A question for those of you who were raised in the cult

by siegswife 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  siegswife

  LOL I think I fit into the "whacked" catagory.

  I used to feel that some of the younger people were somewhat standoffish. At the time I thought it was because I wasn't a lifetime member so there might have been some suspicion that I wasn't "strong" enough (even though I was a gung ho witless).

  Reading the stories here, I thought that maybe it was because they didn't believe it themselves and were living a double life. It's interesting to realize that there was even a degree of jealousy that they never got a chance to live outside the borg. I never would have thought that in a million years at the time.

  You're right about filling a void. I'd been feeling so bad for so many years that finding "the truth" *gag* was like getting a second chance at life. To be honest, becoming a JW and subjecting myself to the control of the bOrg did help me gain some self discipline. I guess it's the same sort of effect the military has on some people.

  It really broke my heart when I realized I was deceiving myself once again, but as the saying goes "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

  Lea
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  OUTLAW

  Hey SiegsWife,LB has mentioned the same thing,about not feeling fully accepted because you were`nt born into the dubs.I think that is usualy done by the members who are real losers everywhere but the Kingdom Hall.It`s obvious when you and LB post,you know what your talking about when it comes to dub world..The people who made you,LB and others feel bad,needed a target to take the attention off of they`re own inadiquacy in real life,I woudn`t give them another thought...OUTLAW
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  blacksheep

  Well, I confess that I have a hard time understanding why anyone would CHOOSE to become a JW. I also felt as a child/teen that I indeed DID live a double life. I always wanted to be accepted and be "normal," but that just didn't/couldn't happen with being a JW. I think I just accepted it as fate; life was just a matter of things you HAD to do, like go to 5 boring meetings a week, go door to door, go to assemblies...

  As hard as it is for me to see someone CHOOSING to do all that, I do think that most people who become JW's have a void of some sort in their lives. I would think they are not happy, and might see the JW's, who claim to know all life's answers, would be appealing, at least at first to people who are at a confusing point in their lives. Plus, knowing all the deception and facades JW's employ to try to make the "brotherhood" attractive to outsiders, I can see where some might see it as the answer. But, for a LOT of people, I think that fades. I know of a lot of people who "left the world," became temporarily zealous, and then "like a dog returning to it's own vomit" (ha ha), went back into the "world."
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  dannyboy

  A big difference that matters now, IMHO, is that those who (like me) were raised "in the truth" have a much more difficult time adjusting to life after the borg. In a sense, being raised a dub like I was (and many others around here) is a form of child abuse that has lingering effects for years and years.

  Getting into the group after becoming an adult, and then leaving: you have the perspective of a former "normal" life to relate to, even if you did things as a youth you don't want to do as a post-JW adult.

  I'd give anything to be able to live the first part of my life over, without Witness parents.

  I think the concept expressed earlier about the Witness life "filling a void" is right on the money. I'd be the last person to ever criticize someone who bought into things.....far more important to feel good about recognizing the falacy of the Watchtower Society.

  ---Dan