by TimeBandit 80 Replies latest jw friends
I've witnessed this twice in my life... no death, fortunately, but ambulance called, older ones taken out, meeting continued even while paramedics were doing their thing. The most recent one was within the past year. I was appalled, especially being awake.
I would be appalled if family members stayed at the meeting and did not go to the hospital.
The last time this happened, only one family member went to the hospital. The rest stayed. Double face-palm!!!!
@ TB - I'm so sorry for your loss. I, like you, sometimes find old pictures, invitations, and even old VHS videos with people I thought were truly friends. I can't blame them because the majority of them really do not know what they do due to the extreme mind conditioning. I have a story I'd like to relate here that also demonstrate how blind and manipulated the friends are when something tragic happens right before their eyes in a KH setting:
I must have been around 6 or 7 years old sitting through yet another boring mid-week meeting at the hall. I was sitting to the right of the stage about mid-row or to the left of the stage speaker. The speaker was the PO and it was probably right around 1 hour into the meeting. From the corner of my eye I caught a man casually dressed walking quickly towards the stage. Being casually dressed he was definitely out of place and I concentrated on him as he walked on the left side of the hall or to the right of the stage speaker. As he made his way towards the stage I noticed something shiny in his hand. Having quickly reached about the 5th row from the stage he confronted a sister and with the shiny object in hand he started a downward slashing motion. The shiny object was in fact a Bowie knife and with it, the man managed to slash the sister's cheek open and catch one of her hands as she tried fending him off. The blood that poured from the sister's face was significant and shocking. Seeing the incredibly brutal scene happening right before her eyes, the sister next to her let out a bloodcurdling scream. I believe the scream may have well saved the sister's life being that it seemed to make the man momentarily stop and give enough time to male friends to come to her rescue. I vividly remember the PO practically running off the stage and head right to where this man was standing only to be confronted with the knife himself. The PO boldly stepped toward this man kindly but firmly asking him to exit the hall. As the PO tried to reason with this wild eyed man, many more male friends stood next to him and behind him in what looked like a small ocean wave of bodies. From the moment the PO confronted the man to the moment the man finally exited the hall it seemed like hours had passed when only minutes had elapsed. Several times he would lunge towards the PO in a threatening manor to which the PO and the other friends would react by jumping back and then aggressively moving forward as a group. This probably happened 5-6 times until the man, walking backwards the whole time, exited and ran off. As soon as the man was gone there were many sisters who started to weep and sob at what they had just witnessed. The meeting was momentarily stopped and I believe it was a total of no more than 20 minutes from the moment the man entered the hall to when he departed that the meeting resumed as if no attempted murder had just occurred. The sister was taken outside while waiting for the ambulance and police. The majority of the members stayed at their seats as if frozen. Who could blame them? At the time I remember thinking "why are they continuing after this lady was nearly killed?" That thought quickly dissipated as the humdrum of the WT information started up again. Shortly after the meeting resumed I remember a friend of mom's sitting next to me and she was quietly crying and shaking. I remember turning to mom and asking why this lady was still crying. Mom explained that this friend was easily frightened and not to worry about her. Thinking back on this question I have to admit it was rather heartless to even ask it. However, having grown up in the environment I grew up in, this type of violence was the order of the day. I don't really remember much after mom's explanation but I'll never forget the entire episode and how it was inhumanely handled.
@ Tenacious: Holy smokes...All that, and they didn't end the meeting...It's an outrage. What mind controlled zombies...Sorry you had to see all that when you were a kid. Stuff like this really blows the mind...
psychopaths according to psychologists can fake empathy but do not feel it
OrphanCrow
His daughter did not stay, that was just her initial reaction. She went to be with him as did his other daughter. Having lived through the situation, and having talked to many that witnessed it too, I think all of us thought it was the most practical solution. Of course I was still heavily involved at the time. Even so, if they had tried to tell everyone to leave that would have made more of a mess. Everyone was very respectful, and if it was my dad up there the way it was handled would not have bothered me. It was a very sobering thing to see.
Tenacious, what a crazy thing to witness. Do you know what happened to the man?
startingover: His daughter did not stay, that was just her initial reaction. She went to be with him as did his other daughter.
Thanks for clarifying that. Sorry... I reacted strongly - these stories of callousness are a bit disheartening and it is good to know he had his family with him
It really is awful how this religion can remove normal human reactions from its followers. It has a twisted way of looking at death - most JWs seem to be numb to human tragedy. Maybe it is the exposure to vivid, violent images of death and dying at Armageddon that is responsible for their inappropriate or non response to real suffering right in front of them. They have been desensitized
The WT sucks the lifeblood and natural feeling out of it`s members meeting by meeting until their is no empathy left in our souls , it`s only after we leave that we gradually get some sort of normality back again.
I recall a brother having a fit during a meeting , same thing happened ,the meeting kept going on while two attended to him .
And this is the last time I sign off smiddy
Bible addiction may blind at any time and unfortunately can be stronger than real love among many JWs, especially among those strongly attached to their privileges.
Whatever happened to stopping the damn boasting session when something like this is happening? Fine to keep it going for such things as minor coughs and sneezes, a minor fall where someone gets right back up, or things that are more embarrassments than anything else. But, if someone needs to go to the hospital immediately, the boasting session should halt. Everyone should clear out of the vicinity so the paramedics can get in and drag the patient out, and only after the victim is gone should they even think of resuming the boasting session. Better to cut something out than to ramble on when someone is having a life-threatening episode.
I would like to have forced that scumbag to cut the whole thing short. Were I the hounder-hounder, that thing would have been hauled to the back room on the spot, the boasting session cut short without even a final song or prayer, and that scumbag that disrespectfully carried on would have had its judicial hearing right there that day. Yes, there are times to continue--if it's primarily an embarrassment (kid peeing in pants, a minor fall where they get back up, coughing and sneezing from allergies or an irritant, etc.), then continue. But a major fall (someone can't get back up), a suspicion of stroke or heart attack, or other situation that could reasonably be an emergency warrants stopping the boasting session. If it isn't that serious and the incident can reasonably be cleared up quickly, it may be fine to resume. But, if it's very serious, it should be cut on the spot. It might be necessary to make another announcement that hospital visits are advised when further notice is received, or for a funeral if necessary. But, in those circumstances, the boasting session needs to be stopped.
And, for those who cannot go without the boasting session, just go to your computer and read the damn information there. Even for a Grand Boasting Session, someone dying warrants stopping the whole program and clearing the area so the paramedics can get in there. Again, most of those sessions are posted on YouTube. Hence, there is nothing to lose by canceling the whole thing.
