What happened?
Did you suffer from not saluting the flag in school as a kid?
by Sea Breeze 37 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Biahi
This was only ONE among many embarrassing moments during my JW childhood. I told my mom once, that if I said the Pledge, she would not know, because she isn’t at school with me. My mom told me that Jehovah sees me and he will kill me at Armageddon if I say the pledge. I felt between a rock and a hard place. Same thing with the National Anthem. No wonder I’m messed up.
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DesirousOfChange
Standing quietly and simply not reciting it nor putting my hand over my heart was never a big issue, but having to SIT for the National Anthem could bring some harassment.
In more recent years, as an adult and even as an elder, I would stand at events that had the National Anthem, ie ballgames, or community events (common at theater productions here) even with other JWs. When questioned I inquired if they were not aware that was the direction in the "new" School Brochure. Something like "when invited to stand and sing the NA, one could choose to stand but NOT sing".
I think the old timers WANTED to stir the shit! They wanted to draw attention to being different.
Calling it an "act of worship" was always bullshit. Americans stand for the Canadian anthem when Canadian teams play ball in the US and vice versa. None of those sports fans think they are WORSHIPPING the other nation.
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Biahi
Ha, my dad, an elder, hid in the men’s room until the National Anthem was over. But he expected me to make a spectacle of myself, daily.
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Balaamsass2
Ditto what DOC said:"Calling it an "act of worship" was always bullshit. Americans stand for the Canadian anthem when Canadian teams play ball in the US and vice versa. None of those sports fans think they are WORSHIPPING the other nation."
When the Judge or any top official walks in the room...you stand.
At the height of the Vietnam War(60s), a few kids in my grammar school had Dads serving in Vietnam. They were incensed over the flag salute and national anthem, called me a "commie", and tried to beat me up multiple times. I became handy with my fists as a result. The principal was in a hard place on religious rights versus kids traumatized by missing dads...on multiple occasions, he simply asked everyone to apologize and promise not to do it again.
By the 70s it stopped because most kids became anti-war in high school.
It hurt my relationship with my "worldly" father who was a WW2 and Korea Veteran.
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Sea Breeze
My mom was kicked out of school every day in the 1940's for not saluting the flag. She went to a "Kingdom School" of some sort.... probably just a home school with a JW teacher. That was one of the issues that went to the Supreme Court.
I had a 4th grade teacher who lost her son in Vietnam that was particularly mean to me a another JW kid. She made us leave the room and go stand in the hall for the pledge of allegience every day.It sucked.
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Rattigan350
How is that suffering?
I'd shout I ain't gonna say the pledge.
Stand up and be a rebel after all that is what being an American is about.
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3rdgen
Rattigan: "How is that suffering?" You are either a troll or an idiot.
What child as young as kindergarten decides they have religious objections to saluting the flag? What child decides they like being the class oddball?
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ThomasMore
Teacher called me to the front of the class and called me a communist. It was a little traumatic but I didn’t let it get under my skin. Compartmentalization was my coping mechanism for dealing with all the name calling and hatred by school officials.
now all those folks are dead from old age and I am still alive, enjoying life. I never treat children the way adults treated me.
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Sea Breeze
Teacher called me to the front of the class and called me a communist. It was a little traumatic but I didn’t let it get under my skin. Compartmentalization was my coping mechanism
Kids learn to supress trauma as a coping mechanism. Eventually when you are in a safe place it's necessary to deal with it if you want to heal.