Why do so many refer to Elders as "window washers"?

by adjusted knowledge 28 Replies latest jw friends

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  adjusted knowledge

  I know The Society is against higher education and the pursuit of careers but in my experience the elders in the various congregations I attended had good careers. In fact most had their own businesses. Thinking back of the BOE when I was a teenager this is what they had as a career: two were respected carpenters who owned a construction business, one a high school teacher(he was the PO), one sold insurance and was a lawyer, one owned a landscaping business and also hired sisters to clean office buildings and other accounts he had, one was retired, and the last was a janitor for the school board. However the last one who was a janitor received a pension from the state of Florida and other benefits. The only elder that struggled with money was the Elder who owned a landscaping business but that was because he lacked health insurance. Years later his business grew and is doing quite well now though he died of cancer.

  It was quite comical when the elders would give talks on education when one had a law degree and the PO had a Masters in Education. There was also a very respected ministerial servant who I thought was quite humbled that would give talks often. He was a multi-millionaire but never flaunted his money. He too owned his own business. But yet he too would give talks on pursuing a career in this ending system of things.

  So my question is, Was the congregation I attended in my youth the exception?
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  designs

  Back in the early 70s a JW with a window washer or janitor business could make $25.00 an hour, sadly they probably still make that in 2014 or less. I know in our area general labor was making $9.00 an hour in 1990 and in 2014 they still get $9.00 an hour. Tough times.
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  blondie

  No, adjusted not an exception. Elders were real estate agents, ran a large cafeteria for a large company, owned and ran a large trucking company, one was a lawyer, another music professor, one owned and ran a large cleaning company, one owned and ran a large roofing company, a family of jws that ran a construction company that wealthy people and builders of large subdivisions specifically hired, a federal employee for the Forest Service, etc. Only one window washer who ran a large company, employing family who made more money (as did his employees) than many with college degrees. All were honest and paid their employees well, jw and non-jw.

  I knew jws that were accountants and had CPAs, worked as RNs, teachers, pilots, and so on.
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  Pacopoolio

  The less education people have the most religious they are, on average.

  This raises even higher among Jehovah's Witnesses, by far.

  The less education that you have, the more likely you are to have a relatively low income, blue collar job. "Window washers" just became the catchphrase for that.

  People who dedicate enough time and field service hours to become elders in this religion are even more likely to have a job that accomodates this.

  Thus the sterotype.

  Those with differing experiences normally went to congregations in igher income areas. However, JWs actually thrive more in lower income, lower educated areas, or third world countries. It's also why they so often stress things like "the salt of the earth," or "rich man, needle through the eye" in weekly meetings, it praises underachievement in career and income and gives people that do so, a sense of superiority.
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  Coffee House Girl

  In my personal experience, the elders were the ones with their own business...profiting from the cheap manual labor of Rank and File JWs...one elder owned a cleaning company...he never washed windows, but all the regular pioneers employed by him were the window washers.

  They made minimum wage, working ungodly wierd hours at night washing windows for businesses, and not getting paid on time. My ex husband worked for this elder, he would tell my ex on payday..."I will get you your money next week"- this week things are a bit tight (whilst elder and his wife were going out for nice dinners and building a new deck on their house).

  So when I hear the term window washers...I feel it is an overarching term describing the uneducated status of JWs in general, but it was the lowly rank and file members who did the actual window washing-

  CHG
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  Comatose

  I knew all types of the spectrum.

  Wealthy PO/City Overseer who traveled the country coaching and helping companies make improvements and changes.

  Wealthy multi-millionaire brother who was finally made an elder. He lives in a giant mansion in the most expensive place in the county. This house is over 50k square feet maybe pushing 100k.

  One brother that was running 3 businesses at once at one point, driving super nice cars, building his dream home, leveraged out to the max! Then forclosure on the new dream home, loss of business, lost several JWs money as investments failed. Continued serving and giving talks about materialism.

  Elder that owned and ran a video marketing and recording studio for country music stars. Worked with many successful artists. Even stepped down at one point to handle his business then was reappointed after about a year.

  Many elders who live in upper middle class neighborhoods and drive much nicer cars than the flock they shepherd.

  Several janitor elders.

  Street sweeping truck elder.

  Unemployed on government help elders.

  Window washer elder. Yes, for real.

  They are pretty much all over the place. The sheer hypocrisy of the rich ones giving talks on materialism is astounding though.
• 

  Clambake

  I know this one guy with a construction company who became a witness during an economic down turn. He liked to brag about how much work he got though the congregation and when asked about the door knocking, he was like “ Yeah, but we have coffee after and BBQs and dances and stuff “.

  It is kind of ironic lots of dubs start small business to get away from “ Worldly people and employers “ and actually do quite well at it but let’s realize most are janitors and bus drivers. Also with the Mexican invasion in the US, jobs like painting, landscaping, dry walling , roofing etc etc, the wages just are there anymore when a Mexican will it for less than min. wage under the table.
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  punkofnice

  It's partially said in an ironic sense.
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  pbrow

  I worked for an elder when I was younger.... That elder hired another elder and a few pioneer sisters over the years. He did well for himself and paid a pretty competitive wage. I moved up pretty quickly in a job where a "worldly" employer may not have even hired me because of lack of education.

  Window washer, Real estate agent... call them whatever you want, I am out and they are still stuck in. Freedom is priceless.

  Next....

  pbrow
• 

  LongHairGal

  Adjusted knowledge:

  There were several other threads on this "window washer" topic recently (do a search and read many interesting comments). No slur on anybody who does this for a living.

  As others have mentioned, many JWs make a good living doing many other things. Some are wealthy. However, as has been pointed out, the hypocrisy of anybody rich giving talks on "materialism" always sent me over the edge.

  Likewise, anybody who got their college education before they came into the religion and is gainfully employed had better NOT ever knock college from the platform. Anybody who does this deserves to have needy people on their doorstep.

  I am of the opinion that certain JWs who have businesses think they are going to get destitute JWs to work for them for chump change. They must think the whole damn congregation are employees of theirs and they overstep their boundaries everywhere! I have seen this mentality and have no tolerance for it.