If there was a pill that could open their eyes - would you give it to them?

by truthseeker 40 Replies latest jw friends

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  truthseeker

  If there was a pill you could give to your JW family members that would awaken their eyes to the truth about the cult, would you give it to them?

  Most would probably say yes.

  But what about those who are completely institutionalized, the elderly, the super zealous, the geeky kids who have no friends, the misfits?

  Some people need "boundaries", they need someone to lead and give them directions, they need a sense of belonging, even in an organization that has no social programs. Some are hooked on the idea that they are Jehovah's name people and there is nowhere else to go. Others could not function without the "brotherhood" and have limited or no social skills to survive outside the organization.

  Sometimes, the wolf is not necessary - the sheep are happy to build their own pen.

  Freedom comes with a price and not all can handle it.
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  cofty

  Yes but possibly not to my elderly parents.
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  AnnOMaly

  I'd give them a choice whether to take it or not. They have to want to.

  
• 

  processor

  JWs prefer this kind of pill: http://replicasalaapostasiaprofesional.blogspot.de/2014/06/catalogo-fotografias-experiencias-y_23.html
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  blondie

  You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Prov. You can present someone with an opportunity, but you cannot force him or her to take advantage of it. Jill: I told Katy about all the jobs that are available at our company, but she hasn't applied for any of them. Jane: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
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  Magnum

  Wow! That's a tough one. My first reaction was to say heck yeah because they think I'm bitter and negative and weak. To them "the truth" is so clear and obvious and they love (worship) their GB and their worldwide "unity" and the "wonderful" preaching work and JW.org and the lovely videos, etc. They are totally ignorant of the crazy, deceptive, dishonest history of JWs. They are cluesless about the Bible (canon, background, doctrine, etc.), religious history, etc. Yet they think they are the light of the world and have all the answers.

  So I want justice; I want them to see what I see and be able to understand it. I want vindication. On the other hand, my mother is old and getting weaker and worrying about her days running out. I don't know that I could take her hope away. The others - yeah, I'd force it down their throats or spike their drinks with it.
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  OnTheWayOut

  First off, they couldn't be given a choice because they would say no. Even in your extreme "what if" scenario, if we add that the JW would know that the pill does exactly as advertised, "awaken their eyes to the truth," and no more, most would say no. I have tried talking about "cults" and attempted to leave COMBATING CULT MIND CONTROL lying around for the wife to read. I mean, if they are so damned sure it ain't a cult, it should be nothing to them. But it's like a cross to a vampire to a JW to even mention such things. So I would force/sneak the pill to them.

  I would not think twice about giving it to any JW, regardless of age or depth of cult immersion. Everyone deserves the real truth no matter what. Even if it brings them to a depression, they need to know. Most totally immersed ones have shunned someone, treated someone wrong, at least judged others poorly by their cult standards. They deserve the opportunity to correct that no matter the pain TTATT causes them.
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  Magnum

  Yeah, OnTheWayOut, your words make sense to me. I think the current trend among medical ethicists is to tell people the truth even if it hurts. My mother just recently called me bitter. I told my wife that that's an ad hominem attack - a logical fallacy. She attacks me - not my argument. That's common among JWs. If somebody leaves, that person must be bitter or weak or evil. They don't address the person's argument; they usually won't even hear it. So, I certainly don't disagree with you. It would be justice for her to see TTATT.
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  I quit!

  I would give it to all of them. The young and the old. I know that some feel the old ones should be allow to live out the rest of their years in their Watchtower fantasy but the problem I see with that is that is that in most cases if not all their WT fantasy world is still reaching out harming others with shunning, the blood issue and other Watchtower BS.
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  Freedom77

  As my non-JW mom always said, two wrongs don't make a right.

  Theist or atheist, I think we would all agree that every human being has innate dignity and worth, and fundamental rights, including the right to choose - right or wrong - one's own belief system. To violate that freedom is to degrade their humanity and your own down to the level of master and slave, or owner and animal. It's wickedly wrong to force anyone to do what you want them to do, just because you can.

  As someone said earlier in this thread, it's also important not to take someone's hope away. If you forced someone to "see the truth" - and doesn't that have a nasty, totalitarian ring to it? - and replaced it with nothing, and then they killed themselves out of despair, would you really be able to brush it off, live with yourself?

  I would not force anyone to take such a pill. I would earnestly urge them to take it. But never by means of force.

  Otherwise, you're just being an Orwellian bully, planting your boot on a human face. We all have the right to make bad choices as well as good ones. It's not up to you or me to play God with other people's lives.

  If you disagree, I hear they have some swell job openings at Guantanamo you should look into, would be right up your alley.