Hi all
I'd like to relate an experience I had yesterday with a couple of JW's "working" with a cart yesterday.
Been coming to this site for many years and these days I don't feel I've got much to contribute ,but I was out yesterday doing some voluntary work for a friend who has gone on an overseas trip .Travelling around my local seaside area doing the job at hand ,I came across a couple of JW's sitting in a shelter overlooking the beach and had their trolley propped against a large public rubbish bin ,it was actually hard to see ithe trolley from most angles - whatever happened to lifting the basket to show the light stuff ...oh well .The large carpark was pretty empty except for us ,we've had pretty wet weather here lately ,bad storms and here they were set up for a days witnessing rugged up with wind and spitting rain ,I sort of thought " well that's dedication " ....that was my first thought then I pulled myself together and then thought "if I wanted to get some time in and not have to work at it too hard this maybe the place to go if I was a JW still".
Well I finished my pickup and looked over at the two and realised I'd read other's experiences about approaching the cart people and wondered if talking to them would be of any benefit as I had witnessed this area for many years and my stance against the WTS for hiding molestation of children is well known ,I thought, and they avoid me like the plague.
They were'nt familiar to me so i went up to them and introduced myself and quickly let them know who I was and what I am doing now as regards JW's. They were a married couple middle aged been in for a long time and could relate to changes in the org very well to pre 1975 when I had first contact. They pretty much suggested I was blinded to the truth ,when challenged on the Royal Commission into sex abuse they pointed to a case where they believed a victim they supposedly knew of in the JWs was a liar ,so that's their case for the Org -unbelievable. When Jackson appeared at the RC she said he handled himself well - again unbelievable ,so I said I wished I had the transcipt so I could show you what a liar he was and that she is only seeing things under the blindness of the WTS and said through my personal experience with Bethel and how they had failed the victims ,I actually have the scales removed from my eyes and not blinded by the GB and that they have had no real experience commenting on the Commision. Next I pointed out that a scriptual point I had made on this site had been used at the Commission and that the GB is wrong about the two witness rule they perpetuate, when in Deuteronomy ch:22 vs:22 - 29 the account clearly shows the GB is inconsistent they had little to say but mis-direct .
We covered many topics though, but as others here have related ,they keep pointing to the great advancement of the Org especially since the technology they now use helps them to....blah blah. Yeah funny about that I said ,you would remember the stance we took years ago against this technology like your Ipad as Satans tools and they had to agree. They even admitted to feeling uncomfortable about it when the society said that's the way they should go now.
So that led me to many points like the money grabs, selling property , the shift of ownership of local cong buildings.,the cost of suits for child molestation and how not only had they changed their teachings, but the whole corporate face of JWorg obviously to hide their past stuff ups and lies. But they kept going on about the cartoons the technology ,the TV channel -again funny about that ,all things the GB condemned but now they are'nt so "discreet" now are they? they are tv stars ,and of course this couple could'nt see what I was getting at .All the time I'm trying not to point out that they are willing victims of Cognitive Dissonance ,I did'nt use this term as I'm not sure they would have understood what it was.
The man was more reasonable and I must say I had a long enjoyable conversation with them both .Up until yesterday I would not have approached them as I thought my anger at the stupid way they look at things would show and I'd lose my temper in this situation due to the very difficult years of fighting the Org from within. But somehow I thought it time to face the JWs and see how they are these days and also to confront my feelings about the Org. Glad to say I feel good about my time with them ,it has strengthened my stance not to let this damaging organization influence me any more ,and it is even clearer to me now that I made the right decision in leaving them ,living my own life, not what is a unnatural way of living.
They poured out the usual JW syrup about returning to Jah etc and "maybe todays meeting was from Jehovah ....you know how it goes ,but I made it clear on many points as to what the Org is doing that makes me never to go back.
To sum up I think I am pretty happy at the way I dealt with them and I felt it was on my terms and would encourage others to do the same ,not so much to say that they are wrong , but to find a common human ground to talk with them despite the way they respond ,for they are what we were and I can only wish they could find the wonderful freedom from the un-human behaviour of the GB and their power and teachings which change all the time. I have'nt really covered alot of what was said but maybe I should carry a transcript of the Royal Commision around on a Ipad ,use the tools they use, I'm sure the conversation would have been a little different if I actually had the facts in front of me !
Stephen