Why JW's Rave So Much About Conventions

by freemindfade 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  freemindfade

  "The best convention yet!" (Said every year). "It was so beautiful, we are truly blessed!" Each year when you speak to an active member that attended, they predictably spout off accolades about the convention in near hyperbole. Now, they also plaster these affirmations all over social media, "this is the best life", “so blessed”, “best convention”.

  Why the gushing? Have you ever heard ANYONE say, “mmmm it was ok”? Or “last years was better”. Maybe ask them about last year's program, the way they raved about it, it must have had a profound impact on their life, what was the theme? What was the best part? Likely they have long since forgotten the entire thing and what it was about, probably on the drive home.

  Something interesting happens when you invest through a great deal of difficulty into something. Think about some of things must a witness do to be at this precious convention?

  1. Request and take time off work
  2. Often travel and spend money staying in a hotel
  3. Spend tedious hours sitting on their ass after waking up early, listening to the same theme pounded over and over again for 3 days straight at near kindergarten level of delivery
  4. You may have to work as well, attending, cleaning assignment, etc, this may mean getting their earlier and staying later.

  The investment to attend is pretty big when it comes to personal time, energy, and finances. Your human brain will not let you make that sort of investment and then call it ‘worthless’. Even if you do think in the back of your mind it was a waste, your brain is going to repackage it as worthwhile. You need to show everyone you feel this way, especially others in the “group”. We call this Effort Justification. This is why I called this on someone else’s post, “cognitive masturbation”. Why do you feel the need to have these “best convention” affirmations with other people who attended as well, maybe even at the same one?

  Effort justification is people's tendency to attribute a greater value (greater than the objective value) to an outcome they had to put effort into acquiring or achieving. There you have in a nutshell the psychology behind this common JWism. It’s all dove tailed in to their cognitive dissonance. Of course, once you wake up, you no longer rely on impressing the group and reaffirming, you just see it as a worthless waste of time precious time and energy.

  Don’t you love psychology?
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  LostGeneration

  Its also one of the few things they are ALLOWED to brag about.

  The average JW can't post about their birthday party, their child's soccer game, or their Halloween costume. No bragging about their promotion at work, their hobby that takes up a lot of time away from WT activity, or their Christmas lights.

  So you get timelines of Meh-morial, convention and in-service selfies. Yuk.
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  freemindfade

  That is very true also.

  I was once told I didn't post enough "spiritual" stuff by a family member because I never put a single picture up at a convention or out in recruiting work. Witnesses constantly having to prove to each other they aren't "falling out of the truth"...
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  Saename

  Well, if any Jehovah's Witness said something bad about a convention, or the Watchtower, or the Governing Body, s/he would be labelled as an apostate. It's as simple as that. Surely, they can say, "It was okay." However, if anybody hears him say that, what will the elders think? What will the congregation think? They will all think that this person is spiritually weak. Accordingly, what are Jehovah's Witnesses encouraged not to do? They are encouraged not to associate with people who are spiritually weak. Worse yet, if anybody is seen as an apostate, s/he will have to meet with the elders who will arrange a Judicial Committee. A possible decision that could be made as a result of such meeting is disfellowshipping. Any Jehovah's Witness who is disfellowshipped must be shunned by other active Jehovah's Witnesses.

  No Jehovah's Witness would recognize this; however, I believe it is always fear-induced speech whenever a person says how good a meeting was. (Did you notice that Jehovah's Witnesses say the exact same thing about meetings?) Of course, it is not a conscious fear; rather, it happens on an unconscious level. It is continuously repeated to Jehovah's Witnesses that if they reject the organisation, and such would include saying anything bad about the organisation, they are in effect rejecting God himself who allegedly appointed said organisation. As a result, they are in fear—unconsciously, I would argue nonetheless—that they can lose their opportunity of living forever in the Paradise Earth.

  Of course, it does not always happen like that. The thoughts I'm sharing with you are rather simplistic and do not necessarily reflect each though pattern within the Jehovah's Witness members. Human minds are unquestionably complex, and I would argue that, at times, such unconscious fear plays a lesser role within the Jehovah's Witness pattern of thinking.
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  JWdaughter

  It's all they GOT, that's why they are raving. It is the only time JWs get new clothes. The only vacation(such as it is) they might get at all. It is the closest thing to a "holiday" gathering that JWs have. The memorial is just another boring meeting. An assembly might mean going out with friends to eat, playing in a hotel pool, getting drunk when mom and dad are out with their old buddies. getting drunk with the old buddies. Playing pranks, meeting a new boy/girl and there MIGHT be something revolutionary, apocalyptic even! Bunker videos--that will have 'em talking for MONTHS.
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  sir82

  Each convention is always the Best one EVER.....

  Except that, 3 weeks after it is over, ask anyone the title of even one talk.

  Ask anyone which experience was their favorite.

  Ask which 3 points made the most impact on them.

  99% of JWs will respond this way:
  
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  OneEyedJoe

  Yeah, I think for the true believers, FMF's first post really captures a lot of what makes them declare every convention (and, indeed, every meeting) the "best ever." Then there's the fence-sitters and those that don't really 'feel it' like everyone else (I was always in this group, personally) who just agree and nod along or say it with some sarcasm just because it's the only thing that's socially acceptable to do. Who wants to have an argument over whether or not it actually was the best convention ever? I certainly never did. You'll only lose when everyone starts in on the attack and end up getting lectured and scolded and left receiving suspicious looks for a while.

  Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the true believers and the semi-doubters apart, just because any appearance other than being a true believer results in punishment in some form or another. This just leaves anyone who doesn't really "feel it" feeling as if they're completely alone with no choice but to just go along.
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  OneGenTwoGroups

  The RC is the biggest event of the year, so it HAS to be their favorite. That's more reason to feel all gushy about a horrible 3 days of drivel.
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  Doubting Bro

  All good points. Because I'm an ass, I ALWAYS follow up that statement with the questions Sir82 listed. Usually, you get the answer that it was all great or some other generic response. Sometimes I will follow up with more pointed questions about the program and press them. Otherwise, the person usually changes the subject pretty quickly.

  Its a real sore spot for me because even as a Kool-Aid drinker, the conventions were exhausting and usually not that great. So, I know they are only saying it's the best because of all the reasons above.

  Wait, could this be why people don't like me?????
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  sparky1

  My mother was a DIE HARD fanatical witness up until her death in the year 2000. However, for the last ten years of her life she would complain to me that the assemblies were a 'rehash' of 'the same old same old'! 'There is nothing new to say' was her observation.

  P.S. - She always hated Fred Franz and she thought he was a crackpot. I could not get it through her 'head' that he was the chief theologian of the Jehovah's Witness religion. So even though she didn't like him, she loved the version of the religion he was responsible for and not accepting that he was one of it's main architects. (Go figure?)