If your Bethelite Brother Doesn't Know About It, It Musn't Be True

by HomebytheSea 23 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  HomebytheSea

  A few weeks ago my deeply indoctrinated father who is a long time elder was wondering why we hadn't been attending meetings, and why my 8 yr old son wasn't on the Theocratic School ( sounds like I almost off the hook with that one...LOL). We live in a different state, but I came to find out that one of the elders in our hall called my father, who he never met, to see why our meeting attendance had been so sporadic (I am in my mid-40's, so that knowledge made my blood boil, to put it mildly!)

  I tried not to answer, but he kept pressuring me, so I brought up the ARC and child abuse cases I had heard of in our area. He of course said, "Don't worry about it, Jehovah will take care of it!" I said, " Well, he hasn't done anything for the past 65 years, so maybe someone else should!" I also said that I had watched the ARC myself, to dispel any ideas he would have about my exposure to apostate ideas. He just dropped it and didn't continue the conversation.

  So, today my family visited us, and my father put his arm around me, did the whole elder stance, elder voice thing, and said, "Remember the conversation we had a few weeks ago about child abuse, well, one thing you have to be careful of is where you get your information from. You can't always believe what you read! Besides, I asked your brother (a Bethelite), and he hasn't heard a thing about it!" I told him that I watched it live streamed from the RC website, and you can't get any more accurate than that! Seriously!!!! I nearly lost my mind!!! How could I be such a stupid, uninformed female! (I actually do have a college degree, but he is in denial about that as well, because he thinks my husband should be the breadwinner & I should be the submissive, stay at home Mom).

  So, I think this may be the response we'll continue to get about all of the WT's recent developments, at least for a while. There will come a point when it will be impossible to deny, though. It can't come soon enough!
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  dubstepped

  Ugh, I feel for you. I got mad just reading your post. You can't reason with unreasonable people and they will drive you mad if you spend too much time with them. The boundary crossing in the Borg is simply astonishing. From odd family dynamics to the spying that goes on in congregations the toxicity just drips from every pore of the being that is the religion as a whole. To be invalidated in such a manner is just sickening, and like you I look forward to the day where they cannot deny or hide their errors anymore.
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  Oubliette

  [Dad] ... said, "Don't worry about it, Jehovah will take care of it!" I said, " Well, he hasn't done anything for the past 65 years, so maybe someone else should!"

  Brilliant reply.

  Unfortunately, your dad is in a cult and can no longer think for himself.

  HBTS's Da: You can't always believe what you read!

  That's for sure. Those fuckin' Watchtowers are full of lies and propaganda!
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  LostGeneration

  I feel for you.

  Those long time elders, who have spent their whole life in the cult have absolutely no perspective on the rest of the world and how it operates. My dad is in the same boat, lives and breathes Watchtower and pioneers along with his wife now that he is retired. They are in bubble wrap concerning the real things happening to the Watchtower, its frustrating as hell.
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  HomebytheSea

  dubstepped, my little boy wanted to know about the conversation, so I explained as much he would understand, and he started crying when he heard that his grandpa doesn't think I know very much. He said, " But Mommy, you read so much more than I do!" My husband and I are working hard to help him to respect women as equals. At least something positive may come out of all this!
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  HomebytheSea

  Oubliette and LostGeneration,

  Thanks for your replies! I know, it's totally cult mentality. I can only hope something will wake them up. My mom mentioned the "big shake-up at Bethel" and I said, "Maybe they're running out of money from all the child abuse lawsuits..." She didn't reply, but who knows, maybe she'll think about it.
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  freemindfade

  Hang in there. A lot of us are in similar boats you aren't alone and have lots of support.
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  JWdaughter

  Hope they wake up before they declare you appostate! I have a blind mom, too. I feel for you, friend.
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  Olivia Wilde

  Homebythesea.....Hang in there like freemindfade said... i have a question how did u do to talk to ur son abt distancing ur self from WT? Reason I'm asking is i have my child abt the same age as urs & need advice?
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  HomebytheSea

  Thanks, freemindfade. ☺