PIMO GB members?

by Half banana 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Half banana

  The GB individuals are chosen not by holy spirit as we well know but by being selected for one quality only, that of implaccable loyalty to the Watchtower organisation.

  To be up there requires the fixation that the org is being used by God -- even though now in the small print they claim they are not divinely guided -- what a laugh, what a puzzle?

  The more I watch their antics the more implausible they seem. Their function: to persuade as many people as possible to conform to their own whacky beliefs.

  Most JWs eventually leave the fold, only one third remain as we understand, so will any of the GB become PIMO?

  As the wind goes out of the sails of the JW org, will some GB members wake up? Or have they already? What would be the effect if one were to leave now?
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  DesirousOfChange

  Thinking back to how PIMI I was just as an elder, I suspect the GB are hardcore believers because they are exposed to nothing else. All they have known is JWism. They eat, drink, sleep (esp drink) -- the Koolaid) as full-time pioneers, Bethelites, COs, etc. Always "Company Men". No time for anything else. Just as we learned to ignore or rationalize negative info, so do they.

  EVEN IF one of the GB or "Helpers" were to awaken, they would be foolish to "rock the boat". On the "outside" they are nothing. They (likely) would have nothing (unless they happen to be from wealth and then they might be disowned if they went apostate). Whereas, "inside" (the Borg) they are GODs! They have groupie-like "worshipers", who smother them with adulation. While they may not actually have any personal wealth, they have the "use" of a multi-billion dollar (tax exempt) international corporation. They live in free (modest for a CEO) housing, have free meals (no doubt specially prepared if they desire it), free medical care, they live their daily life without EVER having to worry about financial security for themselves or their wives. They travel the world for free. And I assure you that when they are "on the road" they are not living the austere Bethel life because "the Brothers" cherish them and donate the very best for them. The very best restaurants. The very best accommodations. The very best of everything. After all, they represent Almighty Joe Hoover. They are the closest that these mere mortals will ever get to GOD (Guardian Of Doctrine). There will not be any of them leaving that lifestyle.
  
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  sir82

  What DOC said.
  

  I'm virtually certain there are at least some bigwigs who realize it's all hogwash, but remain in because, at their age and with their lack of experience in [anything practical in the real world], they'd be abandoned & destitute & maybe even homeless if they were to follow their conscience.

  Maybe some would do it for themselves, but wouldn't want to subject their wives to the ordeal.
  

  I think for many it is a decision motivated by social & financial criteria.
  
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  Half banana

  I tend to agree that it is unlikely for a GB member to leave even if he wakes up and becomes PIMO. The disadvantages for a GB member to actually leave the org and become an outcast and vilified, would outweigh the social benefits i.e. remaining a pampered demigod albeit mentally out.

  The big wigs in any operation or scheme or organisation religious or secular, if their heart isn't in it, become just actors who capably play their roles and perform as they are expected and are rewarded accordingly. This too can happen at JW HQ. Many Bethelites know things are seriously wrong in the JW world.
  

  This situation demonstrates that the only GB member with the courage and honesty to act in accord with his conscience was Ray Franz. What a shining beacon of integrity that man really was!

  The GB just like the organisation they control, is becoming hollow, just yielding the outward appearances of what they pretend they are doing, preaching salvation to the world. The world population is now growing faster than they are and the message is increasingly less interesting, less credible, less desirable, less valuable.
  

  In time the appearance of conviction and "God's blessing" will diminish in the JW org but power hungry JWs will always want to be lording it over the humble sheep so GB members will probably hold on to the bitter end railing against Satan's world and getting the plaudits from the remaining faithful.

  The flock have to live with cognitive dissonance, it keeps them dependant--then why not the leaders? Possibly because narcissists don't actually care about other people.
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  Earthmeasured

  Franz left even if has lost everything
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  no-zombie

  While is possible that individuals of the Governing Body could become a PIMO, I think that the chances of it occurring quite low due to the personality type most of those who become upper management need to be. Clearly most CEOs are nihilistic sociopaths. And normal people, with a reasonable amount of human compassion do give up climbing the corporate ladder unless they were willing to sacrifice their friends, family, even their own personal health for the endorphins of power.

  While some point toward Ray Franz as an example (and while I do personally appreciate the work he did latter in his life for all of us) the question must be asked, would he have stayed as a member of the Governing Body if he was not "outed" and my feeling is that he would have, as the books he wrote only were written after his disfellowshiping and in part, to self-justify what had happened to him.

  I feel this way because most PIMOs ultimately leave on their own accord (while the time may vary) because the whole Witness way of life, ultimately drives them/us/me mad. And there is the tipping point ... where the pain of shunning becomes less than the mental turmoil that person has because of being 'in', when he or she comes to the conclusion that its time to go.
  

  In the case of Ray Franz, If he had voluntary disassociated and then wrote his memoirs, then I believe he would have been at some time, a true PIMO. The additional advantage he would then had for himself and his books, would be through having the moral high ground, instead of being portrayed as a disgruntled individual or senile old man by Watchtower Society through the pages of the magazines.
  
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  Bungi Bill

  Raymond Franz was asked to resign from the Governing Body, after being formally questioned in May of 1980. This "questioning" was part of the general witch hunt over apostasy that was being conducted in Bethel during those first few months of that same year.

  The fact that he was being "questioned" over apostasy, and that this questioning led to his resignation (read "resign or get the bullet!") from the GB would strongly suggest to me that he had indeed been mentally somewhere else whilst still physically present on the Governing Body!
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  Phizzy

  I think to a degree those who rise to the top of the Org have to be aware of the level of Bullshit they put out to the R&F compared to reality.

  A guy who worked at the Brooklyn H.Q many years ago told me that as he passed the G.B's Conference Room he would often hear voices raised in anger, you would have to be a total fool to think that Holy Spirit was at work there.

  The G.B all must have their Cognitive Dissonance levels raised, even if they are not really PIMO.

  Whatever the extent and power of their belief they are really in the main just figureheads, the real controllers of the Org are the accountants and lawyers, and some members of the Writing Department, all of whom know it is just a money making Scam.
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  Diogenesister

  I dont know if any of you have seen the recent 2018 AGM? In it is a piece presented by Gerrit Losche where he describes the work of the Austria branch in smuggling literature into countries behind the iron curtain.

  He is really visably moved as he describes 1. the privations the brothers endured and 2. When the break-away Romanians came back to the org.

  Sure, its hard to know if hes crying because he's touched by their suffering or he misses those heady days of struggle when the time left still made it possible WT theology could be true and he wasnt running the ship.

  I suppose what im getting at is that they must compartmentalize a heck of a lot, and that they believe (Gerrit) are addicted to power (Morris) or plain need the safety of 3 squares for life ( Cook? Various others) to varying degrees between them.
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  Half banana

  Diogsis, yes isn't Losche Austrian? I think you have it, he misses the heady days of struggle when "the time left still made it possible WT theology could be true". I think sentiment for the good old days will surface soon.

  But really the GB must be perfectly aware they have been flogging the dead donkey of the imminence of the end for one hundred and forty years. Are they just role playing-- but not truly believing?