Talking to myself here, but anyway I thought of a situationist experience I had while running witnesses.net (circa 98). I was already waaaaayyyyy inactive, only occasionally showing up at Sunday meetings, just to keep up appearances. My brother-in-law Tony, the nominal JW party freak that he is, wanted to throw a "massive". A dance party with invitees from the whole tri-state-area (NY/NJ/CT) and even further. He was supported by a group of his JW friends with extensive social connections.
The Party
I've told this story before, but today I'm framing it in what I believe to be situationist point-of-view. The biggest massive we've ever heard of at the time is possibly 200 or 300, perhaps a popular wedding reception. The Society STRONGLY discourages large parties and uses anecdotal evidence to suggest they get out of control. We knew of some formal JW dances going on in Maryland at the time but those were only drawing 150-200. My goal was to triple that headcount in a club atmosphere. Knowing that many, many JW teens and twentysomethings would love to go to a dance club, but would never dare, I conspired with Tony and crew to give them a taste of what it is like. You know, big space, loud music, and lots of fun. I didn't realize the ideology at the time, but basically I was following a situationist belief. Give those JW youth a taste of a club, and they would be forever changed. They might even decide to go out and have some fun for themselves, or at least perpetuate that culture within JWs.
The party ended up being fairly underground. Promotion was word-of-mouth, because the society had just come out with guidelines against using flyers to advertise JW parties. (We had intended to use flyers heavily, even at the DC. Decided against it due to probable backlash.) It was held in the gym of a local school (in Hackensack, NJ). I rented a full sound system and light show. (15,000 watts power; it was really loud) We counted approximately 600 people in attendance from over a dozen eastern US states. Supervising the event, one elder, who left halfway through the night. He didn't want to be the only one responsible! Bros were walking into the venue with their mouths wide open. They were in disbelief that we had actually pulled this off. They couldn't believe that the rumors were true. They couldn't believe that we had not gotten shot down by the local elders. Everyone had a great time, and the only problem we had was the noise levels disturbing the neighbors whenever someone would open the outside doors. No immoral conduct, no fights, not too much drama. The party went on until midnight and then disbanded. Total cost to me, about 200USD. Total cost of party, perhaps 800USD. Expenses were rent, liability insurance, PA rental, snacks and soda. NOTE: The only alcohol in the venue was BYOB by certain more daring of the guests.
Guests walked away with a different concept of what IS and IS NOT possible within the JW world. You just have to put your mind to it. CHANGE takes work. Somedays I think it would be fun to still be a part of the JW community, if only to pull stunts like this off on a regular basis.
My friends in NJ tell me that this party is still to this day discussed by the youth in the area.
Obie
