by Balaamsass2 26 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
Thanks guys xanthippe and APienceOfLovelinessNamedTate and everyone for the explanations!
I have the audio book, and Amber is a true author ...by that I mean she writes beautifully, not just factually. But my concentration is not as it once was since I had a minor stroke post op. So thank you!
I love this book and highly recommend it.
For me, as a child I did not want to go to meetings but to stay home with my dad. So I highly resented being dragged off there. I didn't like God because my dad didn't like him. So I daydreamed my way thru meetings at the age of five.
When I finally listened, I heard about the paradise and I liked that because of the animals. But just as soon as I felt like I wanted to be with God, there was a talk about how those who hated God would be destroyed! That was me! From that time on, I was doomed. My whole life became one of avoidance of reality to escape that thought. This religion also destroys self esteem by telling saying you are nothing but a speck of dust, untrustworthy, full of sin and if you are a female, less than a male.
God is also a parent that only will love you sometime in the future if you manage to be perfect.
This religion hinders you from understanding the variances of human nature. People are good or bad. In reality, they have many faults as well as positive ones.
The biggest hits for me are: the habit of avoiding reality, low self esteem and the crushing of dreams/aspirations that have nothing to do with serving the WT. Some careers take a long time to get experience and training in and that is all taken away by the WT.
Did being raised a JW result in psychological damage ???
Duhhhhhhhhhh ... just read my posts.
Rub a Dub
Thanks for insights, everyone. I had a lengthy set of phone conversations this week with an old high school friend and neighbor who has been a PIMO (Physically in mentally out) and (POMI ) back and forth, JW for the last 10 years. He said last weeks Watchtower outlining it's new, new, old, stand on child abuse was the last straw and Sunday was his "last meeting". Fingers crossed, leaving a lifelong death cult can be difficult.
I re-read the NYT story before bed, and asked 3rd gen "at what age do most kids stop believing in an all-knowing magical guy named Santa Claus who rewards good children and knows when you've' been bad?" She thought...for a minute and said "about 6".
"3rd Gen, at what age did we stop believing in a magical guy that would get even with bad people for us, and reward us with a magical petting zoo in the Swiss Alps, where an African lady would deliver Pineapples on her head to our everlasting arthritis free picknic? "She smiled sheepishly and said ".....our 60s........."
That NYT quote keeps rolling around in my mind:" "indoctrination that so severely limits the formation of an adult psychology that many don’t ever achieve maturity in the way secular society conceives of it, a state of empowered capability that permits complex life choices" bam.
Wish I saw this post earlier. Everything everyone said is spot on. As a born-in and at the age of 65 and out for more than 8 years I am still have not grown up to adulthood. Yes the way I think has changed but there is this little boy in me that is still screaming for attention, support and love.
My wife last week gave a talk at the Erie PA UU congregation on the wt. cult. About 50 people were their and had no idea how bad of a cult the wt. Is. Most only knew JW's as nice people. Not the shit that takes place behind closed doors. They were all very appreciative for the information my wife gave them. We even meet a X-JW there is was a great meet-up. Maybe when I am 100 years old I will finally grow up. lol. Great thread. Still Totally ADD
I think I came through it fairly unscathed, psychologically speaking, but my experiences weren't nearly on the trauma level of some folks here (sympathetic shout-out)...
...but I suspect I wall always feel somewhat behind in experiencing life as "whole" person, though.
This is an amazing thread!
I've learned a lot from these comments, and I've decided with a 100% certainty that this religion isn't for me. It's downright scary to hear all the things people have went through in order to abide by rules that are impossible to live by. We're all in "the world" and trying to be separate is a task that no human being can do if you want to have some sort of mental and financial security. I feel sorry for people that are trying to navigate through life while walking on imaginary thin ice. It's not possible, even if you decided to live in a compound in the mountains. You have to have dealing with the real world in order to survive, and asking people to do otherwise is cruel and unusual punishment.
