by czarofmischief 15 Replies latest social current
I remember the good old days back in the 80's, when I was but a tiny tot, and folks used to stand outside the convention with megaphones and shout and try to hand out apostate literature.
Now that I'm older, it sounds like fun. Anybody do that kind of thing these days?
CZAR
Many users here do exactly that. It's become a focus in their lives. I will probably never do that as I recall the effect one protester had on me.
He got in between my son and I and started shouting at us. He honestly acted like an idiot. I was pretty new and it took a lot of control for me not to punch his lights out. He just kept screaming "new light today or old light or flickering light" and then would laugh. He was showing off for other protesters. They all found it funny.
It really reinforced in me that I was doing what was right by being a witness.
Oh and now that I'm in the same shoes as he is how would I'd feel if I met him? I'd probably tell him that he set back my exit and that I still feel like popping him one. But I'm sure we'd laugh and have a beer together.
: Anybody do that kind of thing these days?
Nope. I only harrass board posters who say stupid stuff!
Farkel
. I only harrass board posters who say stupid stuff!
It's like being back in college. I appreciate your candor and insistence on accuracy, precision, and well-reasoned argumentation. Too many people feel that freethinking means easy thinking, or that free speech can be sloppy. Keep it up Farkel, but if I can toss it back at you, I won't hold back.
Thanks for the insight, LB. I'm not sure how to handle my rage against the org, or how desperate I am to set my former brothers free. maybe I could write a leaflet or something, although I'm sure that's all been done. I need to express this somehow, constructively.
CZAR
czar,
: Keep it up Farkel, but if I can toss it back at you, I won't hold back
If you can toss it back at me, you have my blessings. It means I was stupid and sloppy and deserve exactly what I get in return.
(It's not a common occurrence, though, so revel in it when you get that chance!)
Farkel
I don't like any protestors who would jump in someones face or get to much into anothers personal space.
If a protestor really wants to reach the heart, they should do so with a calm , cool, and collected manner. Remember JW's think we are the devil, so if we act hostile it will only make them turn away. A calm spirt and a smile, gentle eye contact and a message board with a simple question, not an insulting statement , might put a seed of doubt in their minds.
Trying to hand out leaflets at assemblies or conventions, would probably not be accepted, especailly in front of all the other JW's ,,,, that is why if you were to protest, a sign would get the persons eye and not commit them to talking to an apostate or taking apostate literature. The eye, will keep the message it has seen on the posterboard and remember it for later . And no one would know . I think this would be most useful for those who are out there who already have doubts. THey just need to be lead to the right place. Like this site or silentlambs. A question about the UN involment, Russell's pyramid, many simple things , just pick one, and don't overwhelm them.
That is all it took for me, just one thing to search on my own and I found so many other things once I opened that door.
I can't help but to think, what a profound test of the WTS's 'hold' these protestors provide. They say, don't look, don't ask, don't read and all the little JWs do just that. And the social pressure that comes from being at a huge convention where ALL the JWs do just that. Wow. Amazing. What a power trip for the guys at the top. What a test for how well they're doing.
I only harass elders through the mail. I send them letters that increase their paranoia.
Devon
Devon,
Really? That sounds good. Care to show as an example of what you write?
Englishman.
LB hit the nail on the head. I ran into assembly protesters back in the eighties and most of them seemed like nut cases. There was an air of desperation about them. You'd politely ask them not to talk to you and they would harass you the whole way to the assembly hall blathering: What you are afraid of? Don' you know you're in a cult? Blah, blah, blah.
The JW brainwashed mind, when confronted by an Anti-JW, simply shuts down and says: Must not talk to enemy of Satan, must get away from enemy of Satan, must not talk to enemy of Satan, must not........ It's a brain-dead loop that you can't penetrate until the JW themselves initiates the process in *a comfortable environment.*
I always thought the best way would be to rent a billboard on a main route to the assembly with some tagline that would stimulate a JW to begin thinking: Perhaps a list of JW dates for the end with x's slashed through them including the words "generation of 1914." Or something about the child molestation issue or the blood issue.
Or you could set up a booth with a big sign and a smaller sign that said "Questions Jehovah's Witnesses Can't Answer" and list the "Quotes" website where every JW can see it. Nobody may talk to you while you're there, but when the JWs get home, they can look up the website in the safety and privacy of their own home.
