warfare Tactic", showing others by example how "blessed" they are in other to recruit others.
They show love and care for others. That is another "Theocratic Warfare Tactic" to get people to join and stay.
Claiming to nonbelieversthat they are friends or they can be friends, but when that nonbeliever asks for help, they ain't there to help.
Was it a requirement? Considering the fact that I was always very shy and found it difficult to do, and considering the fact that I was always told to make an effort to greet any new persons, I would say that it was pretty much an edict to love-bomb newcomers.
We were always receiving counsel about greeting newcomers and showing them what a loving congregation we had.
It was pretty deliberate from my perspective.
I think part of it was how we constantly were on guard as to how we were portraying ourselves to "outsiders". From day one, we all were indoctrinated to do nothing that would bring reproach on the organization as well as to do what we could to "give a good witnes".
I think the 'love bombing' was a genuine act(does that make any sense? lol). We would deliberately avoid telling them anything that would stumble them and would go out of our way to make them feel welcome. I don't think this was orchestrated but just something we knew made sense.
If you are a Witness for any length of time, you know you are 'different' in the world but you can also be 'normal' when you have to be. You know what you have to do and what not to do at different times depending on what the circumstance is or what company you are in. Throw a "newly interested one" into the mix and watch how a bunch of Witnesses suddenly are on their best behavior. When he leaves, break out the booze and tell a dirty joke.
Witnesses have the whole double think and double life down to an art. No one directly teaches you this, it is just something you learn by association.
Path
Path and RHW certainly capture the feeling of how this got 'enforced' in the congregations.
"Belief is the death of intelligence." R.A. Wilson
Xander,
I was definitely love-bombed the first time I entered a KH - it was at the Westerville OH congregation. I had hair halfway down my back and was wearing casual clothes, I stood out like a sore thumb, I'm sure. I think that the emotion generated from that first experience with the dubs was key to my setting aside critical thought & accepting that this was truly God's org.
A few months later, I started attending a different cong. By this time, I had adopted the talk & the dress code, and had cut my hair. Funny, I wasn't love-bombed at all this time. Frankly, I was ignored!
I agree with you that for the dubs, a fresh face is one of the few things that causes them to feel any real excitement. Dub life is so monotonous and structured. The love-bombing isn't a ploy or tactic, it is just a by-product of an organization that destroys people's individuality to the point where they become so bored with each other that a new convert is one of the only real joys they experience.
The last time I attended a meeting was in January. It was at a congregation where I only knew 1 person. I could tell from the meeting & from the looks on people's faces that I was in a seriously dead congregation. Afterwards, they were clamoring to shake my hand and introduce themselves & find out about me. They were just dying for me to attend their congregation. But I knew by this time that the love wasn't real.
One time I was at a picnic and a bunch of us were playing football. A young man (I'd say 12 or 13 years old) who was not a JW was riding his bike around where we were playing. It was very obvious that he wanted us to ask him to play, you could see it in his eyes. I wanted to invite him so badly, but the others there were like "no, he's worldly". That was one of many experiences I had that showed how fucked-up and non-love the Witness way really is.
