Emeth,
As much as they talk about this wonderful witness life - it's an illusion.
Talk to the JW's who went to prison for 3 to 5 years because they would have been kicked out of the organization if they did alternative service. Talk to Terry. I haven't read his book because I just can't hear that stuff any more.
Yeah they had a little bit of a frat life. Some of them got raped. Others beaten. Other's had their wives cheat on them while they were in jail. When they got out of jail they could never get a decent job because they were felons. They couldn't buy a house because they had a $10,000 fine hanging over them and to pay it was considered a compromise.
You don't even have an idea.
Then there's the 100% incidence of malaria on the West Coast of Africa where many missionaries were sent and lost their health.
The most successful people in the organization are the ones who came in AFTER they went to college and uninhibitedly fullfilled some of their sexual interests. Because they weren't rushed, they found mates that they actually got along with because they met them in college classes that assured they had shared interests. They didn't have to wash windows, paint, clean, lay carpet until they physically were broken. Some fortunate ones came from families that were well connected in the organization and got breaks because of who they knew.
You don't hear about the daughter of a witness couple that got divorced and was kicked out of the house at 18 and had to take menial jobs to survive. Some people don't have the stamina to be in with the alpha's. Some are never invited to gatherings of any sort because their father's aren't elders.
Then there are the skinny intellectual sisters that couldn't find a marriage mate in their small circle of witness friends. So, they pioneer, believing Jehovah is going to find them a mate. If they could have gone to college they would have met a lot of guys that would find them attractive and share the same intellectual interests. You see these pale corpses faithfully preaching and getting older and older. And when an older brother's wife dies who does he marry? Some young nymph that just barely became a witness.
I know a lot of JW's in their 60's and 70's that have had horrible lives simply because they sacrificed their youth to pioneer. Bad health. No insurance because they were stuck in self employment. If you wash windows for 10 years and then look for a job your resume scares people.
There is something sick about seeing those frat boys hanging out at a warm beach with palm trees and mountains in the distance. Try pioneering in a big northern city like Detroit, or Chicago.
The worst part about this is that the old timers who sacrificed so much dare not open their mouths about it because they will be labeled an apostate.
The deal was - we bought into our parents dream and trusted their judgement about "truth". We have now burried our parents. There is not a single writer of the crap that persuaded our parents that is alive today. All our teachers are dead. We are almost dead.
You see Emeth there are a lot of stories. Your success doesn't impress us. We have scars that are long and deep.
